Scrapbooking Organization

Scrapbooking Organization requires a basic formula. One such formula is termed S.P.A.C.E. which means to sort, purge, assign, containerize and equalize. This is a formula used by Julie Morgenstern, a professional organizer, speaker, and author of Time Management from the Inside Out and Organizing from the Inside Out.

This formula to help organize your scrapbooking will help you to organize your scrapbooking supplies and allow you to maintain your scrapbooking goals.

Sorting

Sorting is the first step in scrapbooking organization. Identify what is most important to you, then group similar items together. You may need lots of floor space to spread out for this task.

Next, organize scrapbooking supplies in a way that will best meet your scrapbooking organization needs. If you do your organizing or grouping by category, for example, gather templates in one area and chipboard in another.

You can continue to sort your scrapbooking within these groups, sort scraps into different colors and you can even combine groups after everything is divided. Decide which scrapbooking organization sorting method works best in your situation.

Purging

Decide for yourself what you can live without and let it go. If you know, for instance, you are hanging onto an embellishment you'll never use, it's okay to let it go.

I continue to hang onto pieces of my prom dress which I cut up and used some pieces in a scrapbook page shadowbox layout. It's cool if you can recycle your pieces or parts of supplies, but, if not, find a way to let it go so you can make room for what you will use.

What should you do with the scrapbooking you aren't holding onto anymore? If you know it's trash, you know it goes there. Do you have kids who like doing art projects? It will keep them out of your more expensive scrapbooking supplies and yet encourage in them an appreciation for the scrapbooking craft.

Other scrapbooking organization ideas for purging your unwanted scrapbooking supplies are donating and sharing with friends. Consider organizing a swap with cropping buddies and/or donating to local schools and shelters.

Assigning

Decide where you will store your organized scrapbooking supplies. Your scrapbooking organization plan, according to Morgenstern, needs to be logical, accessible, and safe.

If you work in a closet, decide what stays on the table and what's stored elsewhere. If you have an entire scrapbooking room, include everyday scrapbooking supplies in the area where you scrapbook. The scrapbooking supplies you don't use as often can be stored on the other side of the room.

My own working space includes some plastic drawers under my desk, along with a tool kit to hold the various scrapbooking tools and small supplies used in my scrapbooking projects. That is next to a cabinet where I have my scrapbooking paper and more. In here I have items that don't come out as often.

Containerizing

Now that you know where your supplies will go, the next step in your scrapbooking organization project is to make sure everything has a home, whether it's a drawer, tote, plastic container, binder or basket.

Choosing a container should be last because the sorting and purging processes are what get you to the point where you will have a better understanding of what you actually need for your scrapbooking organization ideas.

Once you have everything in a container, put them in their predetermined places. For instance, I have moved the majority of my ribbons to a deep basket I keep on top of another set of plastic Clearview drawers that hold my fabrics. Fortunately, most plastics today are actually free of a pvc material known as "poison plastic" which can be harmful as a non-archival material. Most stores, including Wal-Mart, has phased out this "poison plastic." To understand and learn more about this problem,

I also use clear plastic, pvc-free carts to hold many of my ribbons, papers, and miscellaneous scraps. You would want to steer clear of pvc material as this is known as “poison plastic,” and can be harmful as non-archival material. Several stores have been phasing out pvc plastics. One place is Wal-Mart. There are others as well. Look at this organization to find out more about pvc's.

Equalizing

Spend some time each day to maintain your scrapbooking organization setup. Take the time to put your scrapbooking materials and supplies away after creating a mess and you will keep your space organized.

Some final thoughts - Follow these steps in order. It will help you stay efficient as well as creative. In my own experience, when my space is cluttered, then I have to think harder about where I put things and then a project takes me much longer than it should. While I had not thought of the organizing I did once for a secretarial office I was in, in these terms, I realize part of my success with that position had everything to do with getting organized first. Scrapbooking organization takes this same consideration.

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