Let's get organized!

If you've been following my blog for a while, then you know that I love everything about organization. From organzing my stamps to color-coding my wardrobe (makes it easier to find that pink shirt), I try to find easy solutions to make my life run smoother. Up until a few weeks ago, I had most everything under control, except for one small little thing...my ribbon. It was all over the place! I had spools here and spools there. I just threw them in a couple of drawers and called it good. Only thing was, that method of out-of-sight-out-of-mind didn't quite work for me since I am always reaching for my ribbon. I finally decided on an organizational method that would work for me - clothes pins. This method is a popular one among scrappers and card makers. I got the clothes pins at The Dollar Tree and I spent three days wrapping ribbon. Even Travis helped me for a few hours! We ended up using 310 wooden clothes pins! I *might* have a lot of ribbon :) Here's the end result:

I divided my ribbon by color, and I have them in baskets for the time being. I really want to get some clear jars for them, but I haven't found the right ones. Not even The Container Store had what I was looking for. At least they're all organized and easily accessible. I should have taken a before picture...yikes!

As for my fibers, I'm going to leave them on the packaging that they came with. They're already so nice and neat. Why mess that up?

Besides organizing my ribbon, I set out to conquer a few stray stamp sets I had laying around. My dear friend, Leea, sent me some 12x12 Inque Boutique Stamp Keepers. These clam-shell holders rock! I already have a number of them in the 8.5x11 size, but when Leea offered to send these to me, I took her up on it. I knew they'd be perfect for storing my season stamps. I spent one evening (about 3 hours) putting my clear stamps inside the IB Keepers, and then I ordered a 12x12 D-ring binder from Two Peas in a Bucket. It was only $16 and qualified for free shipping! I couldn't pass that up. I have yet to decorate the outside, but here's what it looks like:

The binder came with ten 12x12 page protectors, perfect for sliding in my stamp index sheets.

Here's the IB Keeper with my stamps inside. I use both sides of the keeper and put a 12x12 piece of cardstock in the middle so that the stamps do not stick to each other. This way, I optimize space.

Since we're on a roll, how about a quick peek at my craft room? Travis installed these shelves for me a few months ago. They hold everything from my SU stamps to my inks to my stamping accessories.

To the left of the shelving unit, I hung up three 12x12 frames so that I could display some of my layouts. Below them is a wire that holds my cards.

On the other wall, I have yet another wire that holds my current cards. Right below that, I hung up the present that my wonderful friend, Q, made for me when she came out to visit. Awesome, don't you think?

I have two doors that open up into this space, so I used one door to hang up a shoe rack that holds my punches, and the other door houses my inspiration board. I put all my new stuff up here.

Lastly, here's the space where I work. I do everything here from scrap to card making to jewelry making. The green baskets hold all of my most frequently used items. My pink and brown AMM Tote has all of my tools. It sits on a lazy Susan so that I can spin it around and easily get what I need. I have four inspiration boards that I picked up on clearance at JoAnns a few years ago. Together, they cost me less than $5! Of course, I have my 12x12 paper storage next to the table, but believe it or not, that's not even half of my collection! Okay, so I have a ribbon AND paper problem.

There you have it! I hope you enjoyed my organizational tips and the tour of my happy room. Have a great day, and I'll see you all soon :)