Tips on Organization

I mentioned in the last newsletter that I was interested in your organization tips. I mentioned how well the Clip-it-Up worked for decluttering my scrap space, and I wanted to know what worked for you. Here are a few tips from our customers:

You can use the Cricut to cut out letters to put on the tabs for the Clip it Up. The Making Memories spinning carousel is great for markers, glue, scissors etc. I have storage bins for my papers and have arranged them according to theme. Also the Art Bin plastic containers are a way to store your scraps, arrange according to color or theme. Buy more than one and have extra plastic dividers to divide the sections. - Alicia F.

I love the Crop in Style storage cubes! The file cube holds completed layouts that have not yet made their way into albums. The drawers are labeled with their contents: loose stamps, paper trimmers, etc. Large tools, such as a heat gun, have their own drawer. I keep pictures and certificates for specific events in paper holders for each of my four children until I can scrap them. That way, the pictures don't get separated from the memorabilia, and then everything becomes a bottomless pit. The large cubes hold fabric and yarn for sewing projects, and I keep my writing utensils in cups on top of the units. I also have a pegboard, which I painted to match my decor, and it holds jars of loose items and spools. My embellishment containers and stamp kits are in a Crop in Style cube which has shelves in it. I keep my patterned paper and cardstock in paper holders in a large bookcase, organized by color. - Mary B.

Large metal rings work well for organizing your packaged embellishments. You can hook them all on rings, grouped by brand or theme, to keep them together. I then keep the rings in baskets in my craft space. - Sue S.

Here's an addition: The bottom line for me is filing everything by topic, just like Chris's store. This system has worked beautifully for me for years. I used to use the old Cropper Hopper Sticker envelopes, which worked great, but then I ended up with too much stash. Now I use these cool, large, sturdy bags with real zippers. The bags are quite big and have a good 2 inch section above the zipper at the top that is colored. I keep Anna's stuff in the green bags, and Jack's stuff in the orange bags (their favorite colors). All other categories like birthday, Halloween, Fall, Thanksgiving, Easter/Spring, Pool/Summer, etc. are in the yellow bags. So essentially I have a whole bunch of "kits" in my cropping cart and I have a green, orange, and yellow section. I go to that section, grab the bag I want by vendor (like Zach's Life) or theme (like girly flowers) and crop away. All my "kits" are in my cart and remain there always; I always crop right out of my cart. When I purchase new items, I try to faithfully file them away in the bags. For other non descript items that are not boyish or girlish, that could go with anything, I do have a ribbon box, a misc. embellishments box, and tote bags that hold all my scrap pads of 12x12 paper that are not theme related. Organization is everything. Filing by topic for me helps me to get what I want, crop, and move on without finding some great embellishment after the fact that I could have used! Also, having your stuff filed by topic allows you to lug less stuff to crops. If you are working on Oct to Dec photos, you bring the Halloween, Fall, and Xmas bags and leave summer, spring, Easter, Valentines day behind. I now have so many bags that I have two carts filled and I bring my Anna/Jack bags to all crops and just bring whatever "other" bags I need leaving one cart at home! - Renee B.

These are some great ideas! What do you think? Vote for your favorite idea by posting a comment, and I'll give the on with the most comments a prize. Happy organizing!