Getting Organized! Har Har Har

This is kinda long ... but misery loves company and I'm in the throws of getting my craft materials in order.

I've received confirmation of my applications to 3 craft fairs this fall. So out come the craft tubs / bins / boxes, wanting to get a head start. But what have I got and better yet, where are they??

I don’t necessarily sort by season. I prefer to sort by colors and also by material category (yarns, fabrics, florals, ribbons, lace, wood, plaster, felt, styrofoam, etc.). Whatever your preference, start making piles of your various crafting materials. Once you know the sizes of these categories, it’s much easier to gauge exactly which container will better suit that amount.

Being an avid crafter who displays at craft fairs, future inventory is also in the forefront of my mind as I do my purchasing and my organizing. Many times I will sort out ‘sets’ of crafting materials that become kits in a way, for next year’s stock. These will probably go into a tub all their own, rather than be mixed in with other supplies.

I'm also an inveterate list maker, I also keep a master list going of all my crafting supplies. Not necessarily counted down to the last safety pin, but a good, over-all idea of what is available to me when the crafting bug bites. My receipts from the various craft stores help me make my lists out. Speaking of pins, my very favorite container for all those itsy-bitsy items is found in the sporting goods section. Fishing tackle boxes! Especially the double-sided ones that have clear amber-colored plastic sides and a handy carrying handle. Don’t overlook the automotive section when hunting up containers too!

If the tubs / bins / boxes you are using are not see-through, for heavens sake, mark the outside of them with a few keywords that will tell you what is where. If you take on a new method of sorting, ( for instance if you used to do it by season and now you’re doing color), it might be wise to make a note of that somewhere visible on your containers. Until I settled on my own preference of color/material sorting, I was continually pawing through tubs and boxes, only to find the item I needed at the bottom of the very last one. Naturally.

Remember to set aside plenty of time when you begin organizing your craft materials. When you search the net for ideas, here are some cool sites to get you going …

Get Organized Now! Woo Hoo!! A site totally dedicated to getting organized! And she covers so many subjects, such as home, office, school … your life! Nice pages, easy to navigate, lots of great ideas.

Lowes Perfect place to start in your quest for getting yourself organized. We live only a few blocks from a Lowes (which can be hazardous to one’s budget) and they have a wonderful staff who have never failed to give us good advice.

Home & Garden This is one of my very favorite sites on the web. Oodles of information here, much of it dealing with organizing our lives. Check out the various crafting sections!

Organized Home’s Site Cute. Thoroughly enjoyed wandering about their site. There are lots of good ideas on these pages. Navigation is quite good. Take the time when at this site to thoroughly explore all they have to offer.

Organize-Tips.com Lovely site full of information for just about anything you’d need to organize! And a few I hadn’t realized needed organizing! Very pleasant looking site, easy on the eyes, which is nice after looking at dozens of rather garish sites lately. The multiple pop-up screens are a tad on the annoying side, but the information at this site can make that worth your while.

I'd love to hear your comments on how YOU organize your crafting life.

~ Marge ~