Organize Your Stuff Challenge - Week 12

Good Monday morning (if there is such a thing!) - everybody ready to play? Today we're going to tackle another toughie - ribbons and fibers. You may not be able to complete this Challenge in one week. And again, that's ok - as long as you have a system in place in your head and know where you're going, that's what counts!

So let's cut the chit-chat and get started on HOW to organize your ribbon. You can organize by type (ie, grosgrain vs sheer), width, color, or by packaging. Once again, follow your scrapping cues here. You can also mix and match - it's easy to group all your red grosgrain ribbon together, for example.

Now let's take a look at WHAT to store your ribbon in. I'm not a big fan of ribbon packaging - I've found that once you take it out of it's neat and pretty little package, it never goes back in quite the same. So I immediately pull off all my ribbon - off cards, spools, bobbins, you name it. It brings me happiness to see a puddle of fibers. Aaaahhhh. Anyways, I have found oodles and oodles of ways to store ribbons. One of these methods surely will work for you and your stash! Please note that the links I posted are intended to give you a visual idea of what it is I'm talking about - it doesn't mean I endorse the product or the store.

Ribbon spool organizers: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5628111

Or http://creationsbyjeff.vox.com/

Or in sticker roll organizers: http://stampinat6213.blogspot.com/2007/08/pegboard-organization.html

Or http://www.floralsupply.com/cat.cgi?s=CRM-5%20Vertical%20Ribbon%20Rack&c=disp or in rain gutters, just cut to fit your space!

Or http://www.orientaltrading.com/ui/search/processRequest.do?Ntt=dowel+wall+unit&requestURI=searchMain&Ntk=all&Ntx=mode%2Bmatchallpartial&N=0

Loose in jars, by color: http://makingmemories.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/05/27/img_0237_edit_resize_3.jpg

Ribbon rings: http://www.ribbonring.com/ or make your own: http://craftystorage.blogspot.com/2007/08/this-is-my-favorite-wall-in-my-studio.html or http://craftystorage.blogspot.com/2008/06/debby-de-wildes-ribbon-storage-idea.html

Wrapped on cards: http://www.amazingpapergrace.com/amazing-ribbon-storage/ or https://www.magisticalmemories.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=17

Stacked spools: http://craftystorage.blogspot.com/2008/08/giulia-ribbon-storage-idea.html or Pottery Barn used to have a nice one, it's been discontinued but you may be able to find one on Ebay or Craigslist. Oriental Trading also has one: http://www.orientaltrading.com/ui/search/processRequest.do?Ntt=ribbon+organizer&requestURI=searchMain&Ntk=all&Ntx=mode%2Bmatchallpartial&N=0

Ribbon storage bag: http://www.orientaltrading.com/ui/browse/processRequest.do?requestURI=processProductsCatalog&categoryId=377320&&BP=10576&cm_mmc=Nextag-_-Nextag-_-Nextag-_-Nextag&sku=65/85172&srccode=cii_9324560&cpncode=17-32607915-2 Great for crops! Or http://store.scrapbook.com/ym-pull-ez.html

In Cropper Hopper boxes - this shows it in a drawer - http://triplethescraps.blogspot.com/2009/03/organizational-friday-save-space-get.html, but those little boxes fit beautifully in the Cropper Hopper embellishment case as well

On a Clip-it-Up type system: http://sarahs-scrap-book.blogspot.com/2008/05/blossom-and-ribbon-storage.html or http://www.clipitup.com/ribbon.html

Ribbon spoolers: http://www.bestscrapbookshelf.com/?action=view_catalog&Join_ID=263299

This method isn't realistic for most of us, but it gives you another beyond-cool option: http://craftystorage.blogspot.com/2008/03/donna-downey-new-storage-idea.html

Ribbon boxes: http://scrapbooking.about.com/od/gettingorganized/ss/ribbonbox.htm

CraftLockers: http://www.craftlocker.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=1

Wrapped on clothespins, in jars or bins/baskets: http://www.stampingatcatscorner.com/stamping_at_cats_corner_t/2008/02/little-tips---.html

In page protectors (like the kind for slides or baseball cards, one strand per pocket) in a 3-ring binder

Combined with a tool or stamp organizer: http://www.stampinthings.com/

On floss cards in floss boxes

Floss/bobbin tote - good for crops: http://www.plaidonline.com/productDetail.asp?itemID=79011&productName=Creative+Gear%99&Cat1ID=&Cat2ID=&Cat3ID=&brandID=&keywords=&New=False&Closeout=False&page=1

On pants hangers: http://www.yourhomebasedmom.com/organizing-ribbon/

On spools, stacked on dowels inside jars

In ziploc baggies, in boxes or hanging

Cropper Hopper ribbon spool drawer: http://store.scrapbook.com/ch-ch92410.html

On the spool on a tension rod - you can put this in any open space, between furniture, in the open shelves of an Expedit, even in a window or door frame! http://www.littlebit.com/storage/ribbon-storage.htm

Now, if you couldn't find a working solution in one of those links, you're helpless. Seriously. Just chuck your ribbon out the window and have it done with. Just kidding - send it to me instead!

My solutions have evolved over the years. I first started out with ribbon in the Cropper Hopper embellishment boxes. Problem is, if your ribbon is over 3/8" wide, it won't fit.

So, I had my wider ribbon on ribbon cards from Magistical Memories in a large ArtBin box.

I loved this system, but the Artbin boxes take up a LOT of room. My third system was on dowels on a pegboard. I took everything off the spools when I reorganized and used my pegboard rack for tape instead:

I was really getting tired of looking in 3 places for one ribbon. So I combined them all into the card system, but using clear plastic shoeboxes instead. One color per box, it's sooo easy to find what I'm looking for:

Some of the cards are from Magistical Memories - the others I just made myself from cheap chipboard I've hoarded. Each ribbon is secured with a glass-head straight pin.


So that's how all my "true" ribbon is stored. For fibers and floss, I use the floss cards in floss boxes, divided up into multiple colors per box:



My felt "ribbons" that come on rolls (or that can be made into rolls!) is stored in a Pottery Barn craft center. I don't know if they still make these, I purchase mine at an outlet. My paper "frills" are in here too:

I keep all my colored twine in rolls in a metal basket. Basket is from Hobby Lobby.

My Scrappers Floss is in a basket as well - also from Hobby Lobby (yes, I love their baskets - I like even more that they frequently have them on sale for half off!).

One more basket (do you see a theme here?) - my Magic Mesh and the like also go in my ribbon cabinet. If I forget to put away one of my baskets, no big deal, they're just as pretty sitting on the countertop.

In closing, I want to add my 10 rules for organizing. I'm going to post these at the end of every challenge, because I think they are very, very important. I want you to keep them in mind as you tackle each of these projects - they will make your life easier and the task less daunting.

1. Label your containers.
2. Be consistent in your methods.
3. Don't be too specific - your search for your items within your space should be short and simple.
4. Your organizational method should be easy to take out AND put away.
5. When organizing, break any large piles into smaller groupings. Have a 2 foot tall stack of paper to sort? Do it in 1" high chunks, it will be easier to handle mentally.
6. If it's something that you use on almost every project, then keep it within reach of your main scrap area.
7. Don't stress your containers. Get a new system or purge your stash.
8. For most items, product packaging adds bulk. Toss it. One exception - rub ons.
9. Repurpose when you can - almost anything can be painted or covered in paper/fabric.
10. THE GOLDEN RULE - FIRST choose an organizational method, THEN choose a container that fits your space and style. Always shop for containers with a list in hand - a beautiful container is simply clutter if it doesn't have a dedicated purpose in your space!

Your ribbons are no longer a tangled mess - you did it! Go get some cheesecake (the good kind with the gooey strawberry sauce) and get ready for next week - it's stamping time!

Stacy