The biggest obstacle to moving my studio back home is where do I put all my stuff.
Our Garage AKA my She Shed lol
After 12 years of running a small business you start to accumulate a lot of stuff. Daily inventory, old inventory, useless inventory (that you refuse to get rid of because you think you'll find a way to use it), yes a lot of stuff. When I found out I was leaving my studio I definitely started some spring cleaning. Got rid of A LOT of useless stuff but still was left with a lot. Desks, chairs, fabric....OH THE FABRIC.
I decided that my main workspace would be my dining room. I took the huge armoire I had in my room and moved it in there, I would be able to store my thread, sewing machine, printer, and everything else I use on a daily basis in there. Best part, it would be hidden away when our guest come over for dinner.
The rest would go into a garage we rented right in our apartment complex. The space is big enough to store our personal items as well as my engraver. I converted the back into a workspace while the front half is storage. On top of that I made one end a space for me to paint. Yes I paint but never can find the time to do it but hopefully this will change.
Positives
- WHAT COMMUTE. Exactly I don’t have to drive anywhere! Get to save on gas and don’t have to get out in bad weather.
- FAMILY TIME I normally work weekends and my son is usually bummed to see me walk out the door but now we can spend time while I work. Can be a bit of a obstacle but taking 10-15 minute breaks to play with him makes a huge difference :)
- HOBBIES: I have more time to get back to my hobbies. Painting, drawing, and jigsaw puzzles.
Negatives
- Im stuck at home and it gets a little lonely. At my studio, I at least had work neighbors to talk to.
- hard to work when kids are home because it’s “mom this” “ mom that”
- limited space to work with so it can get a bit stressful especially when you have a lot of orders to fulfill at once
- Distractions: I get easily distracted and when I'm home, I see a million things that need to be done (fold the laundry, wash the dishes, clean Noah's room). When I leave to go work, its out of site out of mind but being home its all visible.