 |
| Anastasia's semi-organized craft closet |
Did you make a New Year’s
resolution to organize your craft supplies? Today national bestselling and
award-winning author Joanna Campbell Slan has some tips to help you fulfill
that resolution. Joanna recently released
Handmade, Holiday, Homicide—Book #10 in the mystery series featuring ace scrapbooker Kiki Lowenstein.
She also writes the Cara Mia Delgatto Mystery Series, featuring characters who
recycle, upcycle, and repurpose items to turn trash into treasure. Learn more
about Joanna and her books at her website.
Organizing Your Stash
“If you can’t find it, you
might as well not own it,” says Kiki Lowenstein, the fictional protagonist of
my Kiki Lowenstein Mystery Series.
She’s right. As a crafter, I have tons and tons of supplies. When I
lived in a big house, they were well-organized. However, since then I’ve downsized
several times—and keeping stuff organized is a challenge. It is so irritating
to search high and low for that perfect craft product that I know I have…somewhere.
But it’s even worse when I buy craft supplies only to discover I’ve duplicated
my stash!
Combing the Internet, I’ve come up with these great organizing tips. There’s
nothing new here, but they are all ideas I tend to overlook when I’m in a
hurry. I plan to use these in the order I’ve listed them, and I’d love to hear from
you! What are you doing that works and what doesn’t?
Start by Seeing What You Have
Drag everything out. Choose a
day when you won’t have distractions or interruptions. Spread things out, so
you can really see what you’ve got.
Dump the packaging. Packaging
is designed to protect the product and to take up a lot of room on a shelf.
You’ll save valuable space by getting rid of all that excess. Plus, you’ll
discover whether those ink pads are dry, the glue container is empty, and so
on. (Tip: I wind ribbons around flat
pieces of cardstock. Saves tons of space because they can be stacked on their
side in a plastic file container!)
Sort by type of object. For
example, put all the papers in one place, tools in another. Make the categories
as broad as you can initially.
Toss the trash. Let’s
face it, most of us crafters can turn straw into gold, but along the way we
accumulate … well … garbage. Stuff that’s ruined and can’t be saved. Send it to
the recycling or trash bin.
Give away duplicates. You
really don’t need SIX pairs of scissors, do you? (I thought not.)
Set aside what you don’t want,
don’t need, and realistically won’t use. Be ruthless! Corral all this
stuff in a box that you can carry so it’s easy to donate to your locate schools
or community center. (Tip: Why not organize a swap with other crafters?)
Store with an Eye to Functionality
Buy a labeler if you don’t own one. It’s the
BEST investment you can make! I like the Dymo LetraTag series.
Measure twice. Too often we run out and buy containers, only to
discover they won’t fit, won’t stack, and won’t hold what we need to store.
Instead, take careful measurements, both of your space and your items.
Buy containers that match, in
multiples. If you store things in matching containers, they’ll always
look neat. (Tips: Square containers
are more useful than round, as are containers with straight sides versus sides
that curve under. Try stacking your new containers. Also, try prying off the
lids. If they come off too easily or not easily enough, re-think them.)
Sort and label. Do the
labels right away! It will save time in the long run. Label the front and the top of each container.
Group like items, separating small
from large. I keep all my small bits of paper in plastic storage bags
by color. When I need a small piece, that’s where I go first, rather than
cutting into a big piece of paper. I also keep all my pieces of wood in one big
plastic bin. Inside that bin, I use plastic baggies to keep the small pieces
together.
Store according to use. If you
rarely use something, don’t give it prime real estate. Pack it away in your
garage or up in the attic.
Create a site map. Make a
list of where you’ve tucked items that you use infrequently. List also those
items that are grouped with other supplies. For example, you might want to put
your chalks in with your colored pencils, but two labels would be confusing. So
list your chalks on the site map.
Sure, it takes time to organize your crafts. But that time will pay you
dividends by saving you time, money, and frustration!
Handmade, Holiday,
Homicide,
a Kiki Lowenstein Scrap-N-Craft Mystery
Super-crafter Kiki Lowenstein is cramming as much into the
ho-ho-holiday season as she can. But Kiki’s ambitious plans come to a crashing
halt when her student, Eudora Field, drops dead at the start of one of Kiki’s
community center classes. An overeager security guard is convinced that Eudora
didn’t make her transition without help. Now it’s up to Kiki to determine who
was nice, and who was very, very naughty, indeed.
