So this is where I am today.

• Where have all my tea towels gone?  So, so completely weird.  I have done all the laundry and folded everything yet I cannot find one single tea towel  in the entire house.  What?  How is this even possible?  I mean, seriously, where could they have gone?  My house is not very big and only has one floor!  Please expect wet dishes if you come over and heaven forbid you actually spill something.
• Magnus asked me what metaphorically meant yesterday.  Huh?  I had to ask him to repeat himself 3 times ‘cause I was so shocked.  I mean how to do you explain “metaphorically” to a four year old?  Plus, where did he hear that ‘cause I am pretty sure it is not part of the everyday language of our house!  Oh and he has also started adding blah, blah, blah to the end of stories he is telling.  As in – Nana came over the other day and blah, blah, blah...  I have to admit it makes me giggle.  He says in such a serious voice and with just the right inflection that it seems completely adorable in his little kidlet voice.
• Homework is punishment for parents.  I think teachers know you did stuff the night before when you were a kid so they convince your child to do the same to you.  The good news is I think I deserve an A+ on my project!  It really rocks!  (OK, before you think I did Harper’s project I am not that mom.  I cracked the whip and made her work like a dog to get it done.  The lesson should last for about four weeks until school is finished. :)  Next year I am sure this lesson will need teaching all over again!)
• And then back to tea towels.  They are fairly new too.  Still fluffy and absorbent.  The laundry room is literally right next to the kitchen.  Open concept between the rooms actually.  I just don’t get it!  How. Can. They. Disappear. Completely???  Shaking my head...

Ok now on to my Momma Bear.  As we were hanging out in our jammies yesterday morning (I figured as long as she was sick I might as well participate in the lounging in the jammies part...) we were talking about my house looking like a small tornado when through it (also called kidlet 1 and kidlet 2).  I am forever feeling like my mom has a perfectly tidy house and mine looks like, well, a tornado went through it.  She, being the super awesome mom that she is, is always reassuring me that my house is fine and that her house was always messy when we were little.  (I have a hard time imagining this cause I always remember house cleaning perfection.)  I, of course, mention you and how I was blabbing to the whole world my love of stacking and my messy ways and you know what?  She let me in on a secret.

She loves drawers. 

More specifically the magic of a closed drawer. 

She swears that the next time I am over if I look in her drawers I will find mess.  Now I have to admit I am skeptical.  I mean my mom’s house is stunningly tidy.  Always has been.  (Maybe if we analyse me we will realize that I just still rebelling over a tidy childhood... LOL . Nope.  Too big of girl for that! )  So, back to my mom and her tidy perfection.  She claims that she needs everything to look tidy but she says that if I open drawers I will find she shoves things in when she is cleaning.  I am pretty sure I am going to have to take her up on her offer to look in her drawers because like I said I am pretty skeptical.  I think her “messy” and my “messy" might be two different things.

So why bring this up?  Well, as way to introduce my next storage solution naturally! 

Drawers are amazing for storage.  Especially 'cause they hide things that are hard to store neatly.  I don’t really have too many drawers in my scrap space but I do have boxes.  As I mentioned before I store most of my stuff in my shelf from Ikea.  I rely heavily on the open basket concept for most of my supplies.  But I have hidden a few things with these.  What I like to think of as “closed” baskets because you cannot see into them.  This is what it looks like. 

I have the whole bottom row filled with baskets that you cannot see into unless you pull them out.  And you would not believe what they hide!

Want to see? 

I know you do. ;) You are secretly enjoying my messy ways 'cause it makes you feel better doesn't it?

Storage for extra supplies that I like to have on hand so I don't run out.

Fabric pieces - yup I just toss them in!

This is my favorite - a basket that holds blank mini albums and items ready to be altered.

And one basket for the kidlets and their art supplies.  They can just take out what they want and then toss it back when they are done.

Now, how do I decide what goes in these?  Well it is all supplies that I don't need to see to remember to use.  I know that if I want to start a mini album that I will look in the basket to find one that inspires me.  If I think a page needs some texture and want to use fabric...Well, you get the idea. 

Supplies that I need to see such as embellishments, stickers or chipboard I keep in open baskets.  Supplies that I don't need visual cues from are hidden away.  This helps to keep things looking tidy (even if it is just surface tidy like my Momma Bear says). 

I also have boxes like this that serve the same purpose.

First let me say I am so happy to hear that there are other like-minded stackers out there! :)

And Michele L. left me this comment yesterday...

But my question is this: how do you stack brads, buttons and flowers? LOL

Remember I scrap on a dining room table so I decided to utilize all that wonderful empty space under it with my little rolling cart from Ikea.  The unit has three drawers so I divide my paper scraps as follows - warms (reds, oranges, yellows), cools (blues, greens, purples) and neutrals (blacks, whites, browns, greys).  The cart sits right next to me (my chair is to the right of the cart).

And you know what?  I use my scraps all the time now.  They are so easy to grab and since the drawers are big it is easy to rifle through looking for just the right piece.  My kidlets also know that this stuff is fair game for homework (Harper) or random cutting/crafts (Magnus).  I really, really love this system.  I think what always happened to me before was I tried to put my scraps into too small of a space and it made looking for scraps feel like a bit of a chore.  Not now.  It is so easy to grab something from here and get right to work.

For me organization needs to be easy to maintain but it also needs to be easy to see/use.  If I don't see it, I don't use it.

That's it for today.  Seems a bit more normal than yesterday doesn't it??  LOL  Back tomorrow with more :)

Paper racks that fit right into my shelves (I can't find these any more so no links - sorry).  I used these to keep a few things separate from my "main" stacks.  Projects I am working on, specialty papers or even just some new supplies that I want to play with.  No real rules to it.  Just what I feel I want to have separate - and it changes all the time.

So side by side this is what my paper looks like right now.

Seems organized enough to me.  And I am definitely happy with it.

And because organization is never done...

I have been toying with the idea of adding these to my paper solution.

I am not sure if vertical will work for me but I was thinking of breaking up my patterned paper a bit.  The pile is getting big (got to stop shopping!) so I thought it might help but I am thinking I will probably go with these. (but I do want to give vertical a chance - you never know!)

My system is definitely not finished and I am always working to make it better.  I don't want elaborate solutions because I know I will not maintain it.  I know myself well enough to realize that storage and organization needs to be as easy as possible.

Ok so now I feel just a bit naked in front of you all!  Please advert your eyes....;)

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More crazy Crystal storage solutions tomorrow.  Bet you'll be back just to read how strange I really am!

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Hope everyone in the US is having a great Memorial Day today:)