Paper storage

I absolutely love buying new papers!  It's so nice when you find the perfect piece to match your photos or think of a project...hence I have what seems to be TONS of paper.  Two paper storage towers full to be exact.  So--part of my cleaning entailed me sorting and putting away paper.  I started on the paper mountain with this method:

1) sort out scraps from full 12x12 sheets.  That's it-scraps in one pile-12x12 in another.  Easy-peasy.

2) from the 12x12 pile, sort out solid cardstock/paper from patterned and, in my case, Close to My Heart

    paper from other companies.

3) Next I worked on the Close to My Heart papers.  ALL of my CTMH papers went into the large ziplock

    bags we sell. They are AWESOME.  First, I did solid colors. Each color has it's own bag.  I used a Sharpie

    and wrote on the bag what color it is.  They got put into the tower.

4) Next I put the patterned papers and, if they still had their matching solid cardstock close by, that went in, too.

    Olivia...Hooligans, Cherry-O, etc.  They all got their own bag and labeled the same way.  I then put as many

    bags as would easily fit onto a shelf in the tower.  Since the bags are labeled, they are easy to find.  I did        

    these in alphabetical order.

So---at this point---I began wondering how to label the shelves...hmmm.

Once upon a time I had tied tags to the shelf. Those didn't work too well. Theresa has a clipboard with a list. I know I'd walk off with the clipboard, never find it and with my ADHD brain, matching the list with the shelf wouldn't be easy and I'd only end up frustrated.  I *thought* I was going to cut narrow, 12" strips, score the end, attach a label, and slip that into the shelf above the one I was labeling so it would create a little tag that hung down in front.  That was my plan.

Our pretend Wal-Mart was out of computer ink so I couldn't print the labels for the tags.  The label makers were a but pricy and not what I wanted.  Couldn't find tags to go back to my original method.  BUT WAIT---as I was perusing the office supply aisle, I saw BABY BINDER CLIPS!!! The smallest imaginable.  They were too cute even tho they were solid silver-no pretty color or pattern.  I then hit the ribbon aisle. Found some pretty aqua ribbon. I can tie that onto the clip to dress it up!  And, I have that cute little file folder punch at home...and my handwriting isn't that bad...I couldn't wait to get back home and get to work! It seemed to take forever to get back across that bridge---and then to tie ribbon onto 48 binder clips!  But when I finished...this is what I have...

Not bad, huh? But the very bestest part---the part I didn't count on---is that the binder clips allow me to MOVE THE TAG out of the way to get the paper out! It fits nicely around the wire post and has enough room to swivel!!! See...

I was so pleased, I organized and labeled the other tower, too! 

I have to confess, there's more 12x12 in a drawer to be sorted and put away--and I really need to send some to the yard sale boxes as well.

And the scraps...sigh.  They are in a pile. Not sure what I want to do with those.  I may sift through them and save my favorites--and then donate the rest to one of the local schools.  I have faced the fact that I really don't go to a scrap drawer/box/whatever much.  I've tried. It doesn't work. I try to keep some on hand for my goddaughter to use when she comes to play, but don't need nearly as much as I have.

Hope this helps solve your paper storage dilemma! Any punch would work to make tags--and the binder clips were less than $ 2 I think. It did take 1 1/4 rolls of ribbon to do just a once-over knot so get extra ribbon!

Off to work!

Until next time, happy stamping and scrapping!

Blessings, Sharon