I really really wish I had a better storage system for all my fabric. I have 4 huge tubs of fabric and the fabric is not in any particular arrangement...so when I go looking for something somewhat specific, I can't find it unless I empty all the bins :(

I really suck at keeping the fabric in any time of organized fashion. I have no many large/small/medium sized scraps and only about a quarter of what I have total is yardage. I really do envy any of you that have shelf space dedicated to fabric, or any type of organized way of doing things....

Chaos is the only way to describe my stash. Story of my life.

i would get the boards that you can wrap the fabric around and store it in end or on the side . like filing in your tubs i used poster board for some of my smaller pieces cut the board to a 4 x 5 or 5 x 7 or so depending on how big the piece of fabric. and it help a lot I can see what I have now.

Sounds just like me. I've got a small mobile home w/3 adults and no storage. I can barely find room to sew, and the totes fill my side of the closet. I go thru the same as you to pick thru my stuff.

I have a bin with scraps (pieces so little or random that they can be used in a pinch but not necessarily for any kind of project). Then I have bags (the kind you get comforters in, that zip and are clear plastic) with all my bigger scraps by color. I have bags for blue, purple, red, and green. These pieces are from a fat quarter to less than a yard.

Then I have a drawer for fat quarters that's kind of random, and my yardage is all folded to the same size and filed in other drawers.

And then everything else is piled in another drawer or two...and some stuff is in boxes under the bed :oops:

Laurie

I fold mine around a 6" X 24" ruler so they are all the same widths....here's my pic I've shown probably a million times & I apoligize but I'm proud of my accomplishment on getting mine organized!

it can make it difficult and stressful to find the right fabric for the next project, i know. it is soooo worth it to take the time to organize it. i started by piling the fabric by color on the floor. then i folded it around my 6x24 ruler. then i put the fabrics by color into the plastic tubs. like you, i didn't like to dig through that. so, after i moved to a new home, i put plastic utility shelving in the closet. if you have room for the tubs in a closet, you have room for the shelves. my life is so much better for doing this.

Instead of piling your fabrics on top of each other, try some flatter bins, and then set your fabrics in on their sides.

I have large plastic bins about 8" deep, and fold the fabric to fit. When I open the bin, I can see the panorama of colours as a quick view. My stash has grown now, so that my soon-to-be next step is to sort by colours with a separate sections/bins for florals, Christmas & seasnals, novelty prints etc.

I have now started to leave the measurements with any pieces that are a metre or larger in size.

can you at least sort them by color in the tubs.

red, blue, yellow, neutral for example

Here is my chaotic stash

http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-43871-1.htm

May be after folding the fabric on the bords you could stash them in the bin. At least they would be upright and you see what you got.

Just a thought, I need to try this for myself.