Tips on Organizing Craft Supplies

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How To Organize Hobby and Craft Supplies

Are you the type of person who can fix anything, keep children entertained with art projects, and make homemade presents for everyone when the rest of us only talk about it?

 We most definitely envy the crafty types. What we don’t envy are your messes!

The biggest complaint from people with home hobbies is that it’s difficult to neatly organize all of the supplies they use. You can put everything away, but when you’re going to use your supplies again soon, it’s easier to find and access them if you just leave them.

Meanwhile, another project will come up and you have to start piling up your supplies. Yarn and floss gets dirty and tangled. There’s a clump of dried glue on the carpet. Pins and needles are on your workspace or floor! We can help.

There are ways to organize your entire hobby and craft supply stash even if you are short on time, money, or space!

Sewing Areas

Whether you are mending your family’s clothes or whipping up cute new projects, you need a sturdy, clean workspace for sewing.

When you start stacking torn clothing, new fabric purchases, magazines, and patterns on your sewing table, you are more likely to procrastinate. Suddenly the work required to mend your husband’s pants is tripled because you know that you have to first clean off a place to work.

It’s not enough to assign a place for everything. You have to create a system where it’s easier to put every new item in its designated place than it is to heap it onto your workspace.

While there are expensive sewing organizers available, they tend to take up a lot of space, and most of them aren’t transparent. Try some of our simple suggestions instead:

• Plastic or vinyl file boxes that hang on the wall are great. They are sturdy, attractive, and very handy. You’ll find them for about $2 each at most office supply stores and you can get them cheaper when you buy more than one. Place these on the wall next to your work area. You should have one for magazines and pamphlets, one for new patterns, a smaller one for new threads, trims, patches, and embellishment materials, and a large one for new fabric. If you have a sewing room, place the file boxes on the wall right next to the door.
• For lots of fabrics and unfinished projects, invest in a filing cabinet or file boxes. To keep your fabrics clean from dust and fingerprints, use Ziplock bags. It’s important to be able to see the fabrics and trims through the bags. Buy some hanging files (expandable ones for larger projects), write on the label (label machines are great, but you’ll put it off), and toss in the baggies. Be sure to include the pattern in the file so everything is in one place. Mending projects can also go into files. Files also work well for organizing scrapbook supplies!
• Thread should be kept on an organizer that spins. If you can’t find one that you like or can afford, get a regular thread organizer and buy a cheap lazy Susan. Keeping thread in a Tupperware container makes it harder to find the thread you want, and you'll make a mess.
• Magnetic pin holders are a necessity. If yours is overflowing, expand to another one.
• Beads should be kept in small, sealable baggies. Plastic containers with dividers are handy, but unless there is a lid, you’ll get dust, threads, and dirt mixed into your collections.
• Resist the urge to take everything out of the original packaging. If your embellishment materials come in clear packages, leave them this way until you’re ready to use them.

Knit, Crochet, and Needlework

Yarn and needles can make a huge mess. Yarn usually ends up lying around collecting dust and getting dirty. Clear Tupperware containers are good for storing yarn. You can see the types and colors of yarn you have.

Unfinished projects can also go into the containers, and you can either label them or simply tape the pattern to the outside of the container as a reminder of what’s inside.

If space is an issue, clear yarn bags work well. Avoid bags with zippers as the yarn can get caught. Cheaper options are Christmas gift wrap organizers that hang in the closet (very cheap after Christmas) or extra large Zip lock or craft baggies. Most of us use gallon plastic baggies in the kitchen, but they come in 5 and 10 gallon sizes.

You can also make your own yarn baggies with duct tape or a laminator and lightweight, clear painting drop cloths. Consider hanging the baggies in a closet to take up less room and provide easy access.

Needlepoint and crewelwork organizers are inexpensive and easy to find in most craft stores. Be sure to check prices online as you’ll find a larger selection. There are several thread and embroidery floss organizers, but you want one that has a lid to protect from dust, dirt, or a spilled cup of tea!

Organizing Scrapbook Supplies

Three ring binders are the best way to organize scrapbook supplies. Buy an extra large one at an office supply store with plastic protectors at the front and back to prevent your pages from being indented by the metal rings.

Buy dividers with pockets for papers, stencils, card stock, and other flat objects.

Buy zippered plastic storage pouches with holes punched in them so they can also go into the binders. In these bags, you can store decorative elements like ribbons, pens, markers, stickers, photo edges, etc.

Photos that you want to use for future scrapbooks should be placed in an album, not a box. They don’t have to go into the album in any particular order. It’s just easier and more organized to look through an album when you’re choosing photos for a scrapbook. It also keeps the photos clean and free of your fingerprints.

If you use stamps, they should go in a plastic container with the inked end facing down. Grab a piece of cardstock or thick paper, pull out a stamp pad of ink (color doesn’t matter), and make a stamp on the paper for every stamp design that you have (leaving room for new ones if there’s still room in the container). Tape that paper to the lid of the container and you have a quick reference of all the stamps you own! File folders in a file cabinet or file box are also handy for organizing scrapbook supplies, but be sure to keep smaller items in sealable baggies within the files.

Kids’ Crafts Organization

You can’t expect your children to help clean up after craft time unless there are actually places for the supplies to go! There are many craft organizers available, but with smaller children, stay away from tiny divided containers that require a steady hand.

Popsicle sticks, beads, and other small objects are most easily stored in sealable baggies. Glues, glitter, paste, and paints should have a Tupperware container large enough to store the bottles upright to avoid messes.

Tubes, markers, crayons, and paint pens should always be kept in baggies.

Paintbrushes should be immediately washed out with water, dried with a paper towel, and stored in a jar or cup with the brush end up to dry completely.

You should always have a basket or container to keep old towels, paper towels, hand wipes, and eyewash, just in case.

Keep a basket of magazines and craft ideas you’ve printed from the Internet in the area.

On a day when you don’t have time to do an entire project, you can keep the area clean by going through the different craft ideas with your children to find out what they want to try next. You can be creative AND organized!