When you think about all the stuff that goes into creating a scrapbook—photos, adhesives, scissors, photo trimmers, cardstock, embellishments (galore!), letter stickers, the scrapbook itself, your memorabilia—the prospect of organizing for scrapbooking can seem a bit daunting. But, with just five key principles under your belt, you’ll be well on your way to orderly scrapbooking bliss.
1. Know Your Motivation for Scrapbooking.
Is it to organize your family photos? Is scrapbooking a creative outlet for you? Do you want to tell your family’s stories? When you understand your true reasons for scrapbooking, you will more easily make sense of which products to keep in your stash—those that will help you accomplish your scrapbooking goals. Without this filter in place, it’s hard to make decisions about what supplies to keep, which to let go of, and which new ones to bring into your space.
2. Know Your Approach to Scrapbooking.
How do you look for things when you’re scrapbooking? Do you look to add a little something pink, or do you think of things in terms of themes or seasons? Understanding your approach to scrapbooking, and how you look for things in the midst of creating a scrapbook page, will help you figure out the best ways to organize your supplies so you can find what you need in the heat of the scrapping moment.
3. Know the Difference Between Storage and Organization.
In a nutshell, storage is the container you put things in; organization is how you divide your things among your containers. Why is this important? Because you can’t solve an organization problem with storage container and you can’t solve a storage problem by re-categorizing your stuff. Understanding the difference between these two concepts, and approaching storage and organization as two separate decisions, will help you create an effective and organized scrapbook space.
4. Understand Your Storage Needs and Preferences.
Do you need to see your scrapbook supplies to remember what you have? Do you need portable storage solutions so you can scrapbook at the kitchen table or go to classes and crops? Do you need closed containers to protect you supplies from dust (or the curious fingers of your kiddos?) Understanding your storage needs and preferences before investing in containers will save you loads of frustration (and a few dollars, too!)
5. Understand the Importance of Filling Your Space with Inspiration.
Let’s face it, when we scrapbook we’re capturing our life and memories on paper. We’re telling our family’s story…and that’s pretty inspiring stuff. Let your space remind you of the importance of what you’re doing by filling it with items that inspire you to create. Whether you scrapbook at the kitchen table or have a dedicated craft space, look for ways to bring your scrapbooking inspiration into your space. Hang photos. Display completed scrapbook pages. Or, alter storage items using your favorite scrapbook supplies.
With these five key principles under your belt, you’re five steps closer to the scrapbook space of your dreams!
If it’s not for free, it’s not for me!
I feel like I’m constantly organizing my supplies! All I want to do is Scrapbook. That is the reason why I bought all these things to begin with. My biggest problem, I think, is organizing my paper. No Scrapbooker ever said they have enough paper. What pattern to use, does this cardstock match? Then, should I organize it by colors, plaids, stripes, etc.? When I can buy a kit, that seems to work for me. But there aren’t many places where I can buy BoBunny, Kaiser, Graphic 45, Doodlebug, etc. in just the matching line. Your article did help a lot though and gave me some good ideas. Thanks!