Clean watercolors! (It's the little things)

Like most painters, I have several watercolor sets. Over the years I have found the colors I love most. This little box is my current favorite sketching palette. It's small and portable. Folds up nice and small, perfect for traveling and urban sketching.

But WHAT A MESS it was! I wish I took a before picture. It was gunky and muddy and I could not see most of the colors anymore. But what was REALLY frustrating me was that the colors were in the box willy-nilly, no rhyme or reason. So tonight I took the whole thing apart and did some major housecleaning. I refilled the low ones and scrubbed it all clean. Then I made the little squares on the right to experiment with different color configurations based on how I paint. I basically use a rainbow set up, with a warm and cool for each color. The neutrals are next and then Black, white and grey. In the neutrals there is a shimmer that I like to add sometimes. Then I made the little key on the right to keep with the paints. So when they get gunky and messy again, at least this will help me 'see' the colors. It feel great to be clean and organized. YAY!! Now to get painting...