Organizing Tools of the Trade – My favourite things for Organizing

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Organizing Tools of the Trade

Tools of the Trade in Organizing

Getting organize can always be challenging but if you have the right organizing tools, you will find that it makes life a whole lot easier.  You have to commit to the project and then get it done! When you decide that you want to tackle your scrapbook/craft/work space. You need to make a commitment to the project.  Once you’ve done that, you need to stay focus and turn off your cell phone, get off-line and ignore the hubby and kids.  Focus on the task at hand and start to get organized.

  1. Set a date in your calendar to start your re-organization.  Book it like it is a business appointment and keep it. Stay focused.
  2. Use a timer to set limits on how long you are going to work on each area/section. Don’t idle in one area.  Reminiscing will not help you get the job done.
  3. Clear a space where you can lay out all your supplies so you can go through them. Make sure it is out of the room.
  4. Sort all your supplies with liked items
    • paper with paper
    • ribbons with ribbons
    • scissors with scissors
  5. Use see-through containers so that you know what is inside without having to open a box.  Uniformity is the friend of an organizer so keeping containers uniform.  Having containers of varying sizes makes it hard to stack them together.
  6. Label all your containers so you can also READ what is inside.  This will speed up your search process when you are looking for something.Brothers_PTouch_labelmaker from StaplesSo now that you have started to sort items.  You need to develop a few distinct piles that will help you dispose of items:
  1. Keep
  2. Donate (charities, women’s shelters, Guides, Children’s centers, women’s prisons – someone on the chat suggested that…it never occurred to me.)
  3. Swap (at cropfests or at friendly crop night)
  4. Trash

Have some large LABELED bins OUTSIDE your work area so that you can place any items that no longer need to be in your space.  Use Keep, Donate, Swap & Trash labels.
BE RUTHLESS people.  I know how much you can accumulate when you scrapbook or craft.
Here are a few of my favourite things that you can find at most crafting stores:

 Recollections Embellishment Center & Desktop Carousel, large

Here are two items I really like Recollections Embellishment Centre and Carousel:  a shelving unit that keeps ribbons and embellishments close at hand.  I think many of us need multiples of these but they are using VERTICAL SPACE so that is a good thing.  The second item you see is the caddy that spins around and holds your most used items right at hand.  Professional organizers talk about prime real estate  all that time.  What that means is that you keep what is most use at arms length so you don’t have to walk around to look for something.

 Recollections Modular Storage, large

Use Recollections modular systems that can be adapted to your particular needs.  This one can be configured in different ways and can help you store items so that you don’t have to have visual clutter on top of everything else!
Triple Large Kit R - Maple, White or Walnut
This is for the die hard scrapbooker but I am so glad that you can actually get something for a devoted fan!  Here is the link for you to order this item for a steal at $499…yikes… I let you decide.
12x12 Dividers
Other favourites are these 12×12 paper holders from Cropper Hopper.  I love that you have tabs within the ‘magazine’ holder and then you can sort by colour, pattern, theme… what ever makes sense to YOU!
The benefit of these is that you can pull just what you need and not have to drag a whole box of paper over to your desk.  It is just what you need right now.

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Using larger 12×12 containers helps you organize all project items together.  So if you are working on one particular album or theme, you can place the photos, stickers, embellishments, paper, memorabilia together into one container so that you can tackle it later.  Without having to track all the pieces down.
I also found this at the Clip It Up website after reading it in a blog post and I thought it was genius:
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This is the desktop model but you can also have a full standing floor model…how cool is that?
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I like that this:

  • contains the items in one location
  • can be categorized by colour, fabric, stickers, samples
  • can spin around for easy access
  • looks pretty cool

I hope this post has helped you get motivated to get organized.  If you need any help, I provide a VIRTUAL ORGANIZING service.  The only thing I have left to say is:
what are you waiting for_ Margarita Ibbott_ profile pic

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Margarita Ibbott is a travel and lifestyle blogger. She blogs about travel in Canada, the United States and Europe giving practical advice through restaurant, hotel and attraction reviews. She writes for DownshiftingPRO.com and other online media outlets.

2 thoughts on “Organizing Tools of the Trade – My favourite things for Organizing”

  1. It’s hard for me to imagine anyone having that much scrapbooking supplies on hand, but if they do, they would definitely need these tools to keep it all organized! Thanks for the peek into a world I know little about.

  2. I love all of these systems to organize crafty stuff. They are so fabulous! Especially the paper spinning thing. Love it and I bow to your excellent organizational skills.

    Paula

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