Starting at Week 1
 

Okay, I know that I am WAY behind you guys (10 weeks, in fact), but I am inspired. So...I am jumping on the bandwagon! I've taken 34 pictures of my craft space, and posted them to my Gallery. WARNING: It is a terrible, terrible sight to behold!


I am fortunate enough to have an entire basement for my craft room. My husband even painted it �Mellow Moss� for me! However, the more space I have, the more of a mess I make! Although you guys are already on Week 10 of the Challenge, I am jumping on the bandwagon � and starting at Week One!





1. Create an uncluttered �desk� area.

2. Have an uncluttered easy access area for customers to get catalogs and order forms.

3. Make an orderly section for punches and tools.

4. Hang my ink pad racks.

5. Neaten up ribbon holders.

6. Move couch and tv out of room.

7. Get small tv/vcr/dvd and mount on wall

8. Remove boxes and garbage

9. Organize cabinets and closets

10. Create a stamp storage system (retired, hostess, SAB, animals, words, etc.)

11. Create a nice area for refreshments � higher than my dog�s nose.

12. Better cardstock storage

13. Make a �lending library� tracker. Currently I have no idea who has what.

14. Make an �owes me money� tracker � people owe me money and I don�t even know it! Thankfully they always pay me!

15. Shovel through overwhelming stacks of paperwork � weeding as I go!

16. Make a better storage area for stampable items (memo cubes, cups, frames, etc.).

17. Set up a cutting center for my Carl Cutter and Sizzix.

18. Eventually create lap blankets for all of my customers while they stamp in my chilly basement!


-Christine.

Great ideas - you've given me a couple more of my own, though I don't have an area as big as a basement! Thanks!

Slow going
 

I've now thrown out the overflowing trash. Luckily it's all paper garbage - no food!!!

It's going slow - I've had two workshops since Friday and am beat. I've held them upstairs in my kitchen because my craft room is so messy. How bad is that???!!!

Paper Storage Ideas?
 

What is the best way to store all the papers and cardstocks collected over the years? The solution should obviously take up as little space as possible and provide for viewing the paper colors. Oh yeah, a minimal cost investment is also a plus! Thanks in advance for all your ideas and solutions1

C/S storage reply - sorry it is a bit long
 

Many suggestions abound. One is invest in a 2 drawer filing cabinet (that will hold 12X12 paper also), hanging folders and file folders, then sort and separate away! Some use the "milk crate" file boxes and hanging folders, and some lay theirs out flat in various shelving sets, etc.

I've had mine 3 ways, I recently changed again. Here is what I have done with my collection of Stampin' Up! (Since 1/31/05), Creative Memories (since 1998), and countless pieces of 12X12 paper and cardstock bought in various scrapbook stores and online:

My Stampin' Up! c/s is separated by color into labeled file folders then stored upright in those cheap cardboard magazine holders laid on their backs on a bookcase shelf. Each color family has its own holder, plus one for neutrals and one for US White and US Vanilla (I know they have different names now I just can't remember them!). These are on a bookcase that sits at my right hand, and I can easily see the colors. I have removable round colored labels on the ends of the folders - red (I'm out order now) and yellow (getting low), so I can easily tell what I need.

The other card stock and paper is also stored in file folders labeled with the color (reds, blues, greens, etc.) or by what is on the paper (blue prints, specialty/novelty papers, metallic prints, etc.) These are also stored upright but in a "literature box" that I brought home from school. Because I don't use those often the literature box sits on a bookcase shelf above my work table.

I think I am going to like this, but then I am always in search of a better way!!

Thanks for the Tips
 

Dear NavyWifeArmyMom -
Thanks so much for the ideas! I was really void of any place to start and your suggestion with the magazine holders and file folders met all my criteria!! And such a speedy reply!! How did you see my question so fast and reply so quickly! I'm obviously a new member to the website and I could barely find my own question when I logged on the next day!! After I read your message I went online to find cardboard magazine holders and found an interesting craft site with, among other ideas, suggestions on organizing your craft space from paper to stamps and everything inbetween! The site is "Dragonhomes Place for Rubberstamping, Scrapbooking, and Much More". I offer that tidbit in case you are interested in ways to store other things! Thanks again. Here's to a weekend full of organizing!

Bevo - I am a teacher and home for the summer - I am online usually from about 7:30 until DH MAKES me go to bed - usually 11:30-midnight! I am subscribed to this thread, so that is how I saw you and answered so quickly.

I mostly purchased my cardboard (and a few plastic) magazine holders at Walmart. My big "literature" box came from a school supply catalog called, "School Specialty."

That website sounds like a COOL place. I will have to visit there in a bit!

I don't have many things 'cause I started scrapbooking in january.
I don't have a space yet, I use a place in my living room :(. But I like the idea of organization... My goals NOW are (There'll be a lot more soon)


- Need some shelves over my desk

- Need some containers to stamps (that I'm getting used to and loving!)

Until I can't get these I won't put other goals, otherwise I won't have anything but goals... first I want to do these ones.

Thanks for the motivation.

Moving forward...stamp organization
 

Hi All! I am continuing forward in my organizational efforts. It is a slow process, and certainly not an ORGANIZED one!

I've been doing a lot of stamping lately (isn't that what I'm SUPPOSED to be doing?) and get really aggravated with looking to find just the right stamp or a sentiment I knew I saw somewhere.....In another thread there was discussion about organizing your stamps, so that is where I am now.

I've made a pact with myself that everytime I get out a stamp set to use I will:

1. Make sure I've made a paper reference for the bottom of the case with each stamp stamped on the paper and a little tab flipped up at the end so I can read the name of the stamp set.

2. Stamp a sheet of 8 1/2X11 paper (I'm using cheap card stock) with each stamp, printing up a label with the set name, item number, price and number of stamps and putting that label in the top right hand corner.

3. If there is a sentiment stamp in the set I am using, I stamp that on a separate page with a label saying "SENTIMENTS" at the top. Under the stamped sentiment I hand write the name of the set the sentiment came from.

I don't have time to just sit down and do this for all my sets, so I'm not getting this done quickly, but it is getting done.

On that same thread, someone also organized their binder into sections...like all the flower stamps, or Christmas, Thank You, Birthday, etc. Eventually, I'd like to do that, but for now, what I have is a GREAT improvement over nothing!

Anyone have any other ideas for improvement of this system?

just wanted to post so that.....
 

I could remeber this thread and come back to it later I'm not sure how to subscribe to a thread unless you post in it so here it is.

thanks there are some great ideas in here
Leslie

Leslie,

You can just subscribe to the thread on Thread Tools. :)

Ribbon Solution
 

Check out my avitar for a great Ribbon Storage Solution.

I forgot to take a before picture--but oh my goodness it was bad!!! I had at least a 2 feet deep pile on TOP of my tape, and on the FLOOR around my table. Just awful!!! But it's clean now and re-organized and I'd like to keep it that way! My goals:
--to clean and put away supplies at the end of each creating session
--to use up some of my scraps
--to go through and purge my magazine collection
--to use up some of my embellishments and stickers and paper!
--keep up a good creating pace, by using themed folders and project folders

Ann

What a great idea
 

That is amazing. I'm definately doing that. It's pretty easy for me right now since I only have a few stamps. The other day I made a card for my huisband's grandmother and realized I had two Happy Birthday stamps. I must have less than twenty stamps all together and I couldn't believe I didn't know. If I'm that bad now, just wait until I have more.

Late comer
 

I've taken the plunge. I'm very late but it is much needed. My husband is the neat freak of the family and I have absolutely no skills in that department. I've picked up a few things from him after 5 years of marriage but none apply when it comes to the craft area,
I don't have a scanner and our digit camera is missing a chord so there is no pic. My goals are
1) Keep at non-stamping/non-scraping items from the craft space and keep area clean.
2)Train myself to put things away in their place. I'm good at the put away part but papers are usually put in the front pocket of a binder for the sake of urgency.
3) File all of my Scrapping Paper and Cardstock by color catagories and prints.
4) have supplies organized so I knew what I had and within reach. right now I have an old dollar store photo album that I put all my flat metal accessaries in. Next thing is to get the stickers in there too.
5) make an inventory of all stamps.

I don't understand how or why to use the bump feature and I was trying it out. I'll go now ...

I am new to stamping and can relate with all your issues. Good luck. I too would like to be organized and not have to go through everything before I can start to stamp. I am going to Tennessee for the next two months to help my sister-in-law who is going through chemo treatments but when I get back, I will check to see how you have come along and then will try "the cleanup" myself.