How organised are you?

**jencel** · 07-09-2010, 07:04 PM

Haha, lol. Sorry, that was my first thought when I read the title of your post. I'm in the bead world too, and I know that they just don't behave themselves.

But seriously, your relatives idea sounds a good one, if you can keep it up to date as you get new stuff. I think it depends partly on whether you're a naturally organised person or not. If not, I wonder if a good way to keep track of things is to make yourself have a clear out regularly, say once a month?

**ejralph** · 07-09-2010, 07:15 PM

Presumably if you are going it full time, you will be putting all this beady stock into your business anyway - so you might as well catalogue/organise it and "value" it at the same time really.

Good luck - both with the business and with the sorting everything out!

Emma

**AliCat** · 07-09-2010, 07:29 PM

I don't use beads so don't have any particular pearls (pardon the pun!) of wisdom regarding organising them but I definitely think it is worthwhile starting off with a good system - after all, once you get going you are likely to have more selections/colours/styles so it would take tons longer to do it at a later stage.

I keep a good stock check of finished designs ready for sale as well as all the bottles of paints I have so that I don't find myself in the situation of needing to fulfil a customer order and finding that I have run out of the colour needed. It took some time to set up and I am a bit rubbish at keeping it up to date but it is well worth the time it takes to bring up to date every month or so.

You might find some good ideas on the Crafty Storage blog which shows craft rooms and storage ideas - many from the US and the craft rooms are likely to make you cry with envy but it is worth battling through the pain!

Good luck with your new venture and wishing you lots of success in the future.

**muffin789** · 07-09-2010, 07:47 PM

Originally posted by ejralph View Post

Presumably if you are going it full time, you will be putting all this beady stock into your business anyway - so you might as well catalogue/organise it and "value" it at the same time really.

Good luck - both with the business and with the sorting everything out!

Emma

Thanks Emma.

The stuff I have will be going into the business, so I do need to account for it, a nd yes my thinking is to have a sort-out and catalogue everything ready to go into whatever form of storage I end up getting (am going to scrutinise this in a couple of weeks; not everyone's cup of tea, and if it's not good quality I won't bother).

I love some of those workrooms on the Crafty Storage blog, Ali. I'm now sitting here thinking my own little room is going to be a bit of an "ugly sister" in comparison (it'll be fine, actually!). Some good ideas there, though; it'll be more time with the tape measure for me this weekend!!

Thanks all!

**cuttingcreations** · 07-09-2010, 10:22 PM

All I can say is GOOD LUCK I have been beading now for 2 years and my OH kindly donated his little computer room to me *he thought it would make the dining room tidier but instead it's in another room. HA HA
That storage thing is fab if you don't decide on this Ikea have some little tin storage drawers which look alright but I suppose it depends what your after

**AliCat** · 07-09-2010, 10:25 PM

I know what you mean - I love looking at the Crafty Storage blog but it does want to make me cry when I see what some lucky people have to work in and then go into my small room (still I guess I am lucky to have that).

Have fun designing your own version....

Ali x

**Christa** · 07-09-2010, 10:35 PM

I am a papercrafter but I have gazillions of non paper things (pretties and bling

) too of course and I use open shelves with a variety of clear glass and plastic jars and stacking containers in a variety of sizes. I label them but if my labelling gets lax I can see at a glance what's in them.

When you finally get yours organised please post pics so I can steal your organised storage ideas

**removed10** · 08-09-2010, 02:20 AM

Heavens to Betsy, I cannot imagine organizing or cataloging beads! Best of luck with that!!

My husband started a craft "shed" for me three years ago - got the foundation/floor done and that was that. but this summer he and our son worked on it like crazy and even enlarged it. The exterior is almost complete - just have to do the trim! But then I have this depressing feeling that the inside will take a year or so...but we'll see.

So regarding storage - personally, I like to be able to see what's in a box on the shelf. Or know form the label just what's in it. Also, keep certain things close to hand like a box with scissors/knives...a box of glues and tapes...etc., i.e., things you need frequently. Get a good daylight lamp. Have a trash can right by you... not much help, sorry. Off to look at this place Ali mentioned...

**AnnieAnna** · 08-09-2010, 09:58 AM

I love Really Useful Boxes. Basically, small see through boxes with clip on lids that stack in an almost clicky way.
My most used boxes have worked their way to the top of my towers. When I want one that's lower down the boxes just get shifted onto the stack to the left or right.

Disasterous things I've tried are:
stacking open boxes - stuff spills and gets dirty.
Boxes with lots of see through pull out drawers in them - lots of spills.
Tool boxes with lots of compartments and see through lids - if the lid isn't a tight fit all the beads swap places.
Glass jars with screw on lids - pretty

- but what a mess when they fall off the shelf and break.

**Aviya Glass** · 08-09-2010, 10:57 AM

I love the thought of being organised and spend a lot of time thinking about getting organised but it is still a work in progress!

I have however made huge steps forward lately. Over the years I have bought many organisers and many are going to go on Ebay because they don't suit. I went to Ikea and bought some flat pack (who would have thought!) boxes for 65p each and have covered them in sticky back paper to make them pretty. I am in the process of packing and labelling them.
Rather embarrassingly in my tidy up I have come across so many duplicates. Things I could not find so bought another one. I mean how many hole punches, rolls of sticky tape or glue sticks does one person need? One Ikea A4 box full apparently!

Lessons learned - Don't stack things too high because getting to the things you need at the bottom (and they are usually at the bottom) is a nuisance which causes untidyiness (and mild rage) when things fall, break or spill.
Rather have narrower shelves but more of them.
Round containers with handles – urgh! I bought 2 from Hobby Craft with 3 revolving tiers but you can’t stack anything on top of them and round takes up a lot of space.

Linbins are super - I use toaster racks for whole pieces of glass but once cut several open linbins to chuck pieces in is proving very convenient.
I have a general bin and a separate bin with the shredder on so that I can shred and bin paper easily for recycling.

So far painting equipment and glass work items are now organized and filing is partially up to date, I have yet to rethink my bead storage as I have several boxes with compartments which are stored by type but perhaps I should store them by colour instead.

HTH All the best with creating a system that works best for you!

**Emmalou** · 08-09-2010, 07:07 PM

I def think cataloging it is the way to go. Just make sure that once a month or whenever you feel necessary you force yourself to update it. I know a lot of people don't like the shop but I luuuurve it and think that some bookcase/shelve unit type things would work well lined up against the wall to hold your boxes and folders,books,catalogues etc

**muffin789** · 08-09-2010, 07:07 PM

Thank you all for sharing your experiences!!

AnnieAnna, I will certainly bear your comments re glass jars in mind, especially as I am quite clumsy and have two roaming indoor moggies who are bound to see any additional storage I put in "their" room as a personal jungle gym

The feeling I get from all your responses is that this is definitely going to be a challenge! I have to agree. But it will be worth it, and by the looks of things I'll have a whole month to do it in, as my redundancy payment won't come through till the end of Oct at the earliest. I think that may actually be a really good thing in that I will have lots of time to get things DONE rather than spending money!

I'm thinking I may start a blog somewhere about my experiences, seeing as I'm still in the early days and it could turn into a bit of an adventure, so there will no doubt be piccies and stuff along the way - I'll post the odd update as and when anything interesting happens!

In the meantime, thanks again for our comments, and keep them coming!!

Sarah

**Emmalou** · 08-09-2010, 07:08 PM

oh and plenty light including those bendy lamps that way you can direct the light where you want it

**MornieG Jewellery** · 08-09-2010, 07:39 PM

Reading this has really made me want to get more organised. The space is small but the stock of stones and lampwork is huge. Love the craft storage blog, not jealous.....much

biggest peoblem is the receipts for the tax man due very soon so forced to sort. On leave next week so no excuse not to have a sort out and tidy up.

When I uded to do a lot of sewing and you collect random lengths of fabric I used to always catalogue it as soon as I got it home. Length, width, cost and take a little snippet and clip it to a card index with all the deatils. Filed it all by type and colour and so easy to see what you have in stock and then take the card with you when you shop for accessories, linings, co-ordinating materials etc.

Mo.XX

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