Best way to organize patterned paper??

So I'm admittedly your Class A Paper Hoarder. I am trying to get my space organized and get my stash used, but I cannot figure out how to organize all of my "pretty" papers (patterned paper). I have themed paper organized well, but my pretty paper stash(es) aren't so pretty. Please Help!

Many people organize by color. I keep mine more by theme. Plaids together, stripes, flowers, polka dots, chevron, etc. Then if I had a lot I would then organize by color.

That seems to work for me anyway. good luck getting that stash under control!

I have my themed paper organized well too - baby, holidays, USA travel, international travel, etc.

Its the misc stripes and polka dots and patterns that are out of control for me. I have three bins labeled misc. but I need to go through and narrow it down a lot further than that. Maybe I will make a bin for colors. That has been suggested and seems to work for alot of people.

Problem is, some of mine have so many colors.

I have been struggling with the same issue.

I have some older paper pads that I've thought about taking them apart and filing but now I'm thinking its easier to keep them together.

As for single sheets, I would think color would be best for me because thats the way I think - patterns would mess me up because I don't think in that method "oh, a nice stripe would work here", know what I mean?

I guess it all depends on how you "work"

I've changed my storage several times as I find 'better' ways , right now I have them sorted by brand and then broken down into lines within that. It seems to be working for me so far...

I have been struggling with this for almost 10 years!

Right now I have my paper packs kept together and the loose sheets get separated by theme (holiday, travel, pets, baby, etc). The random sheets are separated by style (bright, distressed, pastel) Just like Ohio4HMom said, I don't scrap by thinking a certain patter would work, so I go by color/theme.

Good luck! I hope you find a solution that works for you.

I have my solids and PP separate. I organize by color. Do what is easiest for you.

I sort my pp by theme (Christmas, Halloween etc.) of course....then I sort by theme and colour...
If a patterned paper is mostly one colour, I put it with that colour cardstock, blues, greens, reds, black & white, orange, kraft etc..
I also have a category for seasons...if a paper has a lot of flowers or butterflies on it or is really brightly coloured and I know I'll use it for a spring or summer LO, then I put it with spring/summer. Same goes for the other seasons...
As others have suggested, it really depends on how you scrap...if you are always looking for an item based on colour, then sort by colour...if you are looking for a paper based on a "feeling" (ie, I want something bright, I want something with flowers/stripes, I want something distressed etc.) then sort them that way....

Alison

I agree with everyone - the best way to organize it is the way you'll look for it.

For me, its by theme and color. The multi-colored papers go with whichever is the most dominant color.

Welcome to the neighborhood!!

Very well said!

Thank you to EVERYONE! I have basic pattern papers sorted by color (orange&white, blue&white, etc.) Pretty much all my "pretty" papers are considered floral and have multiple colors on them, so maybe I'll go with that as a seperate file, Floral, Geometric, Damask, etc. I am drawn to papers that are bold and multicolored and remember them by floral, geometric, etc. So relieved! Thank you for your help!

I keep mine organized by colour. This is for the obvious coloured ones, plaids and stripes that dont have an obvious colour, I keep with other plaids and stripes. Also, the odd shaped papers (doilies ect) I keep together aswell. Christmas papers are together too and so are Baby Boy/Girl. Cardstocks I keep together with Cardstocks and by 3 or 4 colour scheme. For example, light pink, medium pink and dark pink. For me, organizing it this way, works best for me. All me plastic boxes/shelves are labeled too...by colour...

I think you need to ask yourself if when you scrap, do you say, "I need a piece of predominantly red paper for this layout", or do you say, "I need another piece of Graphic 45 to go with this". Some people are comfortable filing by manufacturer - I file by predominant color, with a few obvious categories such as Christmas, Fall, Halloween, Child, etc. And within colors, I also have a section for Primary Mixed and Pastel Mixed (those include ones where there are a bunch of different pastel colored dots on the page, etc.)

I struggled with this for years myself and have organized my PP every which way. I scrap by color and "feel", but it was so difficult for me because most often double-sided PP have two totally different colors/feels. But I think I have finally found the solution that works for me.

I still organize my PP by manufacturer and collection (because they are already coordinated), but I filed them in two Cropper Hopper Easy Access Paper Holders (Cropper Hopper Easy Access Paper Holder) and separated the PP by manufacturer with dividers (Cropper Hopper 12x12 Dividers). Each Paper Holder holds 600 sheets of paper.

That way, if I'm looking for a specific color/feel that is not in a collection I'm using, I can easily flip through all my other papers because all the papers can be easily seen in one glance. So far, it's working great for me.

But I agree with what's been suggested already. You have to first ask yourself how you scrapbook. You might want to create several layouts and pay specific attention to how you pick your pattern paper -- do you think in terms of:

I need some Easter paper (theme)
I need a stripe paper (pattern)
I need something pink (color)
I need something playful (mood)

Do you like to coordinate your own paper or do you like that manufacturers have already done the work for you?

Your choice of organization method should reflect your thought process. Hope this helps.

PS: If you are thinking of organizing by theme, you might want to ask yourself if you could use that paper/collection for something else. For example, I recently created a 10K Mardi Gras run event using papers from a Halloween collection. I uploaded this layout to my gallery as an example: Mardi Gras 10K Run

A lot of times, there are themed papers which can be used in many other ways. Just an added thought.

I have solid colored cardstock organized by color. Themes by Christmas, Halloween, and little boys. Everything else is alphabetized by manufacturer.

I love how stampartiste pointed out that your organization should reflect your thought process. I think that is great advice! I keep mine organized by manufacturer because I like how they've already done the work for me

Ask yourself how you see your paper when you think of lines you have or papers you like. Some people are very visual and some associate papers with names or feelings. I am visual and see colors in groups and that is how mine are organized. I am also a bit anal and could not break up a pack of paper from the same line if I tried. Lots of people change their organization of paper several times before they feel the have gotten it right. My friend does hers as ROYGBIV and it drives me crazy. There are so many shades of red that do not go together, but she says it helps her find matching paper faster. Good luck.

I am similar to Michelly.

First of all, anything that is monochromatic and only one color (solids, monochromatic patterns) or one color and a neutral, all of those are sorted by color.

Then for multi-colored papers, I sort by type of pattern, as in all the polka dots together, all the stripes together, all florals together, etc. I keep most of my paper pads together, tho some of my first ones are taken apart and sorted into the other sections. I don't do very much sorting by them, as so many of them can cross over.

However, if I buy a paper for a specific project, I set those aside for that project, separate from the rest of my paper. Usually I keep it with the memorabilia for that project so I don't forget about it or accidentally use it on another project.

One other thing I do - occasionally I will buy a paper to cut up and use as embellishment. For example, I am currently scrapbooking pages from 2005 and 2006. I found 12x12 text paper with those years over and over in different colors and fonts, which I just use to cut the year out for the page. Therefore these two pieces of paper and scraps are stored with my letter stickers.

Hope that helps someone!

• stampartiste Said:

I agree with everything Stampatise said but especially this part. I too am a scrap by color person and had things organized by theme as well. I realized that it was tripping me up. I was so focused on those papers being just Halloween or just christmas, I didn't think to use them otherwise. I wasn't until I was changing storage systems that I realized some these "themed" papers were the exact color I needed.
Although I still struggle with it at times, I am finding I am using more of my stash more efficiently!

Even though I organize by theme I can still go right to what I'm looking for.

I was doing something very non-Halloween last month and it just clicked with me to go to my Halloween bin.

Many times I need red and if I can't find what I'm looking for I go to Christmas and often find exactly what I'm looking for.

I have one bin marked "Cruise" which has all kinds of blue swirly paper that look a little like waves and even my blue paper with lots of teals and ocean colors are in the cruise bin. I am in the bin all the time when I want paper with blues that kind of moves.

In my holiday file, all my papers with stars are in the 4th of July section and I go there for any patriotic layouts and lots of other things.

Like was said before, I also organize the way I scrap so its not a problem.

That's great Henri Jean that you are able to do that, I guess some of us are either not as well organized or our brains just not as good as yours!

I think all perspectives are valid.

sometimes when I'm looking for a color I'll flip through my paperpads that are holiday specific to find something - thats why I leave them together instead of taking them apart.

for example if I'm working on an outdoor pic and I want a green - maybe a pine tree paper, I will flip through my Christmas pad - TADA

I think it may because I just have so much time on my hands since we are retired and I spend so much time scrapping that I have my hands on it on an almost daily base.

I've noticed if we are away for a long time I have to think about it again when I get home but it comes back quickly.

I have my single sheets broke down into themes that I use alot, this way I know where to find them. I also have two 12x12 storage bins that have paper that I have bought with plans to use it on a future page or cards and that, it is marked for my use only, since I have my mom as a crafter and others, this keeps that paper from being used accidntly.

I keep my stacks in there stacks til they get too used up and then I separate them into the themes with the other papers. I have mine split into stripes, holidays, circle, squares, birthday, misc themed events, animal, and cartoon for kid papers.

It seems to work well, with the exception of the 12x12 kits that I have received or been in swaps. those are in there own bins and hanging from ceiling.

I have organized my "stuff" so much, my family thinks that's all I do.

I agree with the ones who say you have to organize how you think when scrapping. I have CS sorted by brand and then ROYGBIV (each brand) stored in a large tote. My PP is sorted first by theme and stored in boxes (Cropper Hopper style) and then by manufacturer with collections together stored on pantry shelving racks (I used to have a store). I agree when it comes to sorting by theme that sometimes you have to think outside the box about the "themed" papers to get the most use out of your stash.

This has been the best way for me, so hopefully I'm done re-organizing my paper. Hope you find what works best for you.

• HomesclScrappinLisa Said:

LOL! Been there!

I'm still finding my perfect filing system. At the moment it's floral/nature, letters/numbers, geometric, misc. really need to break it down more though.

The one thing that continues to stump me is how to organize the double-sided papers that are totally different from one side to the next, and don't belong to any one theme? What are your best practices?

I guess on that one Jarvae, I would choose to file it by the side that I liked the best (or the reason I bought it).

But I'm wierd, I usually only buy paper with a reason in mind these days

Me too....I rarely like both sides of a paper and even when I do, there is always one side I like better. I file by whichever side I like the best.
My theory is that if it's filed by category/theme, then whatever is on the other side, will coordinate with the stuff in that category anyway!

Alison

How about the paper you cut up and essentially mutilate in the process because you just want to use some of it? AKA "scraps," haha. I always get overwhelmed

My scraps (anything smaller than about 5"x7") are sorted into small plastic drawers. My larger ones sit in a plastic shoebox-type bin, or on the paper rack with the rest of their color or theme. I used to keep my scraps in 8"x8" page protectors in a binder (with all the scraps of each color in one side of a page protector), which worked okay but might work better in 8 1/2" bu 11".

Thanks everyone! I like that idea. I do have some where both sides are my favorites, but I have at least 2 sheets of those so maybe I'll split them up.

I'm lucky enough to have a craft cupboard and have a whole shelve to put my papers on and I pile them in certain orders, plains, spotty, girly, boys etc..

I have a cabinet with several drawers to fit specifically 12 x 12 paper. 1 drawer has all Christmas, 1 is Fall/Thanksgiving/Hallowe en, 1 drawer is all Disney and 1 drawer is "everything else". I only keep paper that I actually like. I have very little space so I can't hoard, unfortunately...lol

• HomesclScrappinLisa Said:

I hear that.... I think other than the actual scrappin... I think that is why I like to scrap bc I get to organized it and then organize it again... and again.. and so on and so on.. LOL.

but anyways.. I store my paper..mostly by theme.... like school vacation, camping... but I also keep my paper pad together , bc i have alot of DCWV and Paper Studio and I like paper pad bc I dont have to worry about coordinating them it is already done LOL ..... and on and on ...... then I have solids together by color and if i buy a whole collection I keep them together with the other stuff that goes with it. Can see pic of my room for Paper storage.