We are at the beginning of the year and you are probably done with shows for a few weeks. This is a good time to take stock of your crafting supplies and get things organized. There are a lot of factors involved in how to best store and organize your crafts. You will find great storage options at your local craft store and ideas on how to use them on Pinterest.
Here are some stylish cube options I found at Michaels:
Five Drawers: Michaels 5 Drawer Letterpress Cube By Ashland
Mobile Storage:Michaels Mobile Craft Storage Center By Ashland
Storage Tower: Michaels Mobile Storage Tower By Ashland
Organizer Cube: Michaels Organizer Cube 3 Drawer By Ashland
Open Cube: Michaels Open Cube Organizer By Ashland
Since the type of storage you need depends on your craft, here are the top three things you should consider for your storage options:
What type of crafting do you do?
The types of crafts and the items needed to make your craft can vary greatly. The items you need to store will depend on your craft too. Your items may be big or small and your storage will need to reflect that. You will also want to consider how often you use each item.
Since I primarily crochet and knit, I tend to use bins as storage for my yarn. I like this type. I also have specialized cases to hold my assorted hooks and needles (well most of them at least).
How much excess stock/supplies do you have?
I try to keep my supplies down to a minimum but sometimes you just can’t turn down a great sale of something you use all of the time. I tend to collect lots of yarn. Whenever I find yarn available in a thrift store or garage sale, I scoop it up. I can always use any assorted color or texture in my Pet Mats. The downside to this is the need for more storage for all of this yarn.
The other thing I seem to have a lot of is the material I use for scrubbies. It is best to purchase this when you can get it 50% off and purchase as much as you can. I have been known to buy this in 15-20 yard lengths or sometimes by the bolt. Because of this, I have an area in my storage to keep this all rolled onto fabric bolts just like in the store. I find this is the best way to keep it neat and organized. It is also easy to know what colors you have available. The fabric store always has empty bolts available and generally don’t mind if I roll it onto one while they measure.
If you want to make your own scrubbies, click here for my scrubbie pattern.
How much storage room do you have?
This is a big consideration for most people. Who wouldn’t love to have a dedicated craft room with shelving and other storage dedicated to your crafting needs? Sometimes your living conditions only allow for a small area. If this is what you have to work with, you need to be creative with storage and make the best of what you have.
My supplies live in their totes and boxes in a small area of my basement. I’m thinking of adding some shelving this year in order to keep things organized a bit better.
Get started now . . .
Now is the time to take inventory of what you have and think about what you really need for your craft. Taking the time to inventory and sort will enable you to make a list of items you really need to stock up on so that you can watch for sales. Organizing your supplies will make it easy to grab what you need quickly.