There are many things you probably have around the house that you would not think of using to get your scrapbook supplies organized. Instead you go out and spend a lot of money on unnecessary items to get organized. I am going to tell you some of my secrets that save me some money.
First of all, you need some space. Clear off a table or desk to do your scrapbooking on. If you don't have one, put a large piece of wood or something sturdy on top of filing cabinets or storage containers.
Do not throw away the wooden stirrer the stores give you to stir paint. Instead, wrap your ribbons around it. I tape one end to the wooden stick, wrap the rest around, and let the end hang loose. You could secure the other end with a drop of glue or more tape if you want. Or you can use a paper towel holder.
Tackle boxes are not just for fishing anymore! You can put a lot of supplies such as pencils, markers, embellishments, brads, glue sticks, lettering, stamps, paints, etc inside. There are usually different compartments to keep your items separated. They come with a handle so they are easy to carry.
Blank cds and dvds come in a large round base with a clear cover. Take the cover off, turn it upside down, and you can store your small alphabet stamps, pens, markers, scissors, etc. Or you can use a Kleenex box.
Organize paper in plastic trays or magazine holders. You can sort them by color, size, print, or design. Any way you want to do it, it is going to be cheap! You can also use a dish drainer to store and separate paper.
Put your rubber stamps, inks, glue, ribbons, embellishments, etc in clear plastic boxes. Not only are they cheap, but you will be able to see inside so that you can find what you are looking for more easily. To make it even easier, label the boxes. If you go to the jewelry making or beading section of a craft store, the plastic boxes there have the really small sections that are perfect for your beads, eyelets, brads, and all of the smaller things that you would want to keep separated.
Use a spice rack for holding your eyelets, brads, etc. Keep them separated by putting them in separate spice jars, and then place them in the rack. Empty egg cartons also work.
Also at the cooking section of the store are the organizers to put cooking utensils in. These work great for pens, markers, scissors, etc.
Empty shoe boxes are great for storing pictures, glues, pens, or what-ever. They could even be decorated so that they don't look so tacky.
Stickers, die cuts, boarders, frames, etc. can be organized in a number of ways. Put them in a photo album. It is easy to put them in and take them out, easy to see, easy to organize, and they will stay protected and neat. You can label the different sections to make it even easier to find what you are looking for. You can put them into a filing cabinet, keeping each occasion separated by the hanging files. You could put those same hanging files into a large plastic tote or box. Page protectors are also an easy way to organize these items. Place the page protectors in three ring binders. There are plastic page protectors for baseball and basketball cards. These could also be used for stickers or die cuts. The index file boxes also work great!
If you have the paper, pictures, stickers, and embellishments together for a layout, they can be stored in the brown office envelopes. You can write the occasion or date on the outside, and it can be reused over and over.
Getting organized does not have to be expensive. You may already have a lot of the items you need laying around the house! Look around and keep an open mind. There is no telling what you can come up with!
