Solutions For At Home Paper Storage
From Your Guide Rebecca Ludens

Article Navigation Page 1: Wall Mounted Paper Storage Page 2: Vertical Paper Storage Page 3: Cabinets and File Systems

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Related Resources • Scrapbooking Spaces - Organization

From Other Guides • Organization 101 from About's Housekeeping Guide

Elsewhere on the Web • Display Dynamics • Leeco/Cropper Hopper

One of the frequently asked questions that I get from scrapbookers via email is "How to Store 12x12 Paper?" In this article, my goal is to show you several ways that you can get your paper organized so you can work more efficiently. The first step with any organization project is to sort. Sort into like piles of color, print, pattern, or however makes the most sense to you. After you have sorted, the next step is to purge. Do you have papers that you just know that you will never use? Has your style changed since you shopped for certain prints and now they are just taking up space making it harder to find what you will use? Consider donating scrapbook papers that you want to purge to your local elementary school. Now that you can see what you have and have narrowed it down to what you want to keep, it's time to decide on a method of organization. The storage systems listed here vary widely in price, so choose the one that will work best for you, you find the most visually pleasing, and, of course, will fit into your budget.

Wall Mounted Storage

This is my personal favorite and the pictures here are from my own scrapbook room. Some things to consider: Wall mounted storage takes a lot of space, it requires a little bit of carpentry skill, and it can be somewhat costly. The pro's for this type of storage are: It looks really nice in a dedicated scrapbook room, it allows me to see exactly what I have at a glance, and I can store other items along side the paper with storage hooks and accessories.

Materials Used:

• 4' x 8' sheets of slat wall - purchased from my local home improvement center. (Menard's was the only local store that carried slat wall in stock. It was approximately $40 per sheet. Neither Home Depot or Lowe's had slat wall sheets at the time I was shopping for it.) Slat wall is commonly found being used in retail store displays, because it looks nice and it is easy to rearrange displayed items. Peg board sheets, which are lighter and less expensive, may also be used for this project.
• 12x12 clear paper storage trays from Display Dynamics - these can be purchased one case at a time from your local scrapbook store or online at Jenny Craft's web site.

If you don't have space for wall mounted storage, Display Dynamic also sells the 12x12 trays in a stackable model. These make great table top paper storage, or you can purchase a wooden base with casters to create a stacking paper unit. These stacking trays also come in 8.5x11 size.

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