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Get Organized for Scrapbooking

by Aby Garvey

Are you looking for ways to get more organized so you can make the most of your scrapbook time? You’ve come to the right place! Below are simple and doable ideas to help you get organized and get scrapbooking!

Find snippets of time to scrapbook. Browse through idea books while waiting for appointments. Sketch layouts during your lunch hour. Journal for a few minutes each night before bed. Sort photos while watching your favorite T.V. show.

Free up your schedule. Give up any activity you do out of habit or no longer enjoy in favor of scrapbooking.

Make an appointment with yourself. Set a recurring appointment on your calendar to scrapbook. Give this appointment the same priority as any other appointment on your calendar. If you have to miss it, reschedule it – just as you would a missed dentist appointment.

Combine scrapbook time with activities that support other goals and interests in your life. When you scrapbook with friends, you accomplish your scrapbook goals as well as social and relationship goals. Scrapbook while your kids do their homework. You’ll be at the ready to answer questions.

Keep supplies convenient. Store your in-process projects and basic tools in a picnic basket or antique wooden box in your living area. By keeping your projects close at hand you’ll be able to quickly and easily pull out your projects whenever you have a few spare minutes.

Simplify your approach to scrapbooking.

1. Find a page design you love and make multiples. Use the same basic layout for various types of scrapbook pages such as Christmas, birthday, and 4th of July. The different themes and embellishments will make each page unique!
2. Buy scrapbook kits. Kits save precious time on selecting supplies and making sure everything matches.
3. Invest in a layout idea book. Why spend hours arranging and rearranging your photos on your scrapbook pages? Use someone else’s layout. Your personality and creativity will show through in your color selection, embellishment choice and photos!
4. Keep journaling simple. Record key information about the event or pictures. Simply list who, what, when, and where.
5. Take the guess work out of color coordination. Stick with color schemes created by the scrapbook supply manufacturers. Or invest in a color wheel and come up with your own tried and true color combos!

Simplify the other areas of your life.

1. Anything you do routinely, do less often. Buy doubles at the grocery store. Make doubles of favorite recipes and casseroles and freeze the second batch. Scrapbook on the evenings you enjoy your second batch.
2. Avoid last minute errands by buying essential household items in bulk. Keep an extra supply of shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant, toilet paper, and so on. If you’d make a special trip to the store when you run out, stock up and save the trip!
3. Be on the lookout for ways to simplify your life! The simplify 101 newsletter is loaded with ideas and tips to help you get organized and save time… so you have time for the important things… like scrapbooking. It’s free, so why not give it a test drive?

Organize your supplies. Pare down to those supplies you use and love! Then, contain your supplies in containers that inspire you and make it easy to know what you have and use what you have. Use your scrapbook supplies to create crafty labels --- you’ll know where all your goods are and add a creative touch in the process.

Consistency counts. You’ll find your supplies and tools faster if you maintain a consistent organizing scheme throughout your workspace and storage area. If you store your patterned paper by theme, why not store your stamps by theme as well? The fewer systems you use, the more likely you’ll find what you need when you need it.

Know your scrapbook storage limitations when buying supplies. To make the most of your scrapbook time, it’s critical that your tools and supplies are convenient. Buy what you have the space to store. It’s far better to have fewer things that are easily accessible than to stock up and be unable to find what you’re looking for.

Keep collections together. Once you decide on a sorting scheme for your scrapbook supplies, keep your whole collection of that item in a single container. This will make your supplies easier to find … saving you time. For example, if you store your embellishments by color, keep ALL pink embellishments in a single container and all blue embellishments in another container.

Make it convenient. Store items as close to your work area as possible. Prioritize your storage accordingly. Keep frequently used tools and supplies at eye level and within arm’s reach when you’re sitting at your workstation. The less often you use an item, the further away from you it should be stored.

Keep track of your supplies. Here’s a fun trick to help you keep track of your favorite papers and cardstock by making a cardstock swatch book. To make a swatch book, cut or punch squares of cardstock. In each square of cardstock, punch a round hole using a standard hole punch. On the back of each paper sample, note where you purchased the paper and any other information you have such as manufacturer, name of the color, etc. Secure the squares together using a loose-leaf ring, available from office supply stores.

Take one idea and make it happen! Organization is an ongoing process. Pick one idea from the list above and get busy making it happen. Then, come back to the list for more ideas.

Good luck and happy scrapbooking!

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