Feb 10, 2012

Organizing Fool! {Ribbon Storage}

Yikes... Over the years, my ribbon and trims stash has exponentially exploded. I started out with one plastic box like this:


It worked well when my ribbon stash was confined just to one box. Everything was organized by color. No problem. At a glance I could pick out the size and color I needed. Then it turned into this:


Not so easy to peruse when looking for just the right embellishment! Searching the web gave me lots of ideas. Lots and lots of cute, adorable ideas.


My problem with these is that I like my craft stuff organized and protected from dust and accidents (just waiting to happen). I don't like the idea of having dangly ribbons hanging out holes, or mounted on rods. What a pain if I needed to take out the entire roll of ribbon. I wanted to do something to reduce the amount of space my ribbon stash was taking up. (No, getting rid of it was no an option, LOL) Being on a thrifty kick, I also wanted to see if I figure out a solution with things I had on hand.

I did take some inspiration from this:


On several scrapbooking forums, crafters talked about the Cropper Hopper Spools and Clips. Doesn't that bobbin look familiar? Can you see the light bulb going off in my head?

Since I wind my DMC on bobbins, I thought "Couldn't I do that with ribbon?" Like in the basket above, only separate like the CH spools. The CH clips didn't trip my trigger, though... adding extra bulk and what if the ribbon was too thick? Would the clips hold?


Do you know dollar stores are a great source of inspiration? Oh yeah! Look what I found for just (I'm sure you guessed) one dollar?!?





This is what I came up with!


I took scrap mat board and cut rectangular pieces. I labeled and wound the ribbon on each one. After winding a few of them, I realized how much space those round spools were taking up!


I made two size bobbins. For 1/4" widths and less, I used 2 x 2 3/4". Larger sizes, I used 2 x 4 1/4".


With the exception of a half dozen wide ribbons, all of that stash mess I had fit into ONE small drawer! How awesome is that?


To keep the ribbons nicely held in place, that's where my dollar store find came into play. One hair band wrapped around each bobbin keeps it neat and tidy.


I found these cute little containers in a box I have for misc do-dads.
Perfect, don'tcha thing?

To organize my ribbon stash, all I spent was $1 and two evenings worth of time. Everything else I had on hand.


P.S. I had 100 bobbins of ribbon and trim in my one drawer.


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58 comments:

Deborah said...

Great inspiration! I love what you did.

cucki said...

wow so beautiful..i also love it so much xxx

Denise SA said...

What a good idea I used to have something like this but I think your idea is better. Hope you do not mind me copying.

Unknown said...

I wish I could get as organised as you, unless you fancy flying over here and sorting my stash out.....????? If I don't ask, I won't know!!

Christina G said...

Fantastic idea. You, you ...organizing genius!

Unknown said...

That is very clever! I have mine on the spools on tension rods, but it is a hassle getting to them and putting them away. I may just have to "steal" your idea, if you don't mind!

*-* said...

Doesn't it feel great to have things organised? You certainly have found a super system, ribbons have a mind of their own if not contained. K.

Katie said...

Yet another great idea!

Anonymous said...

Wow! Fantastic organizing idea Meari. I may have to do something similar to that with all the ribbon I have. Thanks for the inspiration.

Debi

Carol said...

That is a really neat idea, Meari--amazing that the ribbon was able to be condensed into that small drawer! Thanks for the tip :)

Alberta said...

So neat & tidy, makes you want to use them right up, doesn't it!

Linda J said...

Oh, can you come to my house and organize about 20 years worth of ribbons ?? YOu did a great job..I love how you have the ribbon !! hugs..Linda J.

lynda said...

great idea Meari! I can hear my ribbons calling to me from here!

Anonymous said...

You are sooooooo crafty!!!! That is a great idea for your ribbon. I don't have as much as you but when I get my craft room finished this is something I am going to want to try out. Thanks for sharing.
Betty in AZ (ILCS)

Berly said...

Ok, see, this is why you need to come down and organize my ENTIRE house!!! :)

Claudette497 said...

You're a genius! This is a great solution!

Anonymous said...

Wow! Very creative! What a great idea!

Debbie

natalysneedle said...

Love how you organized your ribbons and trims! Might have to steal that idea!

OctoberLace said...

Lovely job, Meari!!! Theresa

Vicky L said...

Wow! What a great idea! Great job!

Faith... said...

Very nice Meari! Nice and tidy and space saving! I love it :)

Anonymous said...

Absolutely LOVE it !

Joan

Scooty said...

You are amazingly creative! Well done! Judi in PHx

Anonymous said...

Meari I love your stash storage solutions - luckily I do not have nearly as much stuff - Vancouver Real Estate is very expensive!

Tara

Pam said...

Yes, If I counted right I'm third in line for you to come over and help me! Just let me know when you're headed South =). You did a Wonderful job. Your ribbons look great!

Anonymous said...

Love your ribbon organizing, Meari. When are you headed south to Texas? I would love to have you tackle my stash organizing. lol I've been trying various methods of ribbon organizing lately & haven't really liked any I've tried. I do like your idea & want to give it a try. What size rectangles did you use?

CJ in OK ;-) said...

Ooh, I love this idea so neat and tidy not to mention pretty and colorful. CJ in OK ;-)

Pam in IL said...

Holy Cow! You just keep amazing me! I'm not sure I would have the patience to wind my ribbons on the matboard, but I do love your idea. I was just thinking my thin, plastic shopping bag was not doing a good job of keeping my ribbons organized, lol.

I love those little containers you put the hair elastics in. Any idea where you originally found those?

Lesleyanne said...

Wow what a great idea. It looks gorgeous too.

Anonymous said...

this is a great way to organize ribbons. you gave me a great idea to do mine.thanks
Lorraine

Mouse said...

oooooooooooooooooooooo that is brill :) I've got my ribbons in floss bags all together colour wise on round split rings hung from a pan rack rail underneath my shelving unit .... so when I want a particular colour I just ping it off and search through the bags ... this has worked for me but I do love your idea tooo ... and the one with the hooks on the yard stick in your photos :) love mouse xxxx

Lonneke said...

Excellent!
And what an inspiring post. :)

connie said...

well done Meari..I LOVE your idea

Unknown said...

Wow my idea of ribbon heaven, lovely Meari, good job you are not near by as I would help you used them all!!!!

Lyn said...

I love the way you wrapped the ribbon...the bobbin idea was a great one. If I ever start using ribbon, I may do what you did!

Kay said...

Meari,

I have to hand it to you, you are such a talented woman who is always on her toes when it comes to crafting and organizing. Looks great!

Anonymous said...

You did a great job on organizing all those ribbons. Such inspiration!

Tobie in So. Cal.

Shelleen said...

You always come up with great ideas.

Robin said...

I love organizing (almost as much as crafting) so I really enjoyed this post. Loved seeing all the great organization ideas, but think the one that you came up with is the best!

Anonymous said...

Meari,
What an awesome idea.

I can't see me having ribbon dangling...The two cats would have it all undone and half eaten...lol

Anonymous said...

great idea Meari! I would love to have you come and do my ribbons! LOL

Kathy N in southern Alberta

Anne said...

Holy Moly that's a lot of ribbon!!! I'm definitely not at that stage yet to worry about storage!! I love how you organized them and those elastics in those containers are darling. Makes me think of crayon boxes. I'm a sucker for colour :D

Anonymous said...

Love your idea.

Marl

Anne Sans Tete said...

You're so clever, Meari!

- Lisa N. in Cambodia

Mary Ivancicts said...

Very clever idea!!

Carolyn NC said...

Wow Meari, what a great idea! The others are pretty hanging, but you have it all neatly in one place and dust-free! Love it!

Anonymous said...

Wow Meari,
You never cease to amaze me with your fabulous ideas! What a great way to store your ribbon. Also your mistery SAL box came out FANTASTIC despite all the hard ships you faced. No one would ever be able to tell.


Nikki D

Emily in NC said...

Gosh girl could you possible have more ribbon. It is very well organized though, and like the hanging ones so you can see it all.

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed your ribbon storage ideas. Do you do Pinterest? A lady posted something similar to the pegs you had for hanging ribbons on. That Pinterest is just too fun to look through and has such great ideas.! Your stitching is great as always. I enjoy seeing what is new on your blog, thanks for sharing!

Shirley/KS

Elena said...

Great organizational skills, Meari! I love that idea.

Anonymous said...

Wow Meari!! That's awesome!! Thanks for sharing your ideas!!!! :o)

Happy Trails,
Pam K. :o)

Daffycat said...

OMG I love you so much. This looks awesome. I was just thinking the other day about organizing this messy ribbon box. What an inspiration you are!

Shelley said...

Your organizing skills and ingenuity never stop to amaze me! When can you fly out to Cali to help me, lol!!

Chris said...

Thank you, I too have bulging boxes and oddments where I can never find what I need,, great idea I shall do some organising myself!
Chris

too_busy_to_stitch said...

They all look so beautiful - and organised! I love my plastic boxes - I take one to the chess tournaments that I take the kids too with all my stitching inside, along with mobile phone, ipod etc - OK, not exactly elegant, but very useful!

Elmarie said...

I'm so glad that I'm not the only person worried about dust. The hair band idea was just what I was looking for. Thank you..

Juliana @ Te Amo Too said...

Hi Meari, I love how you used the elastic bands to keep the ribbons in place. I just wanted to let you know that I linked up your post on mine today! I hope you don't mind :)

Anonymous said...

This is just what I was looking for. I did change out the mat board with comic book boards. They are just very heavy paper. Almost as strong as mat but a lot thinner and it was no problem. I happen to have those on hand from another crafty project, so I didn't have to buy anything. Perfect.