There are times when I try to be an organized stitcher. I actually make an effort to keep everything in its place while I’m working.

There’s a reason for this, and it’s very simple: organization saves time. I can work much more efficiently, in a much better frame of mind, if my workspace is neat and if I know where things are.

But just as there are times when I purposely work to keep myself organized while an embroidery project is underway, there are also times when I don’t.

Right now, I am suffering from PPMD – Post Project Mess Disorder. And unlike my embroidery thread addiction that I spoke about yesterday – which I don’t intend to fight – this is something I need to face and fix right away.

Remember my Fiesta Fob I showed you on Monday?
Well, it came out looking like this:

And while it looks as if it were photographed in a serene, pristine environment, it wasn’t!

That is my work table when the Fiesta Fob was finished. And that light in the top left of the photo? And the frame in the lower left? That’s where I took the photos of the finished fob, because there was literally no other space in the room to lay anything out neatly.

It was a lot like being in a tornado zone, trying to photograph a butterfly.

During a weekend of working under pressure, trying to meet deadlines in three directions, I let all my resolutions slip away. In two days, I went from having a place for everything and everything in its place, to this mess.

I finished the fob on time and I met my two writing deadlines. But did I do it efficiently? And was I happy when I finished it?

No, on both accounts. Now I have to spend time cleaning up the war zone, and that makes me grumpy because it takes time away from other things I want to do.

The moral of the story – and I know it’s true, even if I don’t always follow it! – is this: if I take time to stay organized during a project, I can work more efficiently (I don’t have to waste time looking for things), I eliminate the pressure of a building mess, and I save time after the project is finished, so that I can move on more quickly to my next project.

In short, maintaining some semblance of organization during a project makes you happier!

But all of this is a “do what I say, not what I do” situation.

And that, my friends, is the worst type of teaching.

Today, I organize and clean. And once the work table is in order, I’ll sit down with a much clearer conscience in a much lighter frame of mind to work on a fun project that I’ll share with you next week.

My challenge while I’m working on that project? To keep things organized. I’ll let you know how that pans out! (Wish me luck!)

Over to You…

So tell me, do you ever suffer from PPMD (Post Project Mess Disorder)? What steps do you take to keep yourself organized during a project, despite every inclination to throw organization out the window? I’d love to hear any organizational tips you’d like to share with the rest of us! Feel free to chime in below!