If you're wasting time during your crafting sessions locating the supplies you need, it's time to get your craft nook in order. By organizing your supplies and tools in a logical order within accessible containers, you'll not only be able to complete craft projects more quickly, but also boost your creativity with all of your materials at hand. Does this Spark an idea?
Sort the Supplies
Remove all of the items from your craft nook and sort them into categories such as often-used tools, gadgets, paper, fabric, patterns, idea books and embellishments. Sift through each group and purge the materials that you know you'll never use because they're outdated, damaged or no longer suit your crafting style. If you're unsure about some items, place them in a container away from your craft space, and get rid of the supplies if you haven't retrieved them in three months.
Develop a Storage System
Determine a system that will allow you to remember what supplies you have, know where they're located and reach them quickly. Devote one section of your craft space to tools, a second spot to base materials such as card stock, fabric or yarn and a third area to embellishments. If you have a wide assortment of embellishments, develop another system to sort those, such as storing them in different containers by color, size or theme. Create a card-stock label for each container so you won't have to dig through several boxes to find the one item you need.
Find Suitable Containers
Choose containers to house your materials to make the most efficient use of space and give you easy access to the tools and accents you use most. Use stackable containers such as plastic shoe boxes and chipboard photo boxes to store the least-used items toward the back or bottom of your craft nook. Use stackable plastic drawer units to save space but still allow you to reach supplies with ease. Keep often-used items including favorite accents, scissors or adhesives in baskets, tilt bins and buckets so you won't have to retrieve and open a container each time you need an item. Situate the tools you use to create nearly every project in an open caddy within arm's reach.
Minimize Clutter
Once you've developed a handy craft supply organization system, stay on top of it by preventing clutter. In addition to returning tools and leftover materials to their proper storage containers immediately instead of letting piles build up around your work table during crafting sessions, ensure you're not stocking your storage space with more items than you can use. Avoid purchasing new embellishments just because they look "cute" or buying new tools just because other crafters rave about them. Only buy items that suit your crafting style, and only bring something new into the space when you use up something old.
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