Organizing Your Stash...Day 3

It's the last day of Spring Break for the girls. We've had sunshine on just the last 2 days so we really made good use of our time outdoors this weekend. After cleaning out the flower beds and trimming all the old grasses and bushes my arms feel like wet noodles. I'm kinda glad to be back inside and plan on spending my day organizing my craft room some more.

Here's the last of my tips for organizing those smaller items in your craft stash. First up is this package of fabric strips that came in a Studio Calico kit. I hadn't broken into it yet so I knew that I needed to make it easier to reach for. I reached for my old stand by for organizing ribbons and such....clothespins.
I simply wrap the ribbon/fabric, etc around the clothespin and secure with a pin.
I also did this with a piece of glitter ribbon that came in a Studio Calico kit. I nestled them all into an vintage tin cup. You could use muffin tins, old glasses, planters, jars...anything that you like. I've reached for those fabric strips several times since I got them on the clothespins.
Now, moving on to the little paper pieces like tags, journaling cards, paper accents, etc. Since starting Project Life there has been a lot of designers creating printable tags and journaling cards. I love to have them on hand when I start a new Project Life layout but I didn't have a central storage place for them all. I gathered up them up along with some tags I made to have on hand.
I recently purchased a cute bundle from Banana Fish Studio also. The packaging is so adorable I didn't want to tear into it. But I did.
All my bigger pieces went into this vintage planter that I purchased recently. Smaller items in the front, larger items in the back. So easy to thumb through. I just bring the unit over to my work table when I want to look through the items.
A few of the smaller pieces and tags went in the second little Hob Nail dish that was a recent vintage find. I tend to put the more recent, newer items out where I can clearly see them. We always want to use our newest finds first, right?
Here's a photo of all the packaging that stacked up. I really love to see everything out in the open.
Like this. I think it's much prettier, visible and more likely to be used. It makes me feel like I'm shopping my own stash when I have it displayed like this. And that is a good thing! You may feel like saving or hoarding an item but why do we do that? Don't we purchase items to actually use up? My motto is this: There will always be something newer coming out soon. Use up what we have so that we can justify those new purchases. It's really a waste to purchase something, never use it and then give it away for free or half price at a garage sale.
Now. This is just one tiny part of my craft room that is organized. The rest of the room is quite messy. I'll be happy to show you more photos of my room......but only when it gets cleaned up. I have to work in little sections. Then purge some more. Than organize some more. Plus I have a mish mash of storage items that are new, old, quirky....so I'm always challenged to find new ways to store my goodies. I'm just thankful that I have an entire room to myself and that I can shut the door when it gets messy. Oh wait, I don't have a door yet. Never mind.

Okay on to some questions that were left in the comments section from previous posts:

Where do you get your lovely washi tape-do you get it from several different places? Yes, I get my Washi tape from lots of places. Lately I've found a great selection from 2 Peas. Otherwise I just do a search through Etsy and order from shops where I find something new and fun. You might check In The Clear, Pretty Tape, Happy Tape and Cute Tape for starters.

Let me ask you this, once you have said items in said dish, where do you put it? Is it right on your main desk? This is what I'm struggling with. I love having my items right out on my desk where I can see them, but at the same time, I want my desk to be clutter free. Is this possible??? :) I try to keep my work tables free of product, except for my paper trimmer, my 3 tiered Pottery Barn unit and a small basket of frequently used tools. This way I can put my entire Project Life album on my table when I'm working on it....or I can have a lot of free space for card making, gift packaging, etc. You can see from the photo above that I sit my storage out on little shelving units, shelves, etc.

Hey, how about some advice on how to purge? I need to purge some things. What do you do with it? This is tricky for me. Some items I can finally look at and say "you need to go". Then there are those other items that I want to hold on to. I paid good money for them, I love them and even though I don't use them I still want to have them and look at them from time to time. I'm a collector by nature. My mother was a huge garage sale goer in her day and I learned to snatch up those good deals. But unfortunately I often end up with more than I need. I'm really trying to get in the mind set that I don't need it all. What's that saying, "Keep only the things you love". I try to think about that when I'm trying to purge. Also, when I see areas in my house that are organized I tend to want to hang out there. Getting rid of the physical clutter also frees the mind. I really need to practice what I preach here cuz it ain't so pretty around here sometimes.

Okay, guys. I've pep talked myself into purging and cleaning more so I better do it while I'm in the mood. Good luck with your organizing! Stay tuned as I have one more little tidbit for you: giving your chipboard a makeover. I know you have lots of little pieces of it. Let's use it up!