in january i happened across karen brown of "just get it done quilts" 's declutter challenge and started watching her prep videos, which cover a lot of different ideas about quilt room organization and decluttering. although i am not currently able to follow her month-long decluttering schedule, i picked up a lot of ideas from her!
i have been exploring scrap storage options ever since i read jolene klassen's new book "scrap quilt diary." jolene said she uses lori holt of "bee in my bonnet" 's scrap storage system, so i went to lori's blog to learn about that. basically, these smart ladies cut all their scrap pieces into strips and squares of specific sizes they frequently use and store the scraps by size, further sorting by color or value is optional. so smart! having ready-cut strips and squares in standard sizes is like making your own precuts. most of the ladies i learned from have set patterns they know they can make quilts from using the standard sizes. this means the scraps are more likely to get used.
i have already been cutting scraps from my dump-them-all-in scrap basket for this fun "bonnie lass" project, so it makes sense to me to have scraps precut in standard squares and strips for other projects. once i have my scraps organized, i will share the results.
i read more about scrap storage from amy smart of "diary of a quilter," she's also doing a purge and sewing room declutter for january. additionally, amy had an organization guest post from andy of "a bright corner," which i think is how i ended up with karen brown. maybe.
anyway, all these ladies had great ideas for decluttering/organizing the sewing room and for sorting/storing/using scraps. it was inspiring!
my space has needed a major overhaul for a while now. i took the ideas i gleaned and decided on a few to implement in small doses when i have time.
i tried a few containers from target for scrap storage, which i'll get to in a moment. what i'm going to start talking about is my new project boxes and tower, because this is what's working best and is most exciting for now.
i ordered two
iris brand six-box storage towers (which come with optional wheels) and have stacked them together. there is one more tower i'll be putting under my sewing table for scrap storage
the boxes in the tower are 12" x 12", 3" deep boxes with snap-close lids. they are fantastic for individual project boxes! i'm so happy with them. and the 12 in this tower are already full of wips. so i've ordered another two towers, which should do me. (my wip page says i have 17 works-in-progress that are in the piecing stage. there are actually a few more than that, but 24 boxes will be adequate.) proects to the flimsy stage or further along are stored elsewhere in my room.
the box above contains all the finished blocks for my "sunny crossroads" quilt. there is a pile of fabrics still to be used somewhere in the room, which i can add to the box.
this box has some finished blocks and a lot of the fabrics for my "cute betsy hearts" quilt.
many of the boxes have all the fabric, including the backing, in the box. this is so convenient!
i really like that these boxes are clear for visibility. i feel like visibility means i'm more likely to work on the projects and not forget them. the aesthetic in me wishes these weren't plastic and looked prettier, but they look good enough and are quite practical. the tower included all the boxes, which was great. no guess work about fit!
these deeper sterilite rectangular boxes are what i used to store projects in; a few of the projects, at least because i only have about 8 of these. the rest of my wips were stacked and scattered around the room.
i like the shallower square boxes because they accomodate larger finished quilt blocks. these boxes now hold fabric pulls for future quilts that i haven't cut into yet. these live at the back of my pressing table. i can reach them pretty easily, but they aren't in a prime spot. they are further down the to-do list, so this is fine.
i ordered a set of iris's slimmest boxes, which i'm sure are absolutelly perfect for scrapbooking. however, they were a little too thin for quilt projects. if i had all the blocks done or maybe cut, they would store those fine. but they aren't deep enough to store additional fabric with blocks. so i'll be using those elsewhere in the house. to be determined.
before i ordered the iris boxes, i made a stop at target to see what they had to offer. i was really hoping for something pretty that would add to the look of my room
and be practical. my sewing room has this set of square cubby shelves where i store a lot of my books, notions, and fabric pulls. but i feel like it's underutilized with far too much empty space.
target no longer carries the milk crate boxes i originally got with these shelves, but i found these skinny woven baskets i was hoping i could stack in the cubbies. but they don't work at all. they stick out more than an inch and i can't fit two side-by-side in the cubby.
but that's okay because they weren't ideal for my scrap storage anyway. i put my 2" strips in this basket to test it out. now that i've tried the iris boxes, i think they will be perfect for scrap storage by cut size. iris also makes the tower with drawers instead of the boxes, which is what i plan to put my scraps in. i think drawers will be more accessible and appropriate for scrap storage than boxes. individual boxes with lids are good for items that need to be contained and moved around a lot. i envision opening and closing a drawer that stays in place rather than taking out a box and opening a lid for scraps. since it doesn't need to be portable, open top is better.
i got these white plastic baskets from target, as well. they were inexpensive and not too offensive looking. my issue with these is they don't stack and they don't fit my cubbies, either.
they did fit my scrap strips okay, but i think the 12" x 12" drawers are going to be better.
so, my room is getting some much-needed organization! hopefully, this helps with making more quilts more easily.
i have another system i bought to maybe put my fabric in. when i get to try it out, i'll report back on that next.
