The Evolution of a Rosary Workshop

Ever since I started making rosaries, the problem of organization has loomed large in my head.   I had no particular place to work, so all my beads and findings were spread across the table in our formal dining room.  Unlike a lot of homes...we actually needed to use in our formal dining room for dinner time on a daily basis.   But with rosaries everywhere, we were forced to squeeze the family around the kitchen table.   Cleaning up for Thanksgiving took several days of packing it all up.   When Easter came, it was again a several day process to reclaim the table. 

After Easter I decided I could no longer live this way.  It was an eye soar.  It was impractical.  It was driving me crazy.  So I made a commitment to move to the only place in the house that was not formally claimed.  My basement storage room.

Like most families with 7 children, the storage room was piled high with boxes of children's clothing, baby perifinalia like cribs, and baby toys, and even a huge weight set...that my teenage boys 'planned' to use (but rarely did).  So when Easter was over, and I began to set up shop again, I first set up a table in the basement, and slowly began moving things down there.   The lighting was bad, and I still had no organization.  So I didn't actually work down there too much.

For the next several months I was running from the basement to the main floor every time I started a rosary...as my supplies were half way between the two rooms.  (Good exercise...but very time consuming!)  I refused to move them back to the dining room, knowing that that bit of inconvenience would help me not lose sight of my goal.  Little by little things started moving forward.  We started donating and selling everything that we were not going to need again.  We even moved the weight bench to the garage.  I had 6 sets of Fluorescent light fixtures installed (and natural light tubes put into the fixtures).   Wow!  It was so bright it felt like heaven!  Having the light I needed made me feel like my own workshop was actually going to become a reality!

I started to think of how I could get rid of even more.  It seemed we had pared down as much as was possible.  All the shelves were still taken, except for two rickety things that I needed to take to the dump.  I was about to load them in the truck, when the wheels started turning in my head.  ... I realized I could take the two old shelves apart, remove the bent and rusted parts and possibly come out with one good shelf!  Woo hoo!  It worked perfectly.  The finished shelf had plenty of shelves, and without spending a dime, I now had an place to orderly store my findings!!!

For the final step in the organization process I needed to get a huge peg board secured to the wall.  I have some kind of phobia about power tools...so I didn't think I should try it on my own.  My loving DH was so busy with other items on his 'To Do List', that the peg board had been sitting forlornly on the floor for months.  So when my brother, the priest came for a visit, I jumped on the chance.  I told him he was suppose to follow the path of Joseph the Carpenter for the day and help me put up my peg board.   Ah ha!  It worked.  Within minutes we had that peg board attached to the wall. 

The wall space is still at a premium, since we have shelves lining the room that are still filled with the needed storage items.   So we installed the huge peg board so it would run from floor to ceiling.   How satisfying it was to hang my beads in a neat and orderly fashion.  Then I put my table in front of the shelf and pegboard so my findings and beads would all be within an arms length.  I even recycled an old office chair that had lost its back.  The seat on wheels was perfect for me to skoot back and forth around my table.  

I cannot tell you how exciting it is to finally be able to have a place for everything and everything in its place!   I won't spend half my time searching for a part, or buying beads that I already have.  I can close the door on my business and be back in a home again.  The feeling of order in my shop gives me so much peace! It is truly an exciting day in my rosary making business!

Maybe some of you crafty folks out there also have issues with organizing your supplies? I hope that this post inspires you to save your sanity, save some money and use what you have to reclaim some space for your creative talents.  It is totally worth the effort!