Organizational Tips: Scrapbook Part 3

If you're like me then you have a lot of scrapbooking projects going on at the same time and these projects can begin to take up more than their fair share of space. Scrapbooking can quickly take over your work space between the papers, pictures, stickers, and embellishments for each project. Due to the delicate nature of scrapbook supplies I am overly zealous in organizing my current projects. I only have 2 tips for organizing current projects, but feel free to post your ideas in the comments below.

Tip #1: Invest in page protectors (the size that fits your scrapbook) or 12 x 12 Ziploc storage bags. I personally prefer the page protectors because the pages fit easily into your scrapbook and can be used when your page is finished, but the page protectors can become pricey. Put your scrapbook paper, pictures, stickers, etc. for each project into a page protector or storage bag. The protectors can be put back into your scrapbook while the storage bags can be stored in a 12 x 12 scrapbook box.

Tip #2: Label your projects for easy recognition. If you tend to accumulate a lot of pieces for each scrapbook project then I suggest labeling the bags and/or page protectors for each project for easy access. The label you use should probably be temporary if you are using page protectors.

Scrapbook project storage is fairly easy if you are willing to invest the time and money into the necessary materials. If you invest in the page protectors and/or storage bags ahead of time then you will save yourself chaos while scrapbooking and protect your supplies at the same time. 

Organizational Tips: Paper Clutter

Good afternoon readers! I am currently bedridden with the flu and haven't had much time for crafting or home organization, but I have had a lot of time to think about my projects and what still needs to be organized. With this is mind, I have decided to post a new weekly series with organizational tips that can easily be completed during the week or a few hours over the weekend. I will try to keep each week's tips focused on a different area in your home or craft space. This week I am focusing on paper cutter, this can be papers in your office or your catch all table in the entryway. 

I don't know about you, but my family and I get a large amount of magazines, some we are subscribed to and others just seem to appear without asking, as well as catalogues, especially around the holidays and seasonal changes. I am not interested enough in each magazine or catalogue, nor do I have the time, to look through each magazine thoroughly, which means that the magazines end up stacking up places for a time when I do want to look at them. This wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have a constant stream of magazines and catalogues coming into my house, which is where tip #1 comes in: Choose a date each month and sort through all of your magazines and catalogues. Keep the pages you want, these can be organized in a binder, and recycle the rest. If you like to keep images for craft projects then take the time to cut images out of the magazines and store these images with your stickers and other embellishments. As for catalogues, if there is an item you wish to purchase or a style you like then I once again suggest clipping these images or pages and storing them away. For items you wish to purchase,  but do not intend to purchase immediately, I suggest storing these pages or images in a dream book, again this can be binder, which you can reference later when you have the funds or space to purchase the item. I recommend recording the exact name, product number or ID, the catalogue, price, and date of publication for the ad for easier referencing later. For styles that you admire or might want to replicate organize these images in a look book, once again this can be a binder, that you can easily go back to and reference later. My only exception to this rule is pattern magazines, magazines where the entire magazine is necessary to keep. For these magazines I suggest storing separately, either with your printed patterns or in a magazine holder on your bookshelf. 

Magazines and catalogues seem to be the most problematic source of paper clutter for me, but there are many other sources including junk mail, bills, account statements, and charity newsletters. Tip #2: Open and sort your mail every day. If you don't have the time then make a commitment to sort your mail once a week. For many people this is obvious, but for other people this is a daily challenge they face. I personally open my mail everyday, but I can relate to coming home and not wanting to open, let alone look at, my mail, especially when the mail is mainly bills or junk. I open my junk mail first, take out any paper with my information for the shred bag, and then toss the rest. Of course, I always recommend recycling unwanted paper. I open any bills next and file the papers in a desktop organizer, where I can easily access the information when it comes time for me to pay my bills. The same is done for account statements, except that I file these papers in a more permanent organizational system. I usually enjoy reading, or at least browsing, newsletters sent me by charities and so I have the option of reading the newsletters etc. then or I can choose to recycle the papers. If there is a donation I want to make then I file it away in the same desktop organizer where I filed my bills. Now, my greatest piece of advice is to switch to paperless options wherever you can. This has tremendously cut down the amount of papers I receive each day. 

My final tip for cutting down paper clutter has to do with your shredding. Tip #3: Ditch the shred bag or pile and instead shred your papers as needed. Doing this everyday, assuming it is needed everyday, prevents unnecessary paper clutter and prevents unnecessary stress over a massive shred pile. It might take you time to get caught up on your shredding, but I promise you it is worth it. Not to mention spending a few minutes a day shredding is so much better for your health than hoarding the papers until you're overwhelmed. Bonus tip: If you have the resources then I suggest a mail station with storage on top for sorting and storage underneath for a shredder. 

I hope these tips have proved helpful to you and if you want to see any pictures of my organization leave a comment below. 

Christmas Preparation: Christmas Planner

She's making a list and checking it twice. She is going to find out what's been done and what is still left on her list. Not a detail will she miss in her Christmas planning. Yes, it is February 25th, which means it is once again time for a Christmas preparation post. This month I decided to make a Christmas planner with templates for my readers. I intended on posting a tutorial of my Christmas planner as well, but I have not had time to get all of the necessary materials. As soon as I am able to finish my Christmas planner I will post a tutorial as well.

This planner is a lot of fun and could save you a lot of work in the coming months. There are many templates, but you don't have to use all of the pages I used. While I filled out many of my pages you don't have to as I will showcase various pages throughout the year. There are various tutorials out there including turning your Christmas planner into a journal for a treasured family heirloom, but these templates and this method is what works best for my needs.

Christmas Planner 

Materials needed are a binder or notebook, printer, ink, printer paper, templates, scrapbook paper, and other embellishments. Also envelopes in various sizes.
Look through the templates provided and print the pages you need. You may need multiple copies of some pages like gift ideas and menu planning.
The page with the calendar should be printed 12 times for each month in the year.

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When I was printing out the template pages to make my own Christmas planner I accidentally printed the templates 2 sided, which is fine for some of the pages, but not all. Since I was unwilling to reprint the entire planner I put the pages in sheet protectors and am using a white board pen to write in the various items. This makes the planner reusable for next year, which is an added bonus to my mistake.

Baking and Holiday Bucket List

As you can see I have started filling out the pages of the planner that are the same every year. Every year I bake the same sweets with only the quantity changing so I wrote in the things I was planning on making, the quantity, and the shopping list. Then I filled out the holiday bucket list on the next page with the things I want to do every year like make a snowman and drink hot coco. If there is something you want to do every year and want to make it a family tradition then make sure to record it on the family tradition page.

Handmade Gifts

The final page I filled out was the homemade gift page. Next month's Christmas Preparation post will be about filling out the handmade gifts template. As you can see I started filling out the page with the two gifts I know I am making: a crochet sweater and a zebra pajama set. I have an idea of the materials I need to complete the gifts and have most of the materials I need already purchased, which is what I recommend doing, as well as a time estimate of how long it will take to complete each gift.

There are 22 pages in the Christmas Planner template and you may need multiple copies of one or more of the pages. Print as many pages as you need. Glue the pages into a notebook, embellish with scrapbook paper and stickers, or put into sheet protectors in a binder. Take pictures of your Christmas planner and be sure to upload the pictures below or share on Instagram using #BooBear'sChristmasPlanner.