I had an EPIPHANY last week when suddenly I realized I could not work in my office in it’s current state any longer. I had product samples strewn all over the guest bed, an iron on the floor (and many of you know this is how I have destroyed my brand new carpet twice now), my fabric and notions tucked away in an inaccessible corner… the madness just had to stop!
I had held off on truly getting my office/sewing room/guest bedroom in order because somewhere in the back of my mind I was worried about what would happen with baby #2 and where we would put him/her. But, waiting for that day is ruining my present moment, which is the main room where I work and spend the majority of my day. I needed to make it a functioning, blissful, enjoyable place to work, not a pit of clothing, fabrics and products.
The other impetus for the sudden need to re-organize was the fact that I really want to start creating YouTube sewing videos, and I didn’t have a place to film that felt as professional as I am. So- I dropped everything (literally, on the bed) and got to work designing a new office and craft space that wouldn’t break the bank, but would create much better feng shui for me and my business.
The most important thing was getting all of my tools off the floor and out of bins, so they are easily accessible for maximum work potential. The obvious answer to that was a pegboard. I googled tons of pegboard organization ideas but didn’t find anything that was right for a sewing room, as most of the photographed ideas out there are for craft rooms or wrapping paper/scrapbooking corners.
Sewing Room Storage and Pegboard Organization
When you look to buy pegboard organization systems on the internet, you can find tons of options, but they are very expensive for the size. I need a pretty large section of pegboard (at least 4″ wide) and I didn’t find anything that I felt would fit my budget in this size. So, I set out to my local hardware store to make my own. Lowe’s and my local small hardstore sell 4’x8′ boards for about $20 (unfortunately the Home Depot by me didn’t sell it), and they cut it to the size you want for about $1. I know Lowe’s sells pre-painted white pegboard already, but I used wall paint that I already had to give it 2 quick coats before hanging.
In order to hang, you need to make sure you give enough room behind the board to slide the accessories in, which means it needs to hang away from the wall by about 1/2 inch. I recommend buying 2″ screws and putting 5-6 washers behind the board on each, to keep the board standing away from the wall, and making sure the screws are still long enough to secure to the studs in your wall. This part is definitely a 2 person job, as my dad helped me to drill the screws in while I held the board level.
Once it was up, it was time to GET ORGANIZED! I knew I wanted white pegboard organization accessories which are a little trickier to find, but you can find a pack of 50 L and 50 J shaped pegs on Amazon, that will get most of your main taken care of. I knew I would hang a spool rack for my threads, but I needed much more storage variation to take care of the larger items like my serger threads, my pens and pencils (I didn’t want ANYTHING on this desk), my sketchbooks, my pin cushion and my roll of tracing paper.
It definitely took me a little trial and error to find the best items that are multi-functional but have a little style, so I’ve rounded up all of the items here for you. Most of them are under $10, with the exception of the cute wooden shelves which are actually spice racks. These actually pair with cute spice rack containers, which is a great idea if you are trying to organize smaller items like buttons, glitter, or pom poms.
