I have a few different things I use, everyhting from apple juice cans covered in pretty wallpaper to baskets and boxes from the Dollar store. I also have a few large Rubbermaid totes under my sewing table to keep scraps in. Vases from the Dollar store keep all my knitting needles in one place, a wicker laundry basket holds my wool/yarn.

I bought a cheap lamp that had a base with a bunch of small spaces for storage of pens, seam rippers etc. It quit working but saved the base and its great. Also have one of the small drawer units for all kinds of stuff like post its etc.
My sewing machine table also has lots of storage bins in the doors. So everything is handy.

I use a long narrow basket to keep my scissors and cutters. I use the tops of Tide detergent in the top drawer to hold my seam rippers, binding clips, safety pins, some homemade pin moors, etc.
And I have some pencils, used pin container, magnetic pin finder, and anything else that fits in a tabletop carasol type pencil holder with about 8 compartments.

I have a ''pampered chef'' revolving holder for kitchen tools...many compartments, double tiered. It is great and cost me $1.50 at a church yard sale.

Thanks for all the suggestions so far. I love coming here with questions as there are so many ppl here with so many different creative ideas! Now, to just decided what to use lol. Btw several of you talk about cans or coffee cans with pockets...I'm assuming there is a pattern somewhere for that?

I use a plastic tray thing that fisherman use..it has variable size areas that are just right for the stuff I use all the time. The fishing dept of stores has great stuff! ( I use fish line to hang my wall hangings)

I have the same as Dolphngyrl works really well. I also have sever pencil holders I picked up off the dollar table at Target.

A form meat tray and a pin cushion by each of my machines. The meat tray holds a pencil, small square ruler, scissors and seam ripper. Pin cushionhas pins and needles.

Me, too! I just have the coffee mug. I have two pair of scissors, snips, a stiletto, tweezers, two seam rippers, a small tube of machine oil, some markers, some #12 disposable surgical scalpels, and a 1/4" ruler for marking HSTs. I have a great Horn machine cabinet with lots of storage just down at my right side so lots of stuff is there and handy but this mug stuff is right at my fingertips on the window ledge. Beside the mug is my small pile of fabric scrap "spiders" that I use to sew off on when chain piecing.

Many years ago there was a product called a Ruler Roundup...I got one of the original ones that were sort of a mottled beige, then they made clear ones....it holds rulers up to 24". and also has places for scissors, pens, pins, etc. I have it sitting on my sewing table, but it can also hang on the wall. It has 3 divisions so I have my longer rulers in back, mid size rulers in middle, and shorter rulers in front. We had them at our quilt shop at each cutting table...we could have sold many of them after they stopped making them.