Time spent at home during lockdown has led to way more crafting, whether that’s with the kiddos or just keeping yourself entertained. Everyone has different craft supplies, and different kinds of places in which to stash it, but I hope that by sharing how I organise my craft cupboards with you that you’ll be able to draw inspiration to apply to your own situation.
Once upon a time, my arts and crafts paraphernalia were scattered all around the house, and because of this I hadn’t tackled anything remotely crafty in literally years. The thought of hunting high and low for the tools and materials I’d need made me feel worn out before I’d even started.
I went and gathered every single crafting item together into the room that I had decided was most suited to my crafting. If you’re lucky enough to have an allocated craft room then that’s great! However, for those of us a bit more limited on space, make sure you’re housing your supplies in the room most suited to your hobby. You don’t want the hassle of collecting supplies from different places, it’s a pest and it slows creativity. It also makes tidy up time a lot harder, so you’re likely to put it off.
Creating a Craft Room
Assess how good the light is in each room of the home that might lend itself to occasional crafting, or whether there is a spot where you could invest in a good task lamp. Consider if there’s enough space to spread out in. Bedrooms always have that pesky bed in the way if you’re likely to be cutting up large pieces of fabric or cardstock, and kitchens are prone to family footfall. If you’re going to be using noisier crafting equipment, like a sewing machine or staple gun, then you’ll have to consider proximity to sleeping children (prime crafting time).
I settled on our den as my best location. It’s in the back of the house, so if I’ve made a particularly big mess with trimmings late last night then I can shut the door on it. In the hope that we will one day receive unexpected guests again, residual crafting mess must be considered if you don’t want to get caught on the hop.
Organise Craft Storage
Once you’ve settled on your room, you need to commandeer a storage option in that room that is big enough to store ALL of your craft supplies, or bring in a piece fit for the task. With them all in the same spot you will be able to see at a glance what you have available for each project.
I chose to house my supplies in two wall-mounted cupboards (one directly above the other so they view as one space), to keep dangerous items safely out of reach from the kids. They are filled with tools, paints, inks, haberdashery and glues. All of the kids’ craft supplies are kept right where they can reach them to encourage independent creativity.
My favourite type of storage solution are those with adjustable shelves. These allow you to make adjustments to perfectly suit the boxes/baskets/tins that you already have. Good home organisation shouldn’t be about spending a small fortune on fancy new containers. It’s all about repurposing the things that you already have.
I’ve situated a number of my adjustable shelves quite close together so that I can separate out sketch pads, card stock and cutting mats. I’ve reused the tin from a toiletries gift set for inks; a gift box from a hair care set for thread; two old cosmetics cases for paints and stationery and other baskets and boxes from around the house.
I will admit to buying a couple of special craft containers to tame some of the smaller bits though; ribbon off-cuts and ‘come-in-handy’ randoms were driving me crazy! Fabric and card stock are good simply stacked, free from containers so that selections can be made at a glance.
How have you arranged your craft supplies? Join in the conversation on my social media channels below!
