scraps, scraps, scraps...
 

How big of a "scrap" do you keep?
How do you store them (by color, in baggies)?
What do you do with them (crazy quilts)?
What do you do with the waste that's too small to keep?
(I heard someone say they put it in the back yard for the birds to make nests? really?)

Right now I have a really large basket of scraps and I'm wondering if I keep pieces that are too small an if I should start organizing them by color, etc...

1. 2 inches in one dimension is my size cut-off
2, sort by color in gallon ziplocks. All my ziplocks must fit in one bin -- if they don't fit, the use it or lose it rule applies.
3. I make all kinds of scrappy projects, from full sized quilts to pin cushions, pillows, wallhangings, sachets,
4. too small to keep goes in trash or recycling. Our area now has a separate fiber recycling category where you can put any textiles, clothing, pillows, etc.

Scraps are wonderful, but only if you do use them. Otherwise it becomes hoarding of trash.

I keep all scraps. Stringy pieces get put out for the birds in case they can use them for their nests. I've never seen a nest with my strings but the strings do disappear.

Sometimes the girl scouts have a paper making project and I let them use the scraps to pick out what they hope to end up with in their paper.

I don't sort by color and it goes into ziplocks ultimately but I have a round oatmeal box that I drop things into as I am cutting and quilting. Light weight and can be squeezed into small spaces easily.

I like RST's idea of only one bin full of scraps before it is time to get rid of them. I'll donate the bigger scraps to Goodwill or Salvation Army if my newly designated bin gets too full....

I throw the shreds away, but I can use pieces that are 1" wide. Before I moved, I gave the shreds to my guild for what they called "bale". I'm not sure how it was used, but at least it didn't go in a land fill. I keep my scraps (meaning anything smaller than a FQ) sorted by color and/or type of design (batik, children's, etc.) in clear plastic shoe boxes. I have mostly made log cabin quilts with them. I value them as much as my yardage, and I do use them.

You should visit Bonnie Hunter's Quiltville site. She has a Scrap Users system and dozens of free scrap quilt patterns.
http://quiltville.com/scrapusersystem.shtml

I throw my scraps in a tote bag and a plastic bin. My quilting friends and I make crumb quilts t be donated. The too small scraps and shredded pieces go to one of the friends who makes dog beds and uses these scraps to stuff them. Nothing goes to waste!!

First you should decide what is the smallest size you are willing to work with. For me I don't keep scraps smaller than 1 1/2 inches, since I do like making mini quilts. Any scraps that are odd shapes and are 3" or bigger go into my applique scrap basket and they are sorted by color. Since most of my scrappy quilts are made from squares and rectangles I will cut my left over fabric into the sizes I use most frequently. These shapes are put into baskets and sorted by color. I do not make crumb quilts so and pieces of fabric that small is of no use to me and goes into the trash.

Anything smaller than 1 1/2'' goes into a basket for dog bedding.

I recently decided to embark on a mitered log cabin trip. It requires 8 strips of 8"x 1 1/2" strips of as many fabrics you can gather in lights, mediums and darks. So that is my latest attempt at taming the stash - cut the strips.
Everything else is in two bins - one for darks, and one for lights. Those are smaller than F8s and off-cuts. Anything in the 1 1/2" -8" category goes into bags by color. Those are pieces I use for applique.

I also have a friend who does leaders and enders scrap quilts so I put a scrap piece (2" or so) in a bag to hand off to her. That little bit won't matter to me but it gives her great variety in her quilts.