Scrapping on a Shoestring, Part 2

Scrapping on a Shoestring, Part 2:
Organization
by Melissa Johnson

The biggest factor in being able to scrapbook without breaking the bank is organization. Being organized is the most important element in saving your time, money, and frustration. I say this from experience, as I have learned it the hard way.

It is much easier to organize your photos and supplies in the beginning instead of waiting until you have gathered so many that you have lost track. There is nothing worse than buying paper or stickers and finding out that you had them already, or buying them because you KNOW you have them but cannot locate them. Supplies can multiply like wire coat hangers if you don't keep them under control from the very beginning!

So just how DO you organize your photographs and supplies? The biggest part of your organizing is your pictures. These are the base of all that you do and getting these in order will simplify the rest of the process. To begin, gather ALL of your loose photographs into one place. We had envelopes of pictures all over the house - a drawer here, a drawer there, thrown in boxes from our move, and in various albums (all unsafe) that were scattered throughout the house.

Once you have gathered what will probably be decades' worth of photos, the best thing is to organize them chronologically. Creative Memories has a terrific Croptalk on this, called "Power Layouts." First, sort your photos loosely by decade. The next step is to go back through each "decade" of pictures and try to sort them by year. Once you get going it really is not as hard as it sounds. My husband and I managed to sort several thousand of his parents' pictures into chronological order in about 10 hours, over a couple of days.

You can identify the times by the clothes people were wearing, what the Christmas tree looked like, how big the kids are, etc. (My husband has one set of pictures he calls the "blue-haired doll" pictures. In some of the photos, the only reason we knew they went with a specific year was because in all the pictures of the gifts, these same blue-haired dolls were there!)

If you have some photos you aren't sure about, just put them in where you think they make sense. If you get the major events like the holidays, birthdays, weddings, vacations, and so on in the right order, that's half the battle. You may find as you go on that you remember more about what was going on and can place some of the photos more specifically.

After you've gotten the photos sorted, you want to keep them that way. There are several different ways to store them. There are inexpensive photo boxes available, with dividers. You can sort them by year only, or for each year, label the different events. You can also use file folders and keep the photos in a file box or cabinet. There are several things out on the market specifically for organizing photos. Highsmith makes several different styles of acid-free corrugated cardboard totes or chests that can be used.

I use the photo tote for the pictures I am currently working on, and the chest to store all the rest of our pictures until I can get to them. You may not want to or need to scrap EVERY photo, so you can save the ones that you don't put into an album in a tote. Cropper Hopper makes a plastic photo tote for about $20, and you can add to it dividers, and even poly photo holders, if you like.

Now that you have your photographs organized, your next step is to keep your supplies organized, so that you know what you have and can lay your hands on it quickly. A good rule to follow (it will save you LOTS of money!) is to only buy what you need for one or two specific sets of photos as you go along, so that you are using up what you buy as you get it.

I have a friend who can generally fit all of her supplies for specific layouts in a shoebox (except for the paper). She takes the photos she wants to work on to the store and buys only what she will need for those pictures. She does not buy any more until she has scrapped those photos.

I envy her but I realize that I don't operate that way. So I try to have my supplies organized. I have all of my stickers in a binder, sorted loosely by category (my "miscellaneous" category tends to grow faster than the rest!) The categories I use are animals, flowers/nature, birthday/anniversary/party, travel/vacation, Christmas, Fourth of July/Patriotic, heritage, baby/children, borders, Mary Engelbreit (one of my favorite artists), and the ever-growing miscellaneous. I also have all of my alphabet stickers sorted by color, regardless of sizes or styles.

I have a small accordion file that has all of my diecuts sorted by categories similar to the stickers, although I am considering getting rid of it. I have discovered that I don't use diecuts very often. You will find your own "scrapping" style after a while, and realize you don't have to buy every new sticker, diecut, or paper that comes out. Now that I know I don't use diecuts much, I only look at them when I have something very specific in mind.

When it comes to organizing paper, I got an inexpensive plastic file tote from the office supply store, and I have the paper sorted in rainbow order in separate file folders. I am still in somewhat of a quandary with the patterned paper, but at the moment keep certain types together, regardless of the color - all the gingham in one folder, floral patterned in another, animal print in another, etc. It generally serves my purposes.

When it comes to the "tools" of scrapbooking - the scissors, circle/oval cutters, rulers, pens, markers, adhesives and so on, do what works best for you. If you have a dedicated space set aside, it is convenient to keep all of your tools on the table or in drawers nearby. My husband and I tend to do most of our scrapping at crops, so I have my tools in my Crop Station.

Since I like to rubber stamp also, and tend to do that away from home, I have one small tote that I keep the things in that can be used for both, such as adhesives, scissors, black and white pens, pencil, eraser, photosaver cloth, ruler, X-acto knife and blades, and Fiskars trimmer. When I am going to scrap somewhere, I can grab it and stick it in with my scrapbook tote, or put it in my bag with my stamps and some paper, and I am ready to go.

Organization is something that some people really enjoy doing, and if this is something that you like to do, then this will not be a problem. However, for myself, I like BEING organized, but do not necessarily enjoy the process of reaching that point. However, I have found that I enjoy myself much more, and am definitely more productive when I can easily find the items I need, when I stay organized.

So for those of you just starting out with scrapbooking, my advice to you is to start now, start small, and it won't take much time to stay caught up with it. For those of you who may be like me, take it one step at a time and keep plugging away. The end result is one that you and your scrapbooks (and your family!) will find beneficial and enjoyable!

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