Organizing Your Scrapbook Supplies

When you begin your scrap booking hobby, you will need to start gathering up supplies to use. While you may be starting the hobby slowly, you will find that you will start to see items that you want to include in your scrapbooks everywhere you go. You should start to gather up stickers and other items as you see them because they could be gone when you finally get started on that scrapbook about the year that Molly was in first grade.

Gathering supplies brings on another issue, however. You will have to have some way to organize your supplies. Here are some simple solutions for your scrapbook supplies so that you can find what you need when you need it.

First you should invest in a couple of those little towers with the clear drawers. These organizational tools are excellent for using with scrapbook supplies because they are clear so that you can see in them. Also because of the small size of the drawers, you can divide your scrapbook supplies into smaller segments. You will not be stuck with trying to put together supplies that do not necessarily belong. Instead you can have little compartments for each item you have.

If you are already overrun with supplies, then take some time to sift through them. If there are items that you took out but now realize that you will be unable to use, you may want to think about getting rid of them. Then begin sorting by category. If you have photo edges, they should go together, for example. All of your pens and markers would need to be together as would saying tags and other items.

Once you have sorted everything by category, you can begin to find homes for the items. The pens and markers will go well in the plastic shoeboxes that you see around. You will be able to put the pens and markers all together and keep them that way. The shoeboxes are the perfect size for any markers that you may have because they fit very snugly.

Your albums also need some organizing. You should begin by separating out the used scrapbooks (the ones you have turned into family masterpieces) and the ones you are still waiting to use. Take the ones that are waiting and begin to sift through them. How many pages do they have? Are they decorated in a way that would suggest a certain theme? Get an idea for what you want to put in these albums. You should mark them with sticky notes tucked inside the first page with what you think would work. Doing that will help you to visualize the project and will get you in the groove to begin a new scrapbook.

Then look through the ones that you have completed. Why are they sitting on a shelf in a closet? Many people put together wonderful scrapbooks that tell amazing stories about their families, but they have never found the time or place to put them out. They sit in back rooms and are only pulled out on rare occasions. You should bring out your scrapbooks now and find a place to put them. Perhaps there is room under the television in the entertainment center, or there may be a spot on the coffee table in the formal living room. Put the books where people will see them and will be able to enjoy your work.

As you are going through your items, get rid of anything that may be damaged or worn. You want to begin your scrapbook projects with excellent quality materials. They will make the end product look so much better.

Now that you have your supplies organized, you should begin to feel better about where your projects are headed. You should have a clear idea of the supplies you have and what you may need, and hopefully working on getting everything organized has provided you with the motivation you need to get your projects moving.

You should keep your supplies organized as you purchase them. When you make purchases for your supplies, you should be sure that you come home immediately and put them where they go so that you will have everything ready when you need it.

By Julia Mercer