Saturday 21 February 2015

Sorting the (S)crap

I know, it's a much used sort of title, but really, you have no idea how long it's taken to sort, corral and control my scrap card and paper. It deserves a post of it's own, and a cheesy post title!
Wegular weaders will wemember that I spent some time last month complaining and then bragging about a bit of a sort out.  I put all my old, very old and nearly disintegrating scrapbook papers on the top of the piles and in the boxes that would be first to be pulled out when the photos-to-paper selection process begins.  



The patterned papers are in boxes..once, they were in manufacturer order, but not now. This means that I have to go through all of them to find something that works instead of just selecting from the one box of favourites.




Plain 12 x 12 and below that are my stick on alphabets. I may have a problem with them.  As if I don't have enough alphabet stamp sets. The box on the third shelf is the selection of photos that I've already matched to pages. You will know by now that this is both a great idea and a terrible idea for me. I can't always remember why I thought a particular paper would work so well....but I'm sticking to it as far as I can!

Then I chopped tidied and re-sorted my plain card scraps.  These live at the left hand of my desk so that I can access them while I'm 'working'. The whites are at the front...the most visited section and the most used 'colour' to become 'scrap' size. Which for me is A5 or smaller. But not teeny.
Because I don't want to go through this again, so far, I'm keeping this as it should be and benefitting by using some. I can't tell if I use as much as I create or not.  That's a scientific question that I probably need to dwell upon.
Its a small bit of discipline in my quite undisciplined craft life. And it is paying off in parts - recent scrapbook pages have been made on papers that are at least five years old. I am actually using stuff that would otherwise be neglected for even longer. And that does add to the satisfaction of anything completed, I can tell you.

15 comments:

Helen said...

I have loads and loads of papers that haven't seen the light of day for years... maybe I'll open one of the boxes for next Wednesday... Hope your sorting continues to work for you.

Dotty Jo said...

My stash in such a mess... I can't find anything! Well done you, Jo x

Claire said...

Hi Julia
Well done on sorting your stash, I've been doing mine too, where does it all come from? I know what you mean about using up old stuff, feels great doesn't it :D
Claire
xx

voodoo vixen said...

Well done indeedy! I am actually enjoying using up old papers, old paper pads that have half missing... and not feeling that insane need to keep all the little offcuts! LOL

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I missed you on WOYWW, partly because I had computer problems and partly because when I got back online, I was caught up on catching up.

You did a marvelous job with your sorting. And bringing out the old seems to be a theme for many of us this year. You have done a very good thing, and I know you are much happier as a result. I like your sorting method, too, especially since I am color driven and not product driven.

Laura said...

I am with you. I use my scraps but the piles never get any smaller.
(Haha! You know what I mean!)

Sue said...

Loving the organisation.

Hope you are enjoying the weekend. Sue

airing cupboard crafts said...

Check you out being all organised! I so need to do this but I just can't face it yet - I need to go to ikea for more storage..........

Krisha said...

WELL DONE JULIA!!!

Beverley Baird said...

Such a great way to organize. I have so many bits and pieces all over - really have to organize.

misteejay said...

Well done with your efforts to organise and make a dent in that stash mountain of papers.
Toni xx

April said...

Very impressive. I have paper that is mish mash and some that is sorted in collections. I tend to go to my collection stash first. I'm impressed that you know how old your paper is. LOL
April

Zsuzsa Karoly-Smith said...

Well done, Julia - your system looks rather functional. I must say I don't fuss much about patterned paper these days - I just use what comes out of the pile first. I still don't have the heart to use some of my best ones though. The Basic Greys for example are off limits. Those are only for cuddling.

RosA said...

Sometimes I think I waste so much time sorting and organising that I might as well forget about ever starting something new :) Around here it's called "shuffling the deckchairs", sigh. Good to see you have had some success with your sorting. Honestly, I have a monumental quantity of 12x12 card/paper ... and I don't even do scrapbooking!

fairyrocks said...

Great job on organizing. I too am trying to get more done by being able to find what I 'know I have' easily. It really is time to use the good stuff and dig deeper into the stash. Keep smiling and creating.