My Why For Organization 

Being a stay at home mom of 3 littles (all within 4 years of each other), homeschooling our eldest, and running 2 businesses makes for a very insane schedule.  And thats not even mentioning keeping house, grocery shopping and play dates.  

Over the last few years of running my business- I’ve picked up a few tricks on how to best stay organized.  And I feel like I’ve tired it ALL.  

I’ve tried dry erase calendars and phone apps for my scheduling, I’ve tried various baskets and bins for storage solutions and I’ve always felt like a disorganized mess. So today I’m going to share with you my 5 favorite tools that I use almost daily to help me stay organized and why I like them so much. 

Lets dig in! 

My Favorite Planner  

I know there are a lot of us out there that like to be spontaneous and fly by the seat of our pants- but I’ve found (at least for me) that having a schedule and to-do list alleviates a lot of my stress.  Even if I don’t get to every thing on my to-do list, I can see every thing I need to do written down and when it’s all there in black and white it feels a lot less burdensome.  

This also helps me prioritize the things in my mind that all feel equally heavy and really evaluate what needs to get done first, what can wait and what might not even need to get done at all. 

My most favorite tool for doing this is my Daily Planner from Patterns Co. that you can find here. 

This planner is printable, but you can also purchase a customizable PDF version that you could keep on your computer if you preferred.  I just like seeing my own hand writing so I go the old fashioned printed route.  

A few things I LOVE about this planner: it’s specifically aimed at crafters and makers like myself who are using their craft passion for a business.  It gives me a space to plan out marketing and projects.  It also has a lot of encouragement packed in to remind me that its OKAY if I don’t do it ALL and it really keeps me accountable for not trying to do it all. Which I really need. 

Tracking Projects 

My latest tool is my The Crocheter’s Joy book by Rebekah Haas Crochet, which you can currently pre-order here. 

This book focuses more on the actual run through of projects and is especially helpful for designers like myself.  I can jot down design (or yarn shop collections).  I think this book would also be amazingly helpful at assisting crochet or knit testers and market sellers.  You can jot down what your project is with important information like gauge and stitch, track progress, keep notes as you go. 

This book also has a great first few pages to help you find your “crojo” and really focus on enjoying your craft. 

Rebekah has also added a page for abbreviations and crochet terms as well as a list of crochet designers to help you find a designer that specializes in the type of pattern you’d like to make. 

If you’d like to grab a copy of this Crocheter’s Companion- Rebekah has a second round of pre-orders currently open here.  But if you miss it, you can follow along with any other orders she may open up by following her on Instagram here. 

Organizing Projects

So thats the gist of my written organization side of my business(es). But I also need ALL the organizational help I can get with my makes.  I typically have a minimum of 3 (usually closer to 6) works in progress going at one time.  Sounds crazy I know, but thats the life of a short attention span, creative, type B personality like myself. 💁🏻‍♀️

Because I have so much going on in the WIP world, I need a way to keep all those projects, their hooks/needles and yarn organized.  That’s where my project bags come in. 

I have a few, but these are my 2 favorite:

This one is a simple cloth project bag that my friend Sarah of SekHomemade made.  She doesn’t always have these bags available, but when she does she sells out fast (and for good reason)!  Follow her on Etsy here or Instagram here to get one for yourself when they’re next available.  

Her large size bags are perfect for garment WIPS (which are totally my jam right now).  They are lightweight, have a wrist strap and pocket inside.  I love to use this bag for my traveling WIPs.  These are my projects that aren’t high priority to complete, so I take them with me for shorter car rides or trips up and down the stairs. 

My other favorite project bag is my Namaste Maker’s Backpack by Jimmy Beans.

This is my top-of-line high end project bag but I LOVE it.  You may have seen this bag pop up in your social media feed a few years back on a lot of larger-scale maker influencer’s feed.  That was what sparked my interest in it and when my hubby gifted it to me for Christmas- I was over the moon. 

It has a ton of pockets (perfect for those of you like me who want to feel organized but really struggle with it 😂), it has a great space for your laptop, notebooks or both and a big ole’ pocket for your current project.  It comes with a nice little toggle that works kind of like a yarn bowl for you to feed your yarn though, a knitting stitch marker, a small note pad and a darning needle.  

This is my coffee shop/ park/ vacation companion and allows me to carry all I need to get blogging work done on the go. 

They have several different designs to choose from, and I don’t think you can go wrong.  Get yours here. 

Stationary Organization

While I do work a lot outside of the house, the majority of the time- I work from home and the comfort of my couch.  But it can be such a pain to start a new pattern design only to realize that I forgot my notebook, crochet hook set or scissors in the other room.  

That’s where my Mimmo Caddy by Mollie Ollie comes in.  This is a very sturdy caddy that has the capacity for up to 3 large compartments, with pockets lining the entire outside and a pen (or crochet hook 😉) pocket on one end.

This caddy is portable enough to travel with me from room-to-room in the house, but large enough to hold all of my crafting essentials.  I currently have: all of my crochet hooks, knitting needles, 3 notebooks, a pair of craft scissors, some darning needles, stitch markers, leather patches, a pen and sweater WIP (with all of it’s yarn) hanging out in it. 

This caddy has been a total game changer and I feel a lot more secure about my kids not taking my unprotected project off the couch and frogging it unsolicited or creating a nice pile of yarn barf for me next I return to said project.

This caddy also comes in 2 fabulously adorable colors AND best off all: from through the end of the month (07/31) you can get it for 10% off when you use code: 10bernadette and purchase it here. 

I hope you liked these 5 tips for staying organized, and are able to help utilize one, two or all of them for helping you feel in more control of your crafting life.