Organizing misc. things?
 

Ok we have covered fabric and rulers and buttons. I want to know what everyone else does with all the other bits.. I have trims and little crafty things I have collected. I have things like the proportional scale I just bought.
How do you organize it. Fabric is pretty easy but when it gets to things like my ironing sheet, Do I "file" it with the ironing things or with the design things.
Am I making sense ?
Bias makers? Things like the little booklets like the "Color Value Solution" and the color strip booklet. Bias bars?

Its all the little stuff that gets to me . I do like things organized and labeled so I can just go to a little drawer and pull out what I want. I have a bunch of the plastic drawers on wheels. And I would love to combine some things to get more floor room..

I just have things scattered and stuffed in drawers. I would love to get organized once and for all since it looks like I am going to be here a while.

I have several plastic, rolling drawer thingies (either Sterlite or Rubbermaid), which holds various sewing and craft supplies. They come in all different sizes, at WalMart. The larger ones sit on the floor and the smaller ones sit on shelves. I also have some plastic "shoe box" sized bins, which hold templates and tracing stuff. Some of my smaller craft projects are also in the shoe box sized bins; makes it easy to just pick up the box and have everything I need, to work on a project.

goodness I have 10 of the rolling carts with drawers and more in the attic. I guess more of what I am wondering is the "filing' part. What does everyone put with what? I guess I am as clear as mud.
Fabric patterns rulers thread are the easy things. Its all the little stuff I have trouble with.

I have plastic boxes that are labeled, embroidery, applique, labels, bonding, templats, embelishments, jewelry, ect. in each box I have everything I need to do that type of project. It has taken me years to collect all the thimble's, scissors, and other duplicate odds and ends, but when I start a new project it is sure nice to just grab a box and get started. Example: embroidery- pin cushion & pins, needles & threaders, thimble, scissors, floss, light weight backing for white fabrics, tape mesure, markers, painters tape, you get the Idea. My hoops are kept on a hook on the wall. Some thing's that cross project lines like beads for jewelry and embelishments are stored separately I know it makes for a lot of pin cushions, scissors, thembles ect. but I don't have to run all over to find all the odds and ends before I can start something.

I'm always looking for ways to get organized. I found the book "Organizing Solutions for Every Quilter" by Carolyn Woods helpful. She goes into how to catagorize your notions and supplies and suggestions for storing them. Not all her suggestions work for me but a lot of them were pretty good. Of course, I'm still not organized but I'm working on it.

I like the book Pam mentions as well, but this type of organizing is an ongoing struggle for me. I'll be glad to see others chime in on this topic.

I have some large plastic toolboxes from the home improvement store (similar to this: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Trademark-...ments/19716832) that I use for things like buttons (divided by color), metal findings (like purse rings), packages of bias tape, etc. Other things I have in these white drawer-type modular units I bought long ago for my scrapbooking supplies. I just try to group like items together and I put a post-it note on each door/drawer with a list of what's in there. It's quite un-scientific!

I am just curious .. How many of you have odd things in your quilting room? Like I have a branch I saw on a walk , carried it here from GA.. I like the shape and want to use it in a quilt someday. I have ribbon and yarn and peices of handmade paper . Glue on rhinestones, I even have some bark I saw and liked. LOL
I looked at the book on Amazon and I am going to see if the library has it.. to see if anything strikes a cord with me.
I like to put things together too. I even bought a labeler.. My sewing room is also my "office" printer computer and mailing center.
Maybe I need to toss it all and start all over. Hmmm then again maybe not... :)

Damaquilts- do you have a pegboard? If you do, a hanging clip strip is awesome for the little stuff.
What is a clip strip? A long slender tool with clips going down its length. The next time you are in any kind of drug store and start looking at the shelves, you will see dozens of them, holding everything from lip balm to aspirin packets. If you know what I'm talking about and would like one, let me know. I will be back on a bit later and I will post a picture here.

I made this to store all those little loose items. This was when I first made it, so it actually holds alot of different things now as compared to when I took this picture.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]340802[/ATTACH]

Oh yes use to work in CVS so I know was a clip strip is... hated those little suckers .. LOL And I swear the feeling was mutual, every time I walk past one in a store even now things fall off. :-D:p

I guess I am going to have to empty drawers and try to figure out what goes with what and then figure out a way to store them

This might be an idea and then I can hang it in the closet... I have a whole wall of closets. Yeah I know sounds great right. Not.. It has two openings and two sets of sliding doors. I would love to take the doors off but not allowed..

I had one of those boxes used to store embroidery thread on bobbins that I wasn't using. I started using it for some of the small items you mentioned. It is see through, so it's easy to see what's in there. It has been a workable solution for me. It fits in my cabinets and they are stackable.

I really like this idea! I have some clear plastic that I bought when I made an iPod covers that I have been wondering what to do with. Thank you for the great idea!!

I think being organized 'once and for all' would only work if one never ever bought any new items to join the party.

So - when organizing/stashing/filing - I think it's good to leave a little wiggle room for possible new additions.

Another way of stowing things might be by 'frequency of use' - the items one uses often would be kept really handy - and the ones that one vaguely remembers having and were last used ten years ago - could be stashed in clear boxes 'up high' on the shelves.

I don't have a particularly 'good' system, either - and I'm gradually learning that 'more' is not always 'better'

I use a large pegboard mounted on the wall by my machine. Scissors, rotary blades, seam rippers are either hung directly on long hooks or put in zipper baggies with a hole cut in the top below the zipper to fit on a hook. Everything's in plain view and easy to find.

I give up really! One project and everything is a mess but these storage ideas my motivate me to take another look.

I like the shoe bag thingy. Same fabric I used to make my daughter a Big Board and sewing machine cover. As far as my storing, I use those plastic drawer thingy from Walmart..I have 4 stacked 2 high and side by side for some of the bigger stuff. I also store other non sewing things in them. I use the plastic shoe boxes to store most of the little stuff like ribbon, trims, zippers, crafty stuff. I TRY to keep things pretty organized, but we all know what happens when we start something new and start looking through the stash !! I also made wood shelves in the closet to stack the plastic storage containers with fabric. I had them stacked 4 high on top of one another and the bottom containers got all smashed up from the weight. Look luck, it's a tough job !!

plastic bins, plastic shoe boxes, and a Big peg board for me.

I have gotten organized "for once and for all" about a million times! Funny thing is that we keep coming up with new toys that defy description. I reorganize my sewing room about once a month because every new project creates a new mess...

I do try to sort stuff in 2 different ways. One is by place of use. Next to each sewing machine (2) I have scissors, pin holder, bobbin thread ring, 6 inch ruler, box for presser feet and accessories. Have the same for the long arm. By the ironing board I have iron cleaner, starch, press cloths, teflon applique sheet, scissors for trimming odd raveling threads. The second way I sort is by type of tool. All rulers are hung on the back of a door from a metal shoe rack with plastic spring clips. All templates and odd shape things like pressing bars, tube turners, flexible rulers, circle cutters, compass for making circles are in an open plastic bin. All fabric markers are in a container, permanent markers and pencils are in another container. Scissors and hoops are on the pegboard. Piecing thread is in a drawer near the sewing machines, quilting thread is on a rack by the long arm. This works for me (most of the time)!

There are so many ways people choose to organize their "things" in the sewing/quilt studio. For me,it has worked best to put all those things where I use them. The bias makers, bias bars, ham, seam roll, etc. are with everything I use for pressing. Whateve I use when sitting at the sewing machine is in that area. Hand sewing items and magazines are by the rocker. Designing tools by the computer. The idea is to place things where you would most like to have them handy. It will not match anyone else's ideal organization but be your very own!

I love to sew clothes as well as quilt tops. Fabric trims, zippers, ribbons, elastic, lace, rick rack, glitz items, etc. are all boxed together by color. Black, white, cream, navy blue, and multi are my boxes. When I need a particular item, I can tell at once by going to the color I need. If it's not in the box, I don't have it. Has really simplified my sewing area and my mind..... ;-)

When I taught school I had the same problem. So I organized the extras by themselves. I had a metal shelf with baskets and just clearly labeled the baskets. Then if I needed the item for my project I knew where it was and didn't have to remember which category I put it with. I was a little OCD and put them in alphabetical order by name. Long things hung on s hooks.

Something I could use... organization then maybe I could find what I need. I can't find my bias makers at the moment LOL where did I put them?
Did buy a labeler (sp)? recently, took out a bookcase in an attempt to access my very small design wall better.
My room is used for classes on Mon and Thur nights, quilting and painting.
need any and all help I can get.

I was just thinking that this morning. I use to do all my sewing on the kitchen table. Made all my clothes, my kids clothes, did sewing for other people, made dolls, And started quilting with a book, cardboard, scissors, pencil, and fabric. Not that I would want to go back to that but it sure was easier to store..
As far as not buying anything new. Well I don't buy too much but I did just buy a French Curve and a one of those wheels that tell you percentages to make things bigger or smaller. (which I already don't know what I did with.. the wheel) LOL

I think the Frequency of use is a good idea.. And goodness knows I have plenty of shelves in the closet.Just need to rearrange things a little.

Wanna come to my house. LOL My room could use a little OCD..
I have stuff for sewing clothes and now i want to make my own patterns. (more stuffs) And I collect things here and there for art quilts I am going to make "someday" Every once in awhile I do other crafty things like paint small furniture pieces or boxes, make shadow boxes. etc.. It acumulates for sure
. And I have to keep it all in one 12x12 room with one wall of closets and one wall of windows .. And vents in the floor.. Those vents totally get in my way..

Organizers
 

Check out other places for neat ways to organize your stuff such as Walmart hardware dept. The large flat clear box I have contains small boxes that allows me to organize my machine feet. Each one in it own box by foot number. This came from Walmart's Hardware dept. I have a matching tool box that I use to carry what I need to the Guild sewing events. Both are purple and white and were Christmas presents. Hey they asked me what I wanted. Lowes and Harbor Freight are also a couple of sources. I use the plastic shoe boxes from the Dollar General to sort my smaller pieces of fabric by color. And I use the boxes to keep projects together.

For my collection of buttons (I also have my mother's) I use small cute jars and sort by size. You can spray paint the tops to match you sewing room or cover them with bits of fabric.

To organize my magazines, I use organizers from the stationery dept. You can make these from cereal boxes. To organize small books and mags I make organizers from pancake mix boxes. I cut them to look like the mag organiers and use spray glue and wallpaper to cover them. I found a wooden file cabinet at Goodwill for $9 to keep papers and patterns I got off the net.

And to top it off, I plan to make the wall organizer I saw on an eralier post of this thread. This would be great hanging over my machine.

Love your idea of sorting by color. I'll put that to use.

One of the recommendations for kitchen storage is to store/file the item at the point of first use. This method could work in the sewing room/studio as well. For example, if you have a pressing cloth you would store it near your iron which is where it would first be needed.

For those longer design thingies like 12" rulers and bias bars, I store mine near my sewing machine in a tall square vase (about 4" square x 10" tall) found at a thrift store. It's plastic so I'm not worried about it breaking if it tips over, but glass would be nice too--you can see through it and know what's in it at a glance. This has turned out to be one of my better storage ideas for my studio.

I use a shoe organizer than hangs on the back of my door for lots of stuff. Got it at the dollar store. I'm still organizing stuff. Think it is an ongoing process...at least for this quilter.

Such great ideas here!

I have a cutting table that is opened all the way. Underneath on one side is a cabinet that has all Quilting related items in it. The cabinet on the opposite side is for all things ironing related. (Ex. irons, water bottles, bias tape maker machine and tips. I also have 2 four drawer tackle boxes (in a seperate cabinet) for all of the "little things". You can see some of it in my avatar. Good Luck.

Have a blessed day.

debra

I love the Closet Maid line of storage found at Target. The small "hutch" with the fabric drawers came from there. The hutch is around $15 and the fabric drawers are 2/$5.99 if I recall. I have one of these on my home office desk. Now I just need to make luggage tags for identifying what each drawer holds. YOu can use the hutch "as is" for storing FQ's, etc...It is not very deep.

sandy

I love the little plastic drawers, they hold so much.
Also love peg boards.

I keep those rolling carts you have all talked about and use the two top drawers of one for tools and parts for my machines, another cart is for all those cute things for holidays, like valentines day trims and such, halloween, one drawer is for leather type ties and attachments(I forget what they are). Shoeboxes (clear plastic ones ) are for zippers. Each box holdes a different length. Things that are like booklets, charts etc go on the shelving unit i have. That pressing thing for applique goes in a open top plastic filing box i have near the ironing board and in that box is also my holder for knitting needles and crochet hooks. I mostly group things near where I will be using them. My templates for the longarm are in a rolling cart under the machine. You will figure out what works for you, just give yourself some time. if you are really anal about this organizing thing. I started a data base once (didn't follow through) that lists the item and where I stored it. Thought it would help me find things in a hurry. I just numbered all those plastic drawers. I've moved twice since so there went that plan. Now I just spend 30% of my time searching for things like the rest of the world.

I like the hanging shoe rack. I will be using that idea. Thanks!!

Does no one else have a junk drawer?

Oh, I love this post. I'm a librarian who loves to organize! I can give a few tips. At least I can tell you what I do, right?

I have several systems made of drawers, boxes, glass jars....whatever I can get cheap and can label. I use one system for misc. stuff, one for precuts, one for notions and so on. The easiest way to describe it is to say the more often I use something, the closer to my sewing table it gets to live; which means the less often something is used the farther away it is stored.

Most important tip: label every box, drawer, bag, etc. in letters large enough for an old person to read (cause you'll be old and half blind before you're ready). Also important: put stuff where it belongs (cause if you don't you'll have to clean every week or so. Ask me how I know.)

A "system" is any storage set (drawers, boxes, bags, etc.) that stay together. Most of my systems have the same type of storage but in different sizes; such as small drawers on top, medium drawers in the middle; large drawers on the bottom. (Stacking as much as possible to save floor space.) Some systems have the same type, size, color so that they match.

I decide where it goes first by how often it's used, then by how much space it takes, then by whether it needs to be with (or separated from) other like items. Let's take buttons....I have lots and lots, they are used very often, they are in sets and singles, they could easily be separated from other sewing notions. Buttons are stored in small tackle boxes that can be arranged in multiple ways. I have 7-8 of these boxes: whites, darks, pastels, brights, metals, etc. I also have vintage buttons from my late mom that I keep separated so they aren't used on a whim. Those are in clear glass jars on a shelf (sort of part of the decor).

Seldom used tools go in the drawer with the items they are for. IE the pliers to put in snaps go with the snaps. One drawer is specific for "guy tools"--hammer, cutters, screw drivers, etc. plus nails, screws, picture hangers, etc. that I don't need often but I don't want to have to go to hubby's shed to search for days either. PS on tools: my guys would never touch them: 1) the tools are small (girl sized) and 2) the guys are afraid of me. :-)

If you're lucky enough to have wall space, add shelves above a system with baskets or jars (forget fancy expensive ones, go to the dollar store and buy cheap ones--they hold stuff! If you hit a sale, buy lots of the same color and size. They will look good together, and when labeled, they'll do their jobs just as well as expensive ones would.) Again, label!

I use a basket system for notions: bias tape and bias maker, ribbon and fray block, elastic and bodkins, zippers and zipper foot. My reasoning is that when I need the item, I need the tool; they're together, so I can grab both at the same time or just take the basket. If something takes two baskets, I either use a larger one or separate but the info goes on the label. Zippers are labeled neutrals and colors. Plus the baskets are kept together but the neutrals are used more often so it's on top or in front of the stack.

Cover cardboard boxes in the same gift wrap and label for patterns and magazines. I also have binders for patterns I've designed and for articles, etc. that I've printed from the web. Everything is in sleeves and, yes, labeled.

I use a peg board for thread sorted by color. I keep only the items that I used every day near my sewing machines or on the work table. I also understand that organizing is a work-in-progress. Editing and adding are part of that process and getting messy is part of creating, so it's a symbiotic relationship. lol Sorry, I may have overdone it!!!

About the time I get organized is when I start to lose things. I know where I kept them before I "put them away." I am the only one that uses what I have so I do better to leave them where I put them in the first place. (I am kind of a creature of habit.) I do have places for fabrics and threads and then a place for all sewing machine parts. Projects is what I have sitting everywhere. They are in baskets that get suffled all over the place. Their are on the bed till I need it for company or designing. then they get shffled to the cutting table and then back again....Maybe a hutch would be good.

i have 2 spaces in my sewing room that have all my pretty special touchstone things from the rest of my life. They are out of the way, but easy for me to see. Family pics, great grandmothers wedding ring, a sea urchin shell that I found 40 years ago with my first crush on a beach, childhood gifts, and a jar of fairy dust from disney land I bought 15 years ago. I could go on and on. Keeps me grounded

Wow, some great suggestions, and well, I've tried some of them. I could use a little OCD about right now.!
I have a peg board but it hasn't been hung up yet. I have a few cup hook (large ones) hooked to my wall
next to my machine ,holding rulers and templates. I am giving away most of my shoes and will use my shoe
organizer....keep up your genius ideas.... I need all the help I can get.
thanks for the sharing.