Readying Your Studio for 2012

At the top of my list of to-do’s over the holiday break? Whipping my studio into shape for the new year. It was badly in need of reorganization after the end-of-semester frenzy — and I’m pretty sure mine isn’t the only one!

That, of course begs the question: is your studio ready for 2012?

I started to feel a little overwhelmed as I wrote down all the tasks involved, but actually tackling them one by one was surprisingly enjoyable. The very best and most satisfying part was crossing them off the list, which looked like this:

• Scan printed sheet music
• Enter expenses and file receipts
• Finish thank you notes to students
• Frame and hang student artwork
• Clear out my inbox
• Part with unneeded programs, fliers, etc.
• Find homes for stray items in my storage closet
• Back up my computer on my external hard drive
• Put away Christmas music
• Pack up Christmas decorations
• Reorganize music bookcase
• Put instruments and equipment back in their place

Once all of these items were crossed off the list, I did a deep cleaning (including dusting, windexing, sweeping, and vaccuuming) and then took a long nap!

My studio reopens today after being closed for over a week; the fact that it is organized will make the transition into a new semester easier for both my students and myself. No rifling through stacks of sheet music and unalphabetized file folders or searching for missing books…at least until it’s time for spring cleaning/reorganization.

What’s on YOUR to-do list for project “Studio Readying 2012”?