January is a great time for organizing and cleaning out. As I brush stuff off my desk so I have room to type this blog entry, I think its time to start on the scrapbook hovel…I mean creative joint workspace…and get cleaned up for my upcoming move. As I undertake to clean out my overabundance of crafting supplies, I think I’ll devote some of my blogging to how I organize, and see if any of you have creative ideas, tips or tricks to share. Plus, as I find stuff I no longer want or need, if its in good shape, I’ll put it up here for grabs at no cost. (Unless you want me to ship it…then you’ll have to pay postage!)
So here we go. First things first, it is important to establish what kind of an organizer you are! The most beautiful, organized home in the world is useless if the occupants don’t think the same way the stuff was put away…and it won’t stay organized. Personally, I’ve found my organization style has changed significantly in the past few years. When I first started scrapping, my mode was: Minimization! Everything fit in a plastic sewing tote or two and I liked it that way. Of course, that was the era of decorative-edged scissors and stickers, but hey! When I joined the ranks of Archivers, my new mantra was Portable! Yes…I was a victim of “take the crafting room to the crop” disease, and I organized my supplies based on whether or not I could take them with me. Of course, I also learned about the joys of stamping, die cutting, embossing, and cardcrafting. Now, I have too much stuff to ever make that practical, but I’m also a wiser crafter: I don’t need to take all my stuff because, I don’t use every supply for every project! I’m also lucky enough to have a small but dedicated space to my crafting, which means I can afford to worry less about how to put it all away and more about how to organize around the way I think. So my organizational mantra now is Facilitate Creativity. Here are the things I consider when I organize:
1. Is it beautiful, and does it facilitate my creative flow?
2. Does this make effective use of my space and my budget?
3. Do I have room to grow with this?
4. Does this protect my investment that it stores?
5. Will this keep my materials easily accessible?
I tend to use a lot of bins and boxes made of plastic, especially for things that don’t like water (paper, anyone?) because I have a fire sprinkler in my craft room. My losses, if ever the sprinkler in this building go off, will be heavy, but I can protect some of it. I like things to be uniform, with small elements of beauty to help spur things along. I’m not a digger; I like my supplies to be sorted by theme, color or material. This takes up more space, but it helps me find what I want pretty quickly. I am a sketcher, which means I have a lot of space devoted to reference and inspiration aids. I’m also learning not to be a hoarder, which means I require less space for scraps than in previous organizational efforts. I believe in vertical rather than horizontal storage whenever possible, and I try to keep my “favorites” in easy reach of my fingertips at all times. I try to keep the project confined to the crafting mat and the area immediately surrounding it, and I put tools away as I finish with them.
I’m going to organize one category at a time, so look for posts on Paper, Stamping, Tools, Die-cuts and Embossing, Embellishments, and Projects. I might also do a few subcategories in these sections. I’ll try to post photos of before and after as well! And, of course, some supplies will be up for grabs. Post comments with your ideas, tips and tricks!
