Machine needle storage
 

Here's my answer for storage of machine needles. This little plastic box holds 12 pkgs. of needles and comes in many other sizes. I use another one to keep my quilting safety pins in. I bought them at Office Max but assume any office supply store has them. The boxes snap closed on the sides so no spills.

I also write on the back of the needle pkg. when they were purchased.

Great idea!

I'm totally curious as to the reason ... as far as I know there's no Best Before Date when it comes to needles ... so please solve my confusion! Thanks!




The needles I buy, come in the little plastic cases just big enough to hold the needles. No extra cards to store.
I keep mine in a smaller plastic container that has dividers so I can sort according to size/type.

probably just for her own information. My MIL dates everything she buys, we kind of rib her about it, but when you live alone it is a good idea to know how long that can of beans has been there or if you really need TP. and far easier than an Excel spread sheet.

At a garage sale I found a metal box with a drawer that was made for small tool. It is about 12" X 12" by about 1" high.
It holds perfectly a tray with filled bobbins and my needle packets. Perfect. I added a depression era glass knob which I love.

[QUOTE=QuiltE;5785659]I'm totally curious as to the reason ... as far as I know there's no Best Before Date when it comes to needles ... so please solve my confusion! Thanks!


It's a habit left over from finding unused thread that I purchased in 1970! Just want to be sure I use up the older products first.

PatG .... thanks! I was starting to wonder if there was something I'd missed!


KalamQ ... I totally understand how things can sit around for eons, if we're not careful.
And when it is food, as you suggested ... you can never be too careful.
For needles, I don't get quite so concerned.

Watch Staples for sales on these little boxes......

they have them for $1.00 each but one time, I was able to purchase them for $ .25 each....

That's right, a "quarter" each and did I ever store up on them..Use them for everything and they look so cute on my shelves.........

Speaking of "use by" dates---my husband is retired AF (since 1980)--and every time the AF moved us, kitchen cabinets just got raked into packing boxes (you know!). Now we have finally settled down, I guess, we have lived in this same house for l6 plus years and not too long ago we had a lesson in our fce club meeting that addressed "use by" dates; so being the astute person I am, I came home and looked at all the dates that I could find in my house. You'll never guess what I found in my spice rack--pumpkin spice priced at l7 cents....when was that ever? I should have saved that for a collector, huh?

I use Altoids and a few misc. metal boxes and write on the lid in permanent marker what type needle is in each box. I store them in a shallow drawer next to my sewing machine. I always take a pack with me when I go to classes or retreats or workshops.

I use something similar but a bit larger and store my rotary cutter blades in it too, new and used. The used ones are great for cutting paper projects.

Great idea!

I bought 4 last year on sale. I love them to keep pins in. Safety, ball head, flat heads, one on cutting table to put squares of fabric for that stamp quilt I hope to make some day.
I love how you can drop them and they never pop open, unless you open them!
Thanks for sharing, I had not thought about sharing.
Penny

I see this is an older post but I want to add that I use a container like that and I blue tape the package of the needle I have in the machine, on to the container top. I change thread and quilt on painted fabrics often which sometimes requires a change in needle and I can quickly see what size/which needle is in the machine. If it is a project with days of quilting I may write the date on the tape too so I'll know when the needle was new.

Don't you just love these boxes....they are the ones that I wrote about in an earlier post. I bought mine at Staples and got some of them at the unbelievable price of 25 cents..on one of their specials...couldn't beat that.I have them for almost everything small enough to fit in them.

I use a little cabinet that used to hold different sized screws and nails. It has 12 small drawers. Each drawer holds a different sized machine needle or thimbles, etc.

I keep mine in an Art Bin, I take the cardboard off just keep them in the plastic container they come in the size and manufacturer is on that. Takes up less room and I don't need the cardboard.