Organizing Using Curtain Rods

Keeping track of things in small spaces is a real trick.  The little odds and ends have always presented a challenge for me.  Especially the little scrapbook embellishments.  I have walked past the little twirly thing with little black clamps a million times.  It is available in every craft store.  It was just too expensive and had little flexibility.  Even though you could snap your little things onto it and twirl the twirly thing around until you found what you wanted (you will know what I mean if you are a scrap -booker), you couldn’t attach anything very long and you still had to spin it around to find things.  Every little gadget which went with it was sold separately.  That is why I have always passed it by.

I decided to put on my thinking cap and figure out how to solve the problem.  And I did.  In my case, I have a large window by my desk.  In the summer I put a darkening-cling on it because it faces west. The blind also comes down on the outside of the curtain rods.  The rest of the year the sun doesn’t touch it directly.  Then I spent $15 at Big Lots.

I bought four tension curtain rods.  In the case of the width of one side of my window, I bought rods which can be placed in the window anywhere from 28 inches to 48 inches.  Big Lots also had packages of rings with clips on the ends which came with fourteen in a package.  I fixed the rods to the window size and then slid the rings onto the rods.  Why didn’t I think of this before ?  WHY ?

If you have a window in your craft area, this is worth trying.  There are so many advantages over the commercial twirly thing with the big price tag.  Like:

• You can adjust the rods up and down depending on what is going to hang on the clips.
• You can put as many curtain rods on the window as you have room for.
• You can take them down whenever you want to.
• You can slide rolls of ribbon and tulle on the rods.
• You can see everything at a glance.
• If your window is small, you can attach the curtain rods on the outside of the window from inside wall to inside wall.

This photograph shows how much room can be created by this solution.  If I want to have many rolls of tulle or ribbon at my fingertips, I can move the rods closer together and add more.  Because they are tension rods, they can easily be added and removed.

Now that you have seen this idea, I will clip everything back on and get on with my day !

( Pay no attention to the snow.  It is bound to quit one day soon !)