Scraplog

Organization: Pattern Binders

Today I thought I would share with you a simple way that I organize some of my crafting mess that seems to accumulate out of nowhere. I really hate clutter but yet I seem to have it everywhere and I have found that if I have a spot for things it helps me stay better organized.

Since I make a lot of stuff I tend to have a lot of patterns for things. Whenever I use an overhead projector I will end up with a transparency. Whenever I use a stencil, I have to store it somewhere. And the list goes on. So I created a binder for these types of things and I started storing all of my miscellaneous papers in it.

All you need is an empty 3 ring binder and some clear page protectors. Then I just slip the item in it and they all get filed away. The pages above are from my peacock pillow (which is actually a stencil I made on contact paper so I stuck it to the outside of the page protector instead of slipping it inside) and an overhead transparency that I used for the Christmas tree banners.

On the left, the templates for my paper houses from a few years ago and the paper stencil I created for my curtains. Some of these projects I may want to make again and so I don’t want to get rid of the pattern since it took so much time and effort so instead I file it away. It has worked really good for me so far and I’m sure there will be times in the future that I go through the book and purge what I don’t need but for since the binder isn’t full, I keep filing them.

On a similar note, I use the same system for my sewing projects. I would find really cool sewing patterns online and then I would print them out. After a while I had a bunch of loose patterns floating around my sewing room and could never find what I wanted when I wanted it. So, a 3-ring binder saves the day!

Not only do I keep patterns that I have printed out from the internet, but I also keep patterns that I have created myself. Like my apron pattern or the kids apron pattern. I may want to make them again and then I would have to figure out the pattern all over again. It’s so much easier to keep them :) I also make notes on them to remind myself of how I did something.

What about you? Do you have any really good system for storing this kind of thing? I’m glad my system works for me but I always like to hear other ideas that might be better. If that’s even possible :) Ha ha, just kidding!