Thursday, January 2, 2014

Organization Questions Answered!

Ok, so there were a few questions about my die organization and I figured it would probably be easier to put all of the info in one post just in case not everyone checks comments for answers.

#1. What are those boxes? What sleeves did you use? Where do you get them?
I'll be honest, I wasn't really expecting this question. I was thinking of my organization as more of a method rather than a step-by-step tutorial. My mistake! That was silly of me and I'm sorry for not including this information in the original post.

The boxes I use are called Memorex File N Store boxes. I've had trouble finding them locally, so I stocked up from Office Depot online the last time I outgrew a box. Any similar media storage would give you comparable organization options.

The sleeves I use are the ones that came in the boxes. I'm all about no-brainer solutions and this one fit the bill perfectly. Each box comes with 40 double-sided sleeves for a total of 80 pockets per box. As you can see in the post, I removed the sleeves from one of the boxes in order to store my Cover Plates, Impression Plates, etc. so I have a handful of extras that I use to fill the other boxes until they're bursting (that's less of a joke than it should be).

#2. Where do you put your dies that are too big for the boxes?
The border dies I keep on those magnetic knife bar things. I have three of them hanging off the side of my paper storage (those cube things from Michaels that I retrofitted with additional shelves).

The dies that are too big and aren't border dies (ie: Pillow Box, Front & Centers, etc.) are stored in an open basket that lives with the die boxes on the same shelf. They cohabitate with my acrylic blocks for easy access.

#3. Do you label anything?
Nope. The beauty of this system is the flexibility. I don't have the names of anything anywhere so I can shuffle things around as need be. For example, I had the Limitless Layers Hearts in a pocket with the Limitless Layers Squares already, but a new order brought the Stitching Hearts dies. It makes sense (to me) for the two heart sets to be together, so I removed the Limitless Layers Squares and replaced them with the Stitching Hearts collection. The Squares then ended up in a fresh sleeve. If I had labeled everything, the switch wouldn't have been nearly as easy. Make sense?

#4. Do you keep vendors separate?
All of my dies are currently from Papertrey, but I'm the type that would store everything together (I take that back, I have some Quickutz and Spellbinders basics [circles/ovals/etc.], but I keep those hanging on hooks at eye level for easy access). I'm all about making things as intuitive as possible. For me, keeping things separate would mean I'd forget about a specific floral set or something. Keeping everything together means I can easily see all that I have.

I hope that answers any questions you all may have had, but you're certainly welcome to ask and I'll get back with you as soon as possible. Thanks again for your interest!

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