Organizing Craft Supplies

by Kora
(Edmonton, Alberta, Canada)

My bedroom has been pared down, but the biggest obstacle to making it a livable hideaway is my craft supplies.

I even pared down my crafting supplies, getting rid of scrapbooking supplies, rubber stamps, 2/3 of my beads, as I don't have the same time to work on that as I used to. However, I still knit and crochet and cross stitch, and have a large amount of time and money invested in my supplies, especially yarn. I have absolutely NO room for a craft room, no empty storage cupboards, no room anywhere that I can think of. So it all stays piled up in my room, in blue bins that are overflowing.

Can you help me come up with any solutions to create a space for my supplies where they can be neatly organized for use and still not invade my living space?

I recently bought more kitchen cotton, even though I know I have tons, just because having to dig my way through the bins was going to be so time consuming and such a mess that it just didn't seem worth it.

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Organizing Craft Supplies

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Jul 15, 2008
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Organizing Craft Supplies NEW
by: Tracy

Kora, you have asked a great question and I am sure that your dilemma is shared by many other crafters.

You have definitely started out right by purging your craft supplies and getting down to only what you actually use. Especially since you have such a shortage of storage space, this was the best thing you could have done.

From what you are saying, it sounds to me like you are trying to turn your bedroom into a clean, decluttered and organized haven. In order to accomplish that goal you have to get those craft supplies out of your bedroom.

Think about where you like to sit when you are working on your craft. Do you curl up on the sofa? If so, you should store your craft supplies in or very near the living room. Keeping your supplies close to where you use them will make it easier for you to get them out when you want to work and put them away when you are done.

Think outside the box a little when it comes to finding a place to store them. Look inside closets. Are you using the space you have available wisely? Could you add more shelves to take advantage of vertical space?

Look at your furniture. Is there a way that you could store things under or behind it?

One clever trick that I love is to create an end table by placing a round piece of glass (the kind that you usually find on those flimsy three-legged round tables) on top of a two-drawer file cabinet and then covering the whole thing with a beautiful tablecloth.

Nobody will ever know there is a file cabinet under there! When you want to get at the cabinet, simply lift up the tablecloth and open the drawers.

Being a crafter, you are obviously a creative person. You just have to get your creative juices flowing when it comes to thinking about storing your supplies.

Another storage tip that will help you find what you need faster and easier is to break your supplies down into smaller categories.

Instead of storing everything in one large tote, store your supplies in several small totes. For instance, you could fill one tote with needles, one tote with cotton, one tote with notions, etc.

Label each tote so that you can find it easily. The next time you want to know how much kitchen cotton you have, simply pull out your cotton tote and check, instead of having to dig through one great big tote containing everything you own.

I hope these suggestions set you off on the right foot to find a solution to your challenge of organizing craft supplies.

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