Organization

Organization | Tips for Redesigning Your Scrapbook Area

January 3, 2012 By Melissa Stinson 9 Comments

The start of a new year is a time that many people – not just scrapbookers – start thinking about organizing, cleaning, and purging their spaces. For me and my scrap room, this process always starts way before January. I’m an absolute wimp when it comes to cold temperatures and gray skies, so as soon as it starts to get even a touch chilly outside I retreat indoors to my warm, cozy spaces. The problem is that after I spend just a few weeks in those spaces, I start itching to rearrange them and try something new. I guess I just get tired of looking at the same old surroundings!

I started plotting and planning my scrap room revamp in late October, and then after waiting to have time to make the trip to IKEA (the closest one to me is about four hours away) I finally started the actual makeover process in early December. It took about a month of work interspersed between my regular job, family gatherings, and Christmas prep and celebration, but I’m finally finished and am thrilled that my scrapping space now looks like this!

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Filed Under: Inspiration, Organization Tagged With: Ikea, Organization

Paperclipping Roundtable #41: I Fought Sorting By Color

October 14, 2010 By Nancy Nally Leave a Comment

In this episode of the Paperclipping Roundtable, Noell, Izzy & I take on your organizational questions with the help of a panel consisting of Wendy Smedley and Molly McCarthy.

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The Panel

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Picks of the Week

Organizing: Digital Elements

June 4, 2010 By Nancy Nally 13 Comments

As I’ve started experimenting with digital scrapbooking (mostly for making photo books), I’ve started to accumulate the supplies to go with the new format I’m playing in. At first, there were so few that it was easy to keep track of what I had pretty much in my head and just browse through folders to find things, but now…well, it’s definitely beyond that.

It got to where I had to come up with a new way to find my stuff, and a new way to avoid making duplicate purchases. I had to be able to find what I need! I considered using the photo gallery tool in my Photoshop Elements, and I may still do that, but first I decided to do some basic file organization so my hard drive wasn’t chaos.

My digital elements are stored divided into the following folders:

Alphabets
Brushes
Card Templates
Embellishments
Kits
Papers
Templates

I will probably divide out my patterned and solid papers into separate folders soon since they are starting to get a bit crowded.

The next key was coming up with consistent file names that allowed my files to naturally sort themselves into the way I usually look for them. I wanted things sorted by store, then by designer, then by product name, so I came up with the following file name style:

store_designer_productname

Some of these items are abbreviated, especially store and designer names, to keep file names manageable. But the result is that I can see everything I have within a folder from a single store together, and then see what I have from each designer at that store listed together. Since different stores and designers tend to have distinctive styles, just like in paper design, it helps me to be able to have all of their items together since I tend to use them together. My file list ends up looking like this:

This way, if I’m using a product by a certain designer, it is easy to look for something to use with it that might be a similar style. And it is easy to double-check my files to see if I already bought that item on my wishlist (and forgot to delete it from the list) before I hit “buy” again!

Being able to use the filenames to find my files is especially important to me. I’m on a Mac and Mac OS X doesn’t allow you to set an image for your folder icon the way that you can on Windows. So when I’m looking at a folder, all I have to go on for the contents is the file name.

This method, which is actually similar in many ways to how I arrange my paper scrapping supplies, is working for me for now. I will likely have to use the library in PSE 8 to be able to do more tagging and previewing at some future point, I realize, however. ACDSee is a popular option for doing this on Windows. Currently there is a beta version of the ACDSee Pro software for Mac but since beta usually equals buggy, I’m in no hurry to take that on.

If you would like other ideas on how to organize your digital supplies, check out these resources:

Katie’s system is similar to what I use, only she divides stuff out by type and topic way more than I do and uses numbered folders to keep things in the exact order that she wants.

Just because digital supplies aren’t sitting around in messy piles doesn’t mean we don’t need a way to impose order on them to be able to find what we want when we want it. An orderly hard drive makes for a happy digital scrapper!

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Filed Under: Organization Tagged With: digital scrapbooking, Photoshop Elements

Organization Talk: Bits & Pieces

June 4, 2010 By May Flaum 12 Comments

Perhaps the most perplexing scrapbook organization issue is what to do with all the other supplies scrapbookers have that I didn’t address in my previous article. Long gone are the days of just stickers and paper. With all the various items available it can be frustrating, and time consuming, to figure out how to store your things.

I’d love to have a bag like this one by Anna Griffin. The problem is, what would it hold? How would I use it? The answer, sadly, is that it would sit in the back of my closet. I mention this because it shows that the difference between what is lovely and what you want (versus what you need and what works) can be wildly different. There are two things that I find the simplest and most effective in most cases for storage:

1. Boxes. Usually in the form of plastic bins, crates, pull-out drawers, or any other item that you can put supplies into.

2. Shelves. Sometimes the easiest way to store things is simply by not putting them inside anything at all, but rather leaving them out but contained on a counter or shelf.

These are effective because they are basic, and they are smart picks because you can utilize them for absolutely anything. If you change your mind or your needs change, you won’t have invested in specialty storage items. With that in mind, there are a lot of other options, and today I will talk about the ways I use, and other ways I have considered to use, to store my “other” supplies.

Ribbon storage is a tricky thing. I love dowels for rolls of ribbon and cool boxes like this one, but because I tend to buy single yards or ribbon that comes on cards, neither is a viable solution for me. I find containers with ribbon (loose) sorted by color to be the most effective method. I have heard that pinning lengths of ribbons to a string or even onto hangers in a closet is good, but I’ve yet to try it.

This unmounted stamp binder from the Idea-ology line by Tim Holtz is intriguing, and I know some people have great success with this kind of a system. I’ve just never been able to make it work long-term.

This holder for clear/unmounted stamps by 7 Gypsies is intriguing, I’m just not sure that it would hold enough or be the right size for my stamps to work well.

As far as wood mounted stamps go, I choose to store them on shelves around my studio. They’re out and visible, and easy to access. I have some older (rarely used) wood stamps stored in a box.

The supplies I have in boxes or on shelves right now depend on my frequency of use, and need to have at my fingertips. I keep most punches boxed:

Due to their frequency of use and to keep them away from prying preschooler fingers, I keep ink pads, paints, and mists up on high shelves just above my work surface.

Pens are a unique challenge, as most require you store them tip-down or sideways so that they do not dry out. I have a little box that I use (no idea where it came from) for most of my pens that keep them tucked right where I need them – within arms reach!

For my tools that get used often such as scissors, paint brushes, hole punches, and more I try to keep them in cups. I have this craft caddy (made by Fiskars a few years back) that I use for most things, but any kind of cup will work. The trick is finding ones that are a good size for the items you’re using them for.

This wraps up my articles for Scrapbook Update on storage and organization for now, but I have a feeling that I’ll be re-visiting some specific topics and challenges as I find solutions for myself. If you have any comments, or would like to add your own solutions please feel free to leave a comment here or contact me via e-mail at may@scrapbookupdate.com

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Filed Under: Organization

Organization: Digital Totes

June 2, 2010 By Nancy Nally 3 Comments

Remember when I said that scrapbooking wasn’t really tote-able anymore? Oops, I meant paper scrapbooking wasn’t really tote-able anymore. But there’s another kind of scrapbooking that is still completely portable for a large portion of its practitioners: digital scrapbooking. And I’ve got the bags to prove it.

If you’ve got a laptop, you’ve got portable digital scrapbooking. The question is, how do you haul it with you? And what accessories do you need to take along? I’ll tell you what I use to haul my digital creative tools.

First, let’s talk about the all-important tote. I have several for my MacBook. (I actually own more camera and computer bags than I own shoes. Seriously.) Which bag I use depends on the situation.

My workhorse bag is by geek favorite Timbuk2. The San Francisco-based company makes premium bags that are functional and durable. Mine is a discontinued model called the Hacker, a vertical messenger bag which features tuck-away backpack straps as well as a messenger-style shoulder strap. It is very similar to the Blogger bag (the major difference was the backpack straps) that the company still offers, although the Hacker doesn’t have the TSA-compliant feature that version 2 of the Blogger has. The Blogger is available in several different colors. List price for it is $110 but it’s available for as little as $88 on Amazon.com depending on the color.

This bag has some features that I really like. It is very weatherproof (ever seen what a summer rain storm looks like in Florida?) when it is wet outside. There are lots of small pockets to corral my various small items like card readers and earbuds. And the laptop compartment is incredibly well cushioned and lined in lush, sturdy corduroy to protect my machine.

(Note for trade show attendees: I also have Timbuk2’s Hidden Tote, a zip-away tote that is made from fabric created from recycled plastic bottles. It is fabulous for throwing in my trade show roller bag and using for carrying the overflow of catalogs and handouts that I pick up over the course of the day.)

As much as I love my Hacker, however, it isn’t the perfect bag to take everywhere with me. When I fly, I am usually carrying both my dSLR camera and my laptop. There are advantages to being able to keep them with me in the same bag, so I have another bag for my laptop when I fly: the Kata KT DR-467.

This bag is great because it keeps all my gear together but still fits under most airline seats, and gives me a little extra room for in-flight comforts. (When I don’t have my laptop with me, I frequently use this bag for hauling my camera gear on theme park day trips. The empty laptop compartment can hold souvenirs such as t-shirts or spare supplies for my daughter. It also comes with a foul weather cover in case we get caught outside in a shower.) The updated version of the bag (the Kata DR-467i Digital Rucksack) has a feature I really like – a tripod attachment – and sells for $89.90 on Amazon.

And of course, if you’ve ever seen me at CHA you know I also have a rolling bag for my laptop as well. Currently I’m using a Swiss Gear one that is styled like a catalog case. It would make a great companion if I wanted to attend a crop hybrid-style, with some digital and some paper gear.

All of these bags are functional, but they look, well, functional. So for the rare occasion when looks really do count, I have a leather bag that I picked up at an outlet that isn’t very practical but carries my laptop and lets me look good doing it. Sometimes we must suffer for fashion, right?

What goes in these bags is surprisingly minimal, at least as it relates to my creative pursuits. I have a Belkin Mini Surge Protector Dual USB Charger, a Sandisk MobileMate SD Plus USB Card Reader, and my power cord. I don’t carry a mouse, or other external devices. Occasionally I carry a Western Digital My Passport external hard drive for back-up purposes. I know some serious users will carry a small tablet device (you can even buy a case for some of the smaller Wacom ones). But for me I just stick to a trackpad when I am on the go (and most of the time at home too). It keeps things simpler.

Using this system of bags keeps me pretty well equipped to be creative digitally anytime, any place!

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Filed Under: Organization Tagged With: CHA, Kata, Sandisk, Timbuk2, Western Digital