Aren’t we always looking for paper organization ideas?
It seems like I always see “Please share your paper organization ideas” in crafty FaceBook groups. Crafters are unsure how to tame their piles of paper and card stock. When we can’t find our supplies, it’s easy to get frustrated and walk away from our time to be creative! Don’t let this happen to you.
While my craft room seems to always be in a state of reorganization, I am very happy with my paper solution!!
What do I do?
I keep my Stampin’ UP! products organized separately from the paper supplies I accumulated before becoming a demonstrator. This way I am only using SU! products when I teach my classes. I know the materials are current and still available. (I can’t say that for paper pads I bought 10+ years ago.)
Designer Series Paper (DSP)
I use these handy dandy plastic envelopes for my DSP. They expand to hold a couple of packs of paper but are sturdy enough to keep my paper from bowing when stored vertically. It is much easier to flip through the envelopes to see the DSP on hand when it is vertical instead of in a pile. I keep the cardboard insert from the DSP in the envelope, too. It provides extra stability AND has the list of colors that coordinate with the DSP.
Once I open the pack of DSP, it goes into one of these envelopes. As I use the DSP, I put all the small scraps into the envelope, too. You never know what one of the small pieces is just what you need! This method keeps all of the paper in one place! There is no searching a separate scrap box to see if I have just one more little piece of coordinating DSP to complete a project.
The only place I have found these is at Hobby Lobby. They have discontinued their coupon program. HOWEVER, I discovered that these packs are now $4 cheaper than they used to be! (which is a lower price than when I used a coupon)
I keep the current DSP on one shelf and the retired product on a different shelf. Again, this way I am only using current product for classes. But I do use the retired paper for the cards I make and send.
Card Stock
I keep my card stock in file folders. I used to have it all in a big plastic bin on my workspace. It worked but took up too much room. (And got really heavy.) I have a new work space where the bottom drawers on both sides of my table are file drawers. PERFECT!
Each color family has a different color file folder. The colors are then stored alphabetically within color family – with 2 colors per folder. I discovered that putting each color in its own folder took up a lot more room because I was housing twice the folders! This system of 2 per folder has been working great. Since the colors are sorted by family (which coordinate), I often use both colors in the folder for a project anyway.
What about those pesky card stock scraps?
Once a piece of card stock has been cut, the remainder of it goes into a page protector that is also stored in the file folder.
When I am die cutting or punching out shapes, I always look in the page protector to see if I already have a piece of card stock that is just the right size. This process saves paper AND I find that I use more of each sheet!
I hope these paper organization ideas were helpful.
Of course, there are many excellent ways to store your paper supplies. But it can be tough to figure out what works best for you. I hope these tips help you come up with a paper organization solution that works for you!
HAPPY CRAFTING!!!
i love the dsp organization idea! I think i am going to give that a try.
I have my 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock in page protectors and then in a notebook. each notebook holds the different groups i.e., subtles, brights, in colors, etc. I have accumulated quite a few notebooks! (i use 3 inch ring binders) Each notebook can get a bit heavy, but its working for now. A new pkg of cardstock just fits in a page protector. You would need to have the page protectors that hold multiple pages in one. Staples has these.
Thanks for sharing Elisa!