I Like Organising! {The Organisation Celebration Blog Hop}

Hello! Hello! Today I'm delighted to be part of The Organisation Celebration Blog Hop, organised by the lovely Jennifer of Jennifer's Jumbles. If you haven't just arrived from Jennifer's, you might want to pop back there for the 'official' start. Either way, I hope you'll be able to join us, as we'll be sharing our craft organisation secrets - and there's an amazing collection of October Afternoon and Studio Calico goodies to be had! 

So let me start by sharing a secret - I like organising. Sometimes I enjoy the organisation as much as the crafting (but if anyone asks I will swear I didn't tell you that.) Anyway, since I find it incredible difficult to be creative in an untidy environment – it's probably a good thing. But, my main advantage in maintaining a well ordered and organised craft room actually lies in a 'deplorable' habit I picked up from my dad – I don’t throw anything away.

While this is a habit that could, quite easily, have toppled me across the line into the disorganised, hoarder cohort, I’ve managed to find a few ways to make it work for me – both creatively and organisationally.

Here’s How -

First of all, I now almost exclusively work from a kit. Joining in with the Counterfeit Kit Club has revolutionised my life. There’s no more rummaging around every time I want to make something and no more leaving papers and embellishments all over the room. I keep each of my kits in a zip-locked bag – cardstock, patterned papers, alphas and embellishments.

To further prove my anal retentiveness, I have a smaller bag which I use to keep all of my kit scraps together, meaning that I have them on hand for additional cards or layouts (and let me tell you, there is no scrap too small.) This, smaller bag, gets popped into the larger one to keep everything together. Whenever I need a smaller piece of patterned paper or cardstock, I will rummage through the smaller bag to see if I have anything suitable, before I attack any of the larger pieces with my scissors!

When I ‘retire’ my kits, I spend a little while sorting the remaining items back into the rest of my ‘stupidly organised’ space. Cardstock and papers are organised by colour - and anything that's larger than around 5x7 will end up back with the full sheets.

Anything smaller than that will end up in an old shoebox, which I will occasionally rummage through  when I need to add to my Counterfeit Kit. When the box gets full, I have a little 'session' with my paper trimmer, corner rounder and some loud music - which results in little stacks of card in 5x7, 6x4, 3x5 and 2.5x3.5. Perfect for mini-albums, artistic trading cards or a small greetings card.

Teeny, tiny scraps and anything that looks a little bit awkward (which would normally end up in someone’s bin) are not overlooked in my craft room! I tend to use them with some of the smaller stamps or punches in my collection, which provides me with additional embellishments and leaves me with very little wastage.

Now, About That Amazing Giveaway -

You may, or may not, have noticed a little letter hidden away somewhere in my post - can you see it? Well, in order to be entered into a prize draw for this amazing collection of October Afternoon 9-5 and Studio Calico Take Note goodies, all you have to do is 'collect letters' from each of the blog hop participants, then e-mail Jennifer with your answer. Don't worry if you don't have time to complete the entire hop today, you have until 11:59pm (BST) on the 2nd of July.

So, ready for a little bit more organisational fun? Then head over to visit Leanne at My Little Life Of Scrap, who has some more organisational tips and techniques for you, along with that all important new letter!