With the coming of the winter holiday season – Thanksgiving, Christmas, Channukah, New Years, Kwaanza – we often have a lot of deadlines to meet. We often have more budget than cash. We always need a roadmap for gifts, festivities, shopping, etc. At least, it always helps when I have a roadmap – a plan, a list, helpers, and a destination whether that’s an event or a location.
In that vein, I have run across some things that may be of use, especially in keeping us on track with our crochet projects. Patterns, yarn, shopping, time to crochet, stashing finished projects, wrapping, mailing, etc. These are all areas where I know I need help.
One of the niftiest free sites online is http://www.pocketmod.com. This free site uses a single sheet of paper, printed with modules that suit individual needs, that folds to fit snugly in a purse or pocket. This single sheet of paper can keep me organized. I’m not one who routinely makes lists, but when I do, things go easier. You’d think I’d learn, right? Not usually. But, with the shrinking dollar and the ever increasing pool of people to whom I need to give gifts, I need more help each year. I have come to rely on this little tool and my wall calendar to keep me from forgetting what I’m supposed to be doing and when. I fall too often to the trap of doing what’s urgent rather than what’s important. This helps me keep my sanity – and saves money too since I don’t duplicate purchases or overspend, thinking I’ve forgotten someone or something.
The Pocketmod PDA (Personal Digital Assistant – remember when digital meant something you work with your finger??) is very flexible in design. There are many alternatives for its 8 sides – weekly, daily, monthly, and annual calendars, various formats for lists, a conversion table, and a few games. Using the available modules, one can design a tiny PDA that holds a lot of information for your crochet (and for grocery shopping and other things too) needs. You can create a ‘Deadline Plotter’ with target dates for all your projects. You can use one of the list formats to record how much yarn you need to purchase for which pattern, garment sizes, color choices, etc. The teeny conversion table can come in handy too. Check it out and print our a practice one to see if it works for you as well as it works for me.
Here’s an interesting article about organizing your craft supplies. Many of us have more than yarn, hooks, and patterns! I also bead, paint, sew, and make soap. That translates to a lot of supplies that need to be corralled. Here’s how:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/51548/10_tips_for_organizing_your_craft_supplies.html?cat=6
And, here’s another idea I ran across. You know those plastic bag holders we all made for our kitchens? Well, why not crochet some larger ones to hold our yarn stash? Might look something like this…
http://thefriendshipshop.com/db5/00490/thefriendshipshop.com/_uimages/bagsox.jpg
Yeah, I can see these are knitted. But, way easy to adapt to crochet and can be decorative as well. I love hanging, dangling things. I could decorate a room with these cheery things.
So, use the tools you have available – often free and online – to help organize you so that you are more productive. Because, if you’re more productive, you have more time to crochet!!
