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Crafty Storage
Whether you're an avid knitter, a dedicated dressmaker or a mother to small children who love art projects, you know that keeping arts and crafts materials organized is an uphill battle. You also know there isn’t a hobby in existence that invites its practitioners to accumulate more stuff!
Yarns, wools, ribbons, batting, bolts of material and patterns multiply at an alarming rate and can quickly take over whatever storage space you have in your home. Smaller items, such as beads, clasps, paints, paintbrushes, sequins and buttons pose an organization challenge unto themselves as they require a variety of smaller compartments to keep each group of items sorted.
This month, we're all about tackling your craft materials organization challenges. Try some of these quick and easy tips to get your arts and crafts materials under control.
- Make space. Give yourself a reasonably large, clear workspace. Whether it's a desk, countertop or free-standing table, just make sure that whatever space you designate as your work center is kept clear of clutter so that you have a neat place to work. Try to tidy up as you work to make the clean-up process a bit less daunting.
- Use your walls. The best way to maximize storage space is to hang items from the walls. A baker’s rack, several different sized hooks and one or two shelves will give you the option to hang various sized items, and avoid stacking them around your workspace. Plus, hanging items from the wall will allow you to easily assess what you have on hand.
- Sort small stuff. Try organizing your smaller crafts supplies, such as buttons and beads, in glass jars. The jars will allow you to easily see what’s inside and keep items sorted. Have more stuff than what can fit in jars? Try a fisherman’s tackle box.
- Good in the kitchen, better in your craft room. An inexpensive way to organize crochet hooks, paint brushes, scissors and pens is to store them in a cutlery or flatware tray.
- Keep fabrics neat. Store bolts of material by setting a wine rack on the floor and placing each bolt inside the loop intended for a wine bottle. It’s a great way to keep them organized, and be able to see what you have at a glance.
- Battle the bulk. Materials that take up a lot of space can be stored in a Space Bag Vacuum Seal Storage Pack. Seal pillow forms, polyester filling and any other bulky materials into the Storage Pack and you can keep them in half the space they’d usually require.
- Ribbons out of control? All you need is a shoebox and a wooden dowel cut to fit the inside of the box. Simply place each of your ribbon spools on the dowel and place inside of the shoebox. They’ll be easy to cut and completely tangle-free next time you need them.
- Create extra space. If the space in your craft room is limited, consider creating project specific “tool kits” on rolling racks that can be stored in closets when not in use. You can create tool kits for everything from gift-wrapping to painting by placing all of the necessary tools in a rolling rack. It will keep all of your tools organized by task and will minimize clutter in your limited workspace.
Tips from HGTV.com, DIYNetwork.com and HomeMadeSimple.com.
