Crafty Storage Solutions
by Debbie Williams

Creating storage for craft and hobby items can be quite challenging - what to do with all those parts and pieces? Here are some of my favorite tips for conquering craft clutter, and finding a storage solution you can live with.

GENERAL HOBBY STORAGE: Stash It! Under bed storage boxes with lids (I recommend plastic since they last longer than cardboard), tackle boxes and fishing lure boxes for storing small items. Purge! Get rid of some of the things you've tucked away but are out of style (or your taste has changed). Donate to church craft groups or senior citizens groups.

BONUS ROOM: Use business furniture or a double clothes closet in a bedroom to create a niche for crafting or sewing. The doors can be closed to hide your work in progress. A folding screen can easily disguise a work area.

WORKTABLE: A card table or metal banquet table stores under the bed when not in use. This is great if your hobby room doubles as a bedroom. My husband has even used a large piece of plywood over the spare bedroom mattress as a workspace. This can easily be stored when guests visit.

SPECIAL NEEDS STORAGE

• - Utilize caddies or totes for tall items.
• - Vertically hung knotted rope or horizontal dowel rod dispenses spools of ribbon.
• - Use toilet paper rolls (covered in cloth or contact paper) to organize tall things (paintbrushes, scissors, pencils) in shallow tubs or totes.
• - For glues and paints, make a 3-sided box with 45 degree slanted sides and notched back for upright bottle storage (constructed from foam board or cardboard), then tuck into a plastic shoe box. If you really feel creative, list the contents of each box on an index card. The card can then be taped to the box, or stored in a card file or binder. This makes a portable inventory to take to the craft store when purchasing supplies.
• - Tackle boxes are great for storing needle work. They are portable, and the small trays are just the right size for needles, thread and buttons. Film canisters with lids store small buttons, and empty thermometer cases with lids are ideal for long needles.
• - Beads: For smaller things (beads, for instance), you can use divided fishing lure boxes (the clear plastic ones with a hinged lid). It keeps them separated and is portable. There also is a rolling plastic box that keeps lots of small items intact. I've seen these at discount stores and in mail order catalogs.

These are a few tips sent in by readers that are not only useful but very frugal. By utilizing these simple tools for organizing your hobby materials, you will spend less time searching and more time crafting.

---Debbie Williams is an author, speaker and radio host who offers tools
and training to help you put your life in order. Learn more tips like these in her book, Common Sense Organizing (Champion Press Ltd, January 2005)