Craft and Sewing Organization on a Budget

I don’t know about you but I am always looking for a better way to organize my craft and sewing supplies. I love to look at blogs, Pinterest, websites, magazines etc. for ideas. Several years ago we moved my craft and sewing area to the other side of the wall in our converted garage. This gave me the opportunity to rework my storage and organization of my supplies. Over the next few posts I will show you some of the ideas I used to create a lot of organized storage on a very low budget.

Long Open Shelves

In the primary work area we hung three long shelves on the wall. The top shelf is just high enough for me to stand on my tiptoes and reach the bottom of the bins. I only keep lightweight items on this shelf, such as silk flowers, small batting pieces, gift bags etc.

The top shelf has 6 large black bins, 3 medium pink bins, and 4 black and grey magazine holders.





















The middle shelf has boxes I constructed out of mat board and covered in white duct tape. This allowed me to make the boxes a certain size so I could get more on the shelf. I used label holders from Martha Stewart (purchased at Staples for 40% off) on the front so I can easily change what is in the boxes. These hold a variety of items from paint, glues, fun foam, tape etc.

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For the inside of the boxes I used the standard grey duct tape.  It was less expensive than the white and the rolls were larger.  This cut down on the cost of covering the boxes.  Being covered in duct tape allows the boxes to be cleaned easily with a damp cloth.




The lower shelf is shorter to allow some wall space above the sewing machines. The lower shelf has jars with string ties which are the remnants from my quilting and sewing. Each jar holds a different color. Beside the jars are some decorations that make me smile, speakers and my MP3 player. I like to listen to audio books when I am creating.

 

Open shelving gives you an abundance of storage for a small investment. The key to making open shelving functional is the type of bins or containers you use. The containers should be large enough to hold your stuff but not so big that they are hard to get on and off the shelf. If you want a more organized feel make the containers all the same or in a similar color pallet. I chose to use black, white and pink as the primary colors in my area. I have inserted a few items in bright green to add a pop of color to certain areas. All of my containers are black, white or pink. This gives the shelves a unified feel.

What are some ideas you have used for containers on open shelving? I would love to hear your comments and ideas.

Danna