Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Improvements to my Scrap Storage System

I have been wanting to spend some time making some changes to how and where I store my scraps.  I recently had some incentive to finally get it done!




I still use my color coded buckets right above my cutting table so as soon as a scrap is made, it is instantly sorted by color. I think it is the most crucial step for my scrap sanity.   I may not need these any more with the changes I have made but for now, I will leave them there.



 What drove me to making these changes now, was I had the opportunity to buy some old wire gym locker baskets.  I cleaned off a shelf unit which is right outside my sewing room.  So no more walking down the hall to get to my scraps.  I have a total of twelve and they are really convenient to grab when I need a color.



I still have my old scrap bins down the hall but they now hold my larger chunks of scraps (smaller than a fat quarter) - all folded and standing on end.  They used to be stored in large drawers with multiple colors in each drawer.  But now each of these bins are a single color, I can easily grab a bin or a fabric and take it to my sewing room.  Because they are on edge, all of the fabrics are visible.

I use these fabrics when I don't have scraps that work in my wire baskets.
I always work with the smallest scraps first.



Then I moved the large drawers to under my cutting table.  Before I made this change, I had multiple overflowing bins under this table.  Now, I just have my low volume and a "Specialty" bin that I use to collect a certain type of scrap temporarily.  Right now it is collecting Kaffe Fassett scraps.



I am a bit embarrassed to share what is in these drawers.  These are all bags of sorted various scraps just waiting to be made into a quilt.  Some of them are certain collections - like Charlie Harper, Tula Pink or Parsons Gray.  I also have bags of certain types of scraps - holiday, patriotic, vintage.  There are even bags of orphan blocks in there.  I would guess there are at least 25 bags in each bin and both drawers are stuffed full.  That is over 50 quilts! 

Before these changes, these bags were overflowing their baskets.  At least now they look tidy!
Hmmm....Maybe I should start pulling a project out of these occasionally.




Linking Up:

15 comments:

Jo said...

That's a great scrap storage system. Very tidy

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

since I organized a lot of my pieces by color I like it better too - I have two plastic boxes I still need to dig in and organize

Barb Neiwert said...

This is exactly what we have been wanting to know about you...how you manage your scraps! I appreciate you sharing with us. Oh - you should share your stash of 2.5" squares, which is really amazing. I actually cut very small scraps into 2.5" and my collection is growing. I still want you to come over and organize mine for me....I just never seem to find the time!

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

You have so many great ideas for storage! I love those mesh baskets - what a fun idea. The one I really need to *copy* is the individual baskets right above your cutting table. I have one big basket right below me and everything gets tossed in there as I cut and have leftover bits. It's a pain to go through and sort them! (One of those things I'm always planning to get to, but never do!)

Turid said...

I love your ideas. So good to see your fabrics like this. I always start this process, but after a while all my fabrics are mixed again.

Anonymous said...

Excellent storage idea with those metal baskets!
May I know where you found them?

Thank you!

-Megan

Pamela Arbour said...

I can surely relate to your ongoing changes to your scrap storage. It looks nice. Congratulations

Louise said...

Your wire baskets look great! I think it's important to tweak the storage every once in a while because it forces you to really look at what you have. Color sorting works well for me for now. Who knows what the scraps will demand next year?

Linda @ kokaquilts said...

Managing those scraps takes time... and it's great to see how you oraganise things. I have storage systems in place, colour coded, but now & then it all feels very overwhelming.

Vicki in MN said...

You have a great system going there. I am so glad you shared your scrappiness with us because I am pretty sure we are in the exact same boat with the amounts:0 Don't you wish you could just take 2 months and do nothing else but work with the scraps, I mean absolutely nothing else. Just think how much we'd get done!

maggie fellow said...

I would have had to find a use for old wire baskets too and it looks like it will work great for scraps. I like your system. I think I need to add a specialty drawer or two as well - thanks for the inspiration.

Jayne said...

I love the locker basket idea! It's hard to find the perfect storage solution and our needs change yearly it seems! Whatever works is the best solution!

Mystic Quilter said...

I always enjoy a post on the subject of fabric storage! We seem to have the same plastic storage drawers, I have rather a lot and find them ideal. Being a KF Collective nutcase mine seem to be filled with all sizes of his fabrics, however, tI think I should follow your example and cut/sort as I go rather than throw them in one box.

The Joyful Quilter said...

This new storage system looks wonderful!! I really need to dig out and reorganize, too. Thanks for providing some inspirational photos!

Kristin said...

Those baskets!! That is a trip down memory lane for me-- I lifeguarded at the city pool all through college and those were what we had in the locker area. Good luck with your scrap management!

01 09 10