Storage

[Former_Member]

How/where do you keep your items? In a box (if they're small), in a separate room? I keep mine in a plastic compartment drawer, but I am nervous about losing something. How do you keep track of all your stuff, for those people with 100+ items?

[WildflowerSalvage]

I have a huge triple car garage and a side shed that I keep stuff in, but it is in drawers, cupboards, etc as well. I have no idea how I keep track of everything, but between my husband and I all is always safe and sound.....although we have had some major fights when an item is hidden (of course I am never at fault;)

[Former_Member]

I have all of mine folded in a large tote. We are in an apartment at the moment with almost NO storage. I'm hoping we will be moving to a new place soon! *fingers crossed*

[Former_Member]

I have some of those plastic drawers, but they get all saggy when you put like 15 lbs. of metal in them.

[Former_Member]

I keep my finished work in a couple of large covered plastic tubs and smaller plastic boxes for the small stuff.

It's not my items that present a storage problem (most are small) but the stuff it takes to make them! Mixed media knows no bounds - I've got stuff EVERYwhere!

[Former_Member]

Haha! Here I am worrying about the storage of my finished items, and I totally forgot my supplies! I think I'm just used to all of it being cluttered in my room :P

[CharlottesAttic55]

I currently have a plastic storage container with all of my finished pieces in it, and so far I haven't lost anything. I'm hoping to transfer them to some storage drawers this summer so I can organize it better.

[whatnotsandsuch]

Hubby bought me a baker's rack and a whole bunch of shoe totes, and some larger sizes. I wrap each piece, tape a little piece of paper with the name of the item on it, and put as many items in each tote as I safely can. Then I print a big number and tape it to the outside of the box. I then write the number in a spiral notebook entitled, "Where IS it?" and next to the number, all the items in that particular box. Then when something sells, I go to the spiral notebook, look up the item and and the number it is written under and then I can find that number easily on the rack. :o}

[efinegifts]

Our listed items are stored in plastic bins. Each bin is labeled: Santas, Angels, Ornaments, Jewelry, Misc, etc. We make sure that each bin has some of those little dessicant packets that protect against moisture. Items are wrapped in acid free tissue paper.
Very fragile items are packed in separate boxes and then stored in plastic bins.

[HausofAriella]

Most of my items are made to order, but I do have issues with storing my supplies. My fiance (who HATES clutter - oops) is going to get me a large filing cabinet to keep all of my stuff categorized and easy to find without being everywhere. I currently have a couple of sterilite drawer units to keep my most used supplies in.

[Former_Member]

Ohhh, organizing, my fav! I LOVE organizing (seriosly, love-love-love it!) and while a good portion of my vintage stuff is unorganized that isn't listed, I do have a system in place for everything that has pictures and is ready to post.

For my digital stuff, I number the end of my title with a specific code that will let me identify it quickly (ie: Mother's Day is M1--, other codes are 2--, 10--, etc). This way, when I sell something, I go to my shop fold on my hard dfrive, pull up the corrent basic file (M1--, 2--, whatever) and then locate the file folder labeld with the corrent number (228, M104, etc), open it & there's my postcard!

For my vintage, I've used a standard method that I've used for years and tweaked it for online. I sort everything based on matterial (glass, linen, 'shabby chic', 'kitchen') and then label my boxes with large computer labels based on the grouping in the particular box (green glass, blue glass, tablecloths, runners, etc). For online, I will label the box with a number under the current description (148A, 148B, 214A, etc). This way, I can identify that blue glass is in all boxes marked 148, and I just need to match the number in my listing witrh the box in that series (A, B, C, etc). I used small boxes that I get from the Little Debbie vender (big enough for several pieces of glass, but no more than a dozen, maybe). If you ask a vender for boxes on a Monday when they are restocking the shelves you can generally get at least a dozen boxes that are all the same size or nearly the same size, which makes stacking and storing so much easier!

As for all my paper stuff from either shop, I keep them in plastic totes under my bed. One side of my bed has clothes, the other side is all totes with paper. Plus, I cleared out a drawer in my dresser for a good amount of buttons, also. :-) The vintage stuff is stored downstairs in the black hole vortex. THAT is something I've been trying to fix, but if I'm down there too long it (the basement) sucks the will to organize right out me and I'm tempted to just throw is ALL away :-P