Oh yes, you are right. Hubby even found some taller bed frames that eliminate the need for a box spring. You can get taller totes under them easily. Hidden but still accessible.

A Brother P-touch label machine. Then I can mark each container and read it from a distance and not have to go plowing through the whole pile and become distracted.

Getting distracted is my biggest obstacle to getting and staying organized... I've finally realized that one way I can help keep focus is to keep my supplies on open shelving in my art studio so that I can see all my art supplies at a glance-- It's counterintuitive, but for some reason being able to see them helps to keep me from pulling them out willy nilly when I'm being creative. And the bonus is that it's easy to put things right back where I got them from. Not that that always happens :D

My sewing studio is a different matter, no walls for shelves= multiple plastic drawer units and sewing boxes, etc.. My fabric stays pretty well under control in their plastic drawer units since I "file" my fabric on comic book boards, but thread, machine attachments, etc. all are stored in various sewing boxes, etc.stacked under the machine tables and are hard to keep corralled and put away properly since that means crawling under the tables to get to them...

Rob

Rryder......I'm like you regarding your sewing room. I have to crawl under tables too! I'm hoping it keeps me limber...but I've got to stop making those accompanying noises that go with bending and crawling.......oohhhhhhs and owwwwwwws! (Can't stop the knee noises, but I can try to quit "moaning"!)

Nora, I know what you mean about it keeping you limber. As for making noises, I find that grunting helps quite a bit when it's time to get back up off the floor-- sort of like the sounds those weight lifters make when they lift that super heavy barbell in the Olympics :D

Rob

I love my pegboard! All of my rulers, rotary cutters and scissors hang there, plus it's using vertical space!

I have my fabric on free standing bookshelves. Each piece is wrapped around a comic board ($9.95 for 200 at Amazon) and I put a label on each board with the yardage amount - easier for me to find what I want and labels save a lot of guessing and/or measuring! I do much better when my fabric is readily visible and I don't have to dig through bins. I have a fabric bin under my cutting table for small scraps - store larger scraps in clear plastic bins labeled with the color, have one for specialty scraps - these pieces are usually less than 1/4 yd. Love command hooks for hanging rulers etc. My "design wall" is a very large piece of flannel that I tack over the molding on my closet doors and let hang on the corner of said doors when not in use. The organizational "tool" I absolutely cannot do without is my hand held label maker - best $15 I ever spent!

Don't start quilting! That is the best one I can think of, although it is the UNthinkable!

Just think how much money we would still have in our pocket books/bank account/savings account.

Human nature being what it is, we would find some other project or hobby to spend our time on.

I don't have a stash. Nothing to organize fabric wise. 4 bins of scraps. Lots of notions.

[Don't get too much stuff in the first place! says the person that did![/QUOTE]

NOW, you tell me!!! : )

I reuse perscription pill bottles to put dull needles in. I write on the lid "dull needles." I have an endless supply...[/QUOTE]

I hoard my used sewing machine needles and use them to hang pictures, etc on the wall. They make very small holes but are very strong.

I hoard my used sewing machine needles and use them to hang pictures, etc on the wall. They make very small holes but are very strong.[/QUOTE]

I pierce a small hole in the cap of the pill bottle. Never have to open the bottle to put the needle in. And yes, old needles make great picture hangers.

Yes! I love project boxes, and they make it very easy to stay organized while working on multiple quilts (something I swore as a beginner I’d never do 🤣).

I recently organized about 6 grocery bags of scraps, and I learned several things while doing it.

1) Don’t “keep everything” as I was advised to do. I had scraps that were too small to be of any use, so I tossed them.

2) Don’t start a scrap bin and you won’t have bags and bags (or bins and bins) of scraps to eventually organize. Now after each project, part of my clean-up is putting the scraps into their respective color-coordinated bins. I don’t cut mine down into precut sizes because I’m a paper-piecer and wonky pieces work as well as squares for me.

And 3) I might get beat for this, but it’s ok to get rid of scraps you don’t like. You can save them to donate or you can (gasp!) just throw them away. If it makes you cringe, make it go away.

I’ve found I use my scraps a lot more now that they’re color coded and accessible.

Also, if you’re new to quilting (I’m going to get beat again), consider buying for projects rather than collecting fabric.

I love reading posts about organizing!

I have multiple machines and seem to create bits and bits of thread, fabric, and other all over the place. My trick is to carefully wash the next used plastic container with plastic top (like for yogurt) and cut an X-marks-the-spot in the top, using the closed container for bits and pieces as well as pointy stuff and sharp stuff (blades). I do differentiate between bloody stuff and non-bloody stuff - two different containers. 😄

This seems to work for me. There's also the joy of being able to get different sized containers. I am a warfarin eater and before I started using the above idea, I used to wonder if I was going to leak to death. And then there were thise dratted blood spots.

Hope this helps. And I thank all of you for your suggestions. I don't think there is anything about sewing I don't appreciate. My special favorite is those who do it.

Pat

This is so true. I have so much stuff and now worry about how I am going to get rid of it before I die! I couldn't use it all in two life times. I have a 24 x 26 sewing studio and another bedroom full. duh.

In addition to storing (filing) my fabrics in a file cabinet, I stopped saving every little scrap. I realized that most of my mess was caused by all the scrap bins I tried to save. Since I stopped, I have one little basket with usable scraps that I sometimes use to try blocks I’ve never made before I make them for my quilts but that’s it! No more teeny tiny scraps for me.

Since I'm pretty new to this, and my first full completed project. I'm left with a lot of little scraps, that I don't feel I can throw away. I'm thinking about making bins. I like the idea of drawers on a wire mesh stand that I saw on pinterest. But any suggestions about bin sizes for scraps? TIA

I like clear shoeboxes with white lids. Easy to stack, easy to label, easy to see through. I started out combining certain colors (brown and black, pink and red, green and blue) until I had enough to give most colors their own box. I've been able to pretty well limit my scraps to this size. At one point I tried keeping a deep fabric cube by my desk and would drop all scraps into it and process all my scraps every couple months. Ack! Not something I'd advise. Found out I didn't enjoy pressing, cutting, and sorting for six hours at a pop. Now I process them as I go.

You are right, zozee...trimming as I go works best for me as well. Any more if it's smaller than a FQ it gets cut. I do like to keep chunks of widths of fabric that are suitable for binding on table runners or mini quilts intact...think fabrics that read solid...browns, reds, blacks etc.

MsMorgan as you are a new quilter...figure out what kind of quilts you like. Do you like scrappy, controlled scrappy, or not at all? Will you make table runners or small wall hangings? Answering these questions will help you decide what kind of system you want to use. zozee has a good suggestion on mixing colors until they get a bin of their own...kind of like roommates!

Thanks for your help. Where do you find clear shoeboxes or you just mean a tote about that size? I like the idea of keeping them separate!

Walmart and Target both have a variety of plastic storage bins such as shoeboxes. I keep most of my scraps sorted by color in a six-drawer plastic rolling cabinet (colors with larger amounts have gone into larger drawers at this point). JoAnn's also has some good plastic storage that's often on sale.

Take a few minutes before you sew to straighten and put away. You are fresh and it makes you feel like you have accomplished something and it seems easier than to do it afterwards.

I quilt in a semi-organized room---lots of plastic shoeboxes...and rolling plastic drawer units from Walmart ...the only idea I use that is not mentioned here....a plastic ice cube tray---put all my little needle boxes in it---they stand up nicely and are easy to find--one *cube* for Jeans needles--one for Embroidery needles--one for sharps..one for all purpose ones---etc...

Be willing to purge your fabric if it isn’t something you think you will work with in the future. I have seen people get bogged down by having too much and not enjoying it anymore.

The Tree Did Not Win
 

Morning. Now that Thanksgiving 2018 is leftovers in the refridge, breathing space for Christmas 2018 exists. As I put away dishes and admired the leftovers in the refridge, it came to my attention that I was about to have a few quiet moments to sew.

First a confession. For me function is the day to day do-all. If it functions, pretty is nice: but, is it comfortable and does it do what I want it to when I want it to and DOES IT WORK in the long run is my real crown with stars.

So much for the lead-in.

Now is when organization is paramount! And to brighten my outlook, I meandered into my 'used to be the old, railroad car style kitchen' in this house and looked at how the vertical organization worked.

Old kitchen shelves. Tile splash backs. Soffits. Otherwise unused walls. Tiled counter tops; 20 some odd running feet of tiled countertops. A still functional divided sink. Now doorless cupboards - top and bottom; the 'under and over' that goes with the tiled countertops. Metal, almost floor to ceiling heavy duty shelving with wheels that usually appears in a garage and does go on sale at various places from time to time.

So, the first part of my suggestions is to 'soul search' your sewing area. And next is Command Hooks. But one of my more successful ideas turned out to be s-hooks allowing the metal shelving to be trimmed like a Christmas tree: design board, fabric strips and larger bits, a substantial and collapsable 3 step stool, - you get it. And s-hooks can come/be made in all sorts of weights (for heavy stuff AND lighter stuff) and can be moved at will.

Again, it isn 't pretty but man oh man, does it work! Adding lights and it is my sewing heaven.

The huge live oak tree that took out the house's roof as well as my sewing room's ceiling and one of it's interior walla about 14 months ago did not win the argument. I DID.

I wish you the joy and excitement I feel when I walk into my sewing room.

I may be repeating, but

*Always store your fabric so you can see it.*
*Put stuff away as you finish with it.*

Love the term 'craftermath', DJ! :D Perfectly descriptive.

For me, it's all about being able to see what I have. That means everything needs to be visible, but neat and orderly. Otherwise I have too many things hiding in plain sight. I have created several sewing spaces over the years and moves, and as my collection of garage sale, thrift store, and dumpster salvage storage pieces evolved, it began to look very cluttered and overwhelming. Nothing was the same size, the same color, the same style... But I didn't want to spend hard-earned money for fabric buying new organizing stuff. I eventually wound up painting every stick of furniture in my sewing room white. (Fortunately there were no valuable antiques or family heirlooms in the conglomerated jumble. That way at least the visual "background noise" is limited. What I see when I look around my PACKED sewing room is fabric neatly folded on shelves or in clear plastic bins, tools hanging on hooks, etc, not a jumble of different storage pieces.

The other thing I'm learning as I get older is to label EVERYTHING. Even if it's in a clear bin, unless I can see it from all sides, I forget what's in it. I list contents on a 3x5 card, then the card goes inside the front of the bin. Same goes for most of my plastic storage drawers. I've rearranged enough times that I sometimes forget where things are. And like some others have mentioned, I also have to store a few things under this desk, behind that bin, or on top of that armoire. I will put little sticky notes in likely places that tell me where the item I'm probably looking for can be found. Saves me time looking for stuff. The older I get, the less I feel like digging around all day looking for things, so the more little sticky notes I have.

It is probably high time I let go of some stuff, but I've had pieces of some fabric so long they seem like old friends, ya know? And then when my mother passed away a couple of years ago, I "inherited" some things from her that I know I will never use. One of them is a pair of scissors that is so old it is beyond repair. But in my mind's eye I can see those scissors in her hands. There is still part of an old green Dymo label with her name on it. You remember the kind that made the raised letters? That's how old I am. Those scissors hang on a hook by the door of my room. Every time I go in or out I see them and think of her and remember the fun (and aggravation) we had making things together.

And that little story brings me to my last "organizing" tip. Whether you sew in a tiny nook behind that fits behind the closet doors, or you have a dedicated, free-standing two-story studio, dedicate at least a little space to something that inspires you or just plain makes you happy.

ScrapLady, you made me smile with your post. I too keep things that in my sewing room that remind me of others that have passed. I use my Dad's measuring tape thing (the kind that men use to measure stuff) to measure the quilts for borders and bindings. My brother-in-law's magnetic bowl to hold my pins. My Mom's wool pin cushion and the little hen pin cushion she made me. I love using them and ......remembering, just like you. I also have a huge bulletin board (office size that covers a wall).....it's just got little things that make me happy......a napkin from a place we ate dinner, a wedding announcement, cards from grandchildren, drawings from little nieces and nephews, scraps of fabric from a quilt I made, etc. So...my sewing room is definitely "my happy place".

Practical and beautiful too! I love it!

~ C

Where were you and your super advice 30 years when I first started accumulating all this stuff?

spend more time on using the stuff and the fabric you want to organize have fun with it.