MarthaT

I went through my scraps several years ago when my hubby built my new sewing cabinets and I was inspired to really get organized. I decided to cut in the standard "pre-cut" sizes since there are so many patterns out there designed for pre-cuts. I decided to stick to 5" squares and 2 1/2" strips. Then I went one step further with the small scraps and cut 2" squares, since I was already collecting squares of that size for a project. Any random pieces left that are bigger than about 1" square go in the crumb quilt basket that I use as leaders and enders when I sew other things.

The space my "pre-cuts" took up in my new cabinets was considerably less than the space all those randoms scraps took up. And they look so nice and neat too! I continue to do this every time I finish a project. If there is about 1/2 yard of fabric or more left, it gets flat folded into my stash area. Any smaller pieces get cut up into my pre-cut sizes. It had really kept down the clutter in my sewing room!

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE having my scraps precut, because now if I get in the mood to sew, I can just grab my precut scraps and start sewing. No plundering through bins of scraps, etc. No spending hours cutting, when I really want to sew.

Added later: I also keep a list of links to patterns I've run across that will work with that size of pre-cut in the box where the pre-cuts are stored. That way I don't even have to search for a special pattern when I need some sewing therapy! :-) Guess you've figured out...when I get the urge to sew, I want to sew! LOL!