This is the most efficient way to organize scrapbook paper and cardstock! Plus, I’ll show you how to organize scrapbook paper scraps. Use these storage ideas for 8.5×11, 12×12, and scrap paper! You’ll love how little space it takes up!
My scrapbook paper storage has gone through a lot of trial and error over the years. It has now evolved into something I absolutely love!
This latest storage method feels 100% organized and accessible, which is a big deal, especially when it comes to finding that one random sheet of paper that has the little llamas all over it. Just kidding. I only wish I had that paper.
Go vertical! Seriously. It will change your life.
It drives me a little crazy every time I see those uber-organized craft rooms with wall-to-wall Sterilite containers with horizontal drawers. Ah! The wasted space!
Your paper will take up so much less room if you go vertical, not to mention it will be so much easier to flip through. I made the switch about 10 years ago and I haven’t looked back. I even store my scraps vertically (we’ll get to that).
I love the Totally Tiffany boxes, but I will say that they are just simple cardboard (brown on the inside and a shiny white on the outside). I have since spray-painted mine green–scroll to the end of the post for photos!
Because of how thin the boxes are, they work better when they’re full of paper, as well as when they have other boxes to sit with or a cube shelving (like my IKEA unit) to give them support.
Most scrapbook paper these days is 12×12, so I recommend getting containers that will fit at least 12×12 paper (I still have some 8.5×11 that I keep in the same containers).
Now, for the actual organization part and why I love this method so much!
First, divide the cardstock from patterned paper. Cardstock is easy, and will get sorted by color (and then by size, if you have multiple sizes).
I chose removable sticky tabs so they can easily be transferred to the next page in the category when I use this sheet of paper.
These are the exact categories and labels I use in my boxes, but your needs are going to be different. It may take you a few days to really sit down and categorize your paper, but I challenge you to make the effort! It will be so nice knowing exactly what you have and where to look for it. If I want to make a Mother’s Day card for my mom or scrapbook about a school event, I will know exactly where to look.
That’s why I recommend organizing your paper by theme and use. You can either choose to alphabetize by keyword (“boy,” “Halloween,” “winter”) or lump them together by holiday/season, like I did. No, “girl” isn’t necessarily a spring-only category, but I tend to associate those girly, pastel colors with spring. Also, Mother’s Day is in the spring and I decided to keep “girl” next to “mom.” I applied the same thought process to “dad” and “boy” being in summer.
For more specific themes, such as “animals” and “music,” I recommend giving them their own bigger section (or just include them alphabetically if you choose that method). For me, I know I’m only going to use these papers for very specific things (a zoo trip, a piano recital, etc.), so I wouldn’t include them in a “boy” or “girl” category, for instance.
Outside of the storage boxes, I also store pads of paper upright with the title written on the spine (or hints about the contents and colors). At this point in time, it’s not worth it to me to take apart the pads to organize by theme (nor would I want to, because most of them are matching collections anyway).
Whew! That was a lot of information! Okay. Ready to move onto scraps?
Ugh. The dreaded scraps. There’s always so many of them!
The box actually worked okay for a lot of years, but it wasn’t my favorite to look at. And…sometimes it was really hard to find what I needed without having to dump out the whole sheet protector.
I found these plastic envelopes with a snap closure that have been working great for dividing patterned paper scraps by color or category (if those exact ones aren’t available, just search for A4 sized plastic envelopes).
The only downside is that they don’t fit 12×12 paper (I tried really hard to find inexpensive plastic envelopes that would, but no luck). However, they fit at least a 9×12 piece of paper and 99.9% of my scraps aren’t bigger than that, so this storage solution has been working for me.
I store the folders sitting upright in an open Sterilite bin, and I’m actually super pleased with how nice and clean it looks on my shelf.
You could do this same thing with cardstock scraps, but I’ve had an expandable file folder that’s worked well for me for a lot of years and I decided to keep it. I made it “pretty” by sticking it in a fabric bin, which didn’t affect the accessibility of the scraps at all.
Ah, I love looking at how organized my paper is now. I love that, between whole sheets and scraps, it only took up five of the storage cube spaces. Vertical is the way to go!
You can see all my paper and scraps in the middle row, from left to right: cardstock scraps (hidden in a bin), scrapbook paper scraps, cardstock, patterned paper, and patterned paper pads.
Let me know in the comments how these posts are helping you and inspiring your own organizational updates. And don’t forget to share on Pinterest!