Thrifty Thursday--Organizing Your Supplies

Hello All! Today's tips are about how to organize your supplies without breaking the bank. Think outside the box when it comes to organizational tools. For example, one of my favorite storage tools is re-purposed Tupperware. The spice carousel works great for embellishments. I keep my frequently used embellishments in these for easy access; brads, flowers, photo anchors, cutting blade refills, buttons, charms, etc. each have their own compartment. I also use the small "Midgets" for tiny things like specialized brads or buttons by theme. The nice thing for me is that I use more of the Tupperware that I had without having to purchase anything. Lots of people sell Tupperware for very little at garage and yard sales. Generally the smaller containers are what you need, and they are even cheaper.

I also utilize plastic mesh baskets in various sizes to organize different items too. I keep my Stampin Up! ribbons and accessories separated from my other items by utilizing these baskets and they are also very inexpensive. A 3-pack of baskets is less than $1 at many discount chains or dollar stores.

Plastic shoe boxes are also another great organizing tool that are very inexpensive. I keep all my Cuttlebug embossing folders and Sizzix dies in these to keep everything together and organized. I use them to also keep themes of embellishments together; Summer, birthday, Easter, Christmas, etc. can be kept in a shoe box and then when I'm working on that theme, I pull out the appropriate shoe box and have all my embellishments handy. I also keep all the flowers, chipboard shapes, and unopened ribbon spools in separate shoe boxes on the shelves in my closet.

There are cheap ways to organize your scrap paper too. I have mine sorted in three bins made by Iris that are often on sale at Michael's craft stores for less that $5.00 each.

I like them because the have a secure closure, and they stack nicely together with grooved bottoms and raised lids that help stabalize them. The three that I utilize for my scrap paper are used--> one for scraps of cardstock, one for scraps of pattern paper, and one for Stampin Up scraps. I pick up new ones as needed and use these not only for scraps of paper but also completed pages that are either waiting to go in my own personal scrapbooks or are waiting to be sold. I have one bin for "in progress" projects to keep all the pieces together. You'll see these on the closet shelves of the post regarding my new scrapbook room.

Do you have any suggestions to share?