How do you keep organized?

[Kristina]

I'm just starting out with embroidery, and find that I'm getting addicted to buying supplies! I can't seem to satisfy my need for new threads, fabrics, tools, etc. But I'm finding that the more I accumulate, the harder it is for me to keep things organized. How does everybody store things such that it makes for neat and easy access? Throwing all my skeins of floss into a box doesn't exactly make it easy when I want to inventory a particular color in advance of a project. Have you found specific storage products that work well? Do you sort your floss by color, brand, material, or some other method? Any tips for helping me keep my living room from looking like a whirlwind passed through would be appreciated! (PS: Mary, I *love* your site. I've learned so much from reading through all your posts!)

[Lily]

He he, so I'm not the only one...
Eversince I renewed embroidering I began accumulating all kinds of things I might need: mouline of all colours, then perle, accesories, endless number of bobbins... well, trying to be professional... but it still isn't easy after days spent on organizing... It's a never-ending process and I think if we are passionate about this hobby we inevitably become what they call "stashers" It's amusing and frustrating... I think I spent more time on organizing and finding new freebies than on stitching itself, so I decided I just need to relax... and be reasonable. No matter how much you have, there's still more to buy...

Well, as to some advice, I'm sure you know about basic things like plastic organizers, bobbins (on which you can write #), just practical stuff... Depends on how meticulous you are... But remember to embroider, so that you do use up materials to free some space from time to time All kinds of boxes come in handy (better plastic or maybe wooden), bags, jars... It's better to have a spacy drawer to keep all your supplies in. Although some people have whole closets...

You can just find online store and look around to see what things there are for organizing - then think it over and decide what will be really useful for you. At least you'll have an idea of what kind of things are out there and eventually you will either order from them or get it from your local store. But getting acquainted with it is more comfortable from home.

[Sileas]

Hallo! newbie here. well, new to the board...

I have a bit of a....*cough* stash.... of antique embroidery thread, mostly Balding Bros. & Co, and ....I had been committing a grave sin. Keeping it in plastic bags. Apparently that's a no-no. I did read somewhere that if you have to do this, keep the bags open, something about a surface coating that should sorta evaporate into the air, rather than into the thread. I've been struggling with the concept of "ore gan eye zay shun" or whatever you call it for some time, coming up with half of a good idea and half of a "and then a miracle occurs..." idea, and then a third half of "too expensive". What I ended up doing was buying several yards of just plain white cotton/poly fabric, about as simple as you can find, and cutting it into strips about 10-12 inches high and XX long, and rolling the thread up in it, organized by color/number. I wrote on the fabric with a pen "1472-1558" so I knew what was in there. They're open ended, so to get a general idea of what kinda color is in there, I just look at the end.

This really only helps with bunches of thread of mostly one type though. I did buy a nice cabinet a few years ago, and it's mostly full---books, frames, thread thread thread, some boxes of thread, some more thread, a few more books, and....stuff. It's not beautiful inside, but it means my stuff isn't sitting out on the floor under my front living room window with no home.

[Doreen]

My dear - you are among the many of us to love to collect and stash all things needlework.

My most successful organization project to date has been for my needles. Terrified that I might not have the correct size and type I started building up a huge stash of needles. Because I am an organizing freak I tried many different approaches to catagorize and properly store my needles. Finally an idea worked. I purchased coin envelopes from an office supply store. I cut some quality felt to hold the needles (actually stapled one end to a card that fit the envelope for stability) and color coded the envelopes with the type of needle. ie - crewel vs tapestry vs embroidery. I then marked on the envelope the size of needles stored within. I found a wooden box that holds the envelopes perfectly and I can quickly retrieve the size and type I need. The quality felt was used to keep the needles from tarnishing or rusting.

I'm still working on thread storage and material storage. As for the tools, well, one can never have too many handy little tools. I keep the ones most often reached for in a small table drawer than sits next to my frame. While working I have a beautiful holder that my husband built for me. It has small holes drilled into the surface to hold scissors, tweezers, counting pins and thread catchers all in an upright position. It also has dowels to hold rings of thread that I am using, and magnets to hold the needles and my needle threader. All in the space of a 6 inch circle. I am quite content to sit and stitch for hours in my work area.

It is also extremely helpful to have a friendly cat that shares your workspace. Why? Because this forces you to put secure everything at the end of your work session, otherwise you'll have threads and stuff strewn from one end of your house to the other.

Organize away but find the time to stitch! The more time I spend stitching the better my organization ideas become.

Regards,

Doreen from Maine

[Kristina]

Thank you all for your suggestions! Some good ideas here, and really it's just a bit of a relief to know I'm not the only one struggling. After I posted the original question, Mary put up a post about some drawer units she got for organizing her threads and I was 1) awed, and 2) jealous. Wasn't her collection gorgeous?!