Organizing Project Life

Wednesday, July 24, 2013


There are so many little bits and pieces that I want to incorporate into my Project Life album. I had to get organized so I could keep up with it all and remember to use it. Thought I'd share a few tips to help you too!


I keep everything in this basket on my craft table. I try to keep it somewhat limited so that I'm not overwhelmed with choices. I can usually find what I want to use - I only go digging through my regular scrapbooking stash occasionally.


Iris boxes are perfect for keeping up with little odds and ends. I get the boxes at Michael's when they're on sale (they're super cheap - maybe $2 regular price). I also separated like items  (arrows and tabs) and put them in their own Ziploc baggies.


I have like items separated with binder clips in the basket - alphas, word/phrase stickers, labels, tabs, and stickers. This makes it easy for me to grab whatever I'm looking for and quickly look through my stuff. 


I use a medium CTMH organizer box to keep up with my cards. Binder clips help me keep cards separated. Organize into whatever categories make sense to you - I have "specific" cards - Travel, On the Blog, Summer, and Currently, grid journaling cards and core kit 'filler' cards, 'phrase' and 'quote' cards, and lined and unlined journaling cards. I keep all the filler cards and journaling cards grouped together by core kit name so I can remember which kit they came from. I haven't tried organizing by color, but that would be another way to do it.


I actually changed this on Sunday - I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut some cute little tabbed dividers. I just drew a rectangle and added some decorative tabs on the top of it. Now I'm using those dividers to keep everything organized into categories, instead of using binder clips. I just wrote the categories on the tabs. Quick and simple!


Here's what my Cameo file looked like - I used a similar method to make 4x6 dividers.


I'm a bit of a... collector of different pocket page configurations. I use them all though! :) I put all the pages in an extra binder and used a post-it note to mark where each starts. That way I can quickly flip through and see which page I want to use. I have full 12x12 pages and insert sizes (smaller than 12x12) in this binder. I have a ton of Design A and Design D (since I bought the Blush kit bundle on HSN), so I keep them in a second binder.



Do you have any great organizing tips to share with me? Let me know in the comments!

I love reading each and every comment! Be sure to keep up with me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook!

27 comments :

  1. This is so pretty! I love organization and sorting! I love the binder with the cameras on! In fact I love everything with a camera print =) Thanks for sharing your lovely stash!

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    1. Thanks Mirabyll! I love the camera print too :)

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  2. Lots of great idea. I don't do PL but could see using some of the ideas for other things. TFS

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    1. Yes, you could definitely use some of these ideas for other scrapbook supplies!

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  3. Some great ideas here. Thanks!

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  4. Good tips! I like: the post it notes separating the pages and will be incorporating that tip. Need to sort out my goodies and try to organize it better than what I got. thanks

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    1. You're welcome Tina. Separating the pocket pages has been a big help to me!

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    2. I took it one step further and actually use a Project life "bookmark" and on the label drew a tiny picture of the layout so I can see what's behind each tab!

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  5. I think I need you to come and organize my whole house, not just my scrapping area! LOL Great ideas! Love Penny

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    1. Haha Penny! I Would love to be a professional organizer!!

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  6. I organize very similarly except I sort my cards by color. I actually ran our of design A and had to run to Michael's for a new pack!

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    1. I may need to organize a few by color... I usually look for a certain color when I'm looking to fill an empty spot!

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  7. Great tips Emily (: We organize our PL stuff much the same way. I just need to get a bigger container for all of my cards! I also need to get my post up for my organization and PL process. It's been on my to do list for months! Thanks for sharing yours.

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    1. Can't wait to see yours, Crystal. Great minds think alike! ;) I'm determined to only have 1 medium CTMH box full of card and have that be the limit... but there are so many new cute cards all the time!

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  8. nicely done - always interesting to see how others organize.

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    1. Thank you! I like to see other people's ideas too... sometimes it can help when you have a lock on something :)

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  9. I made folders on my filing cabinet with categories like school, travel, baby, love, Halloween, spring, summer, journaling cards, borders,etc,etc. I have about 25-30 categories that I always use for my layouts. For the smaller items I put them in the folder in baggies. I have found for me that color sorting of items was harder to know what I had for a layout. But with sorting this way I am doing a layout about a school day or a summer swim and I know where to do to find the bits and main subject matter to start the project. After all each card or scrapbook page is about a certain subject or thought. I hope I described it well enough.

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    1. That makes total sense. I think that's why I haven't done color sorting, although sometimes I do look for a certain color. But mostly I look for a certain type or subject matter for a card, so my method is working for me. Sounds like your system is great!

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  10. How can I get one of those CTMH organizers?

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    1. Hey Marianne - I connected with a CTMH consultant through a Facebook group, but you can check out their site and find the closest consult to you - http://www.closetomyheart.com/default.aspx?cl=1

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  11. You have a lot of scrapbook materials that definitely needs to be kept in order. By doing so, you'll have a better view of your items that you use every time you update your scrapbook, or in creating anything. Instead of using clips, maybe you can consider storing each in a zip lock, for better protection. As long as you make an effort to keep everything organized, then it is good.

    -Ruby Badcoe @ WilliamsDataManagement

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  12. Great organization ideas! Thanks!

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  13. Hi Emily. I find all your work just beautiful and thanks for sharing it!
    I am about to begin my first PL album, so your post has given me some great ideas.
    I noticed most of the comments posted here are quite old, so I just wanted to check if this is the proper place to be asking you a question? Emily, is there a certain kind of binder you would recommend for my first album? Thank you for all your work and advice. It's much appreciated.
    Kathy

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Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment - I love reading all of them!

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