De-Clutter Your Craft Storage {28 Days to De-Clutter}

Yesterday we cleaned out the kids’ closet, which might have been a big chore, depending on how bad it was. Today’s chore has the potential to be even worse because we are going to de-clutter the craft supplies! If you’re keeping up with these challenges, join our 28 Days to De-Clutter Facebook Event page and share your excitement with the rest of us as you accomplish each task! If you’re just joining us now, you can keep up with all the tasks here.

I realize that my audience today represents a broad spectrum of folks from those who shiver at the very mention of the word “craft” to those whose craft supply stockpiles threaten to overtake their home. Wherever you fall on the scale, you can still get some meaningful work done today.

If you think you don’t have craft supplies, think again: most people have at least the basics – scissors, paper, glue, tape, etc. Those can be organized, too! If you’re one of those with a massively huge collection of craft supplies, then just pick one specific type of craft product (paper, for example) to focus on, or maybe one area of your craft storage.

I personally have 3 areas where I store the majority of my craft supplies (although I’m not very crafty, frankly!) – under the bed in 2 boxes, by my sewing machine table, and on the back of my closet door. For this challenge, I focused on the craft storage at the back of my closet door because it is the most visible and contains the craft supplies I use most frequently.

De-Clutter Your Craft Supplies – or at least some of them - in 10 Minutes

Choose your battle and put on your armor. Set your timer for 10 minutes, and…

BEGIN!

If you can’t easily see everything you have (if it’s buried in a box or cupboard, for example), pull it out so you can more effectively sort through it.

Go through your stash of supplies, removing any of the following:

items that are damaged or unusable
items that are outdated (don’t confuse outdated with vintage)
items that you have never used and never will use (you know the ones)
unnecessary duplicates (3 of the same kind of decorative-edged scissors for example)

Place everything you’re going to keep back on the shelf (or wherever you store it), remembering to group like items together (paper, embellishments, adhesives, etc., etc.).

If the supplies you no longer need are still usable, then gift them to another crafty friend or send them off to a thrift store. If you have any nice tools or supplies that could earn you some extra cash, consider selling them on Craigslist or Ebay. If you have a REALLY large collection you need to purge, consider hosting a yard sale.

Ready for more? Read on!

Extra Credit

As you can see in the picture, I store my ribbon on the shelves of my over-the-door unit. I set the spools so that I can drape the end of the ribbon over the side of the shelf, making for easy cutting and measuring. (Thinner ribbons don’t hang over the edge, but they do slide through the slits in the shelving, which works just as well!) I store the odds and ends of ribbon lengths in an old egg holder, and the little bits and pieces that can still be used for something go into little jars.
Picture rails make great storage for a variety of craft items, containing them in one row so you can see at a glance what you have and what you need. Plus, it’s like a form of art!
A peg board is also very useful for craft storage.
This post walks you through some creative ideas for craft storage, depending on how much room you have to devote to craft supplies.
A wine rack filled with glasses can hold all kinds of craft supplies – pens, markers, paintbrushes, etc.
Check out the 28 Days to De-Clutter Pinterest Board for more inspiration!

Let’s De-Clutter Together

If you completed today’s 10-minute task, I’d love to hear about it! Tell me all about it – and show me a picture – on the 28 Days to De-Clutter Facebook Event page. Bloggers can grab the badge below and write a post – I’ll link to it in my next post and pin it to my 28 Days to De-Clutter Pinterest Board, and share on Facebook and Twitter. And everyone can join in on the Twitter conversation by using the hashtag #28daystodeclutter.