Ribbon Organization Day 5

Ribbon Organization with RRR

Hello, all you fabulous ribbon lovers! No project to share with you today, but I do have some ideas for ribbon storage that you might find helpful. I have ribbon. Lots of it. Some of it I inherited from my mother, who inherited from my Grandmother. And Lord only knows where Grammy Ma got the ribbon! When you have an addiction er, I mean passion....for ribbon, finding ways to organize it can be very challenging.

This is where I store the bulk of my RRR ribbon. My husband bought me this rolling cart for Christmas. I needed a spot to keep punches, paper cutters, papers, inks, etc close at hand, but off my desk so that I would actually have room to work. This is a Recollections 3 drawer cart on wheels. The drawers and organizer spaces are really nice, but the thing I am enjoying the most is the ribbon storage area on the side of the cart. This keeps my RRR ribbons close at hand while I am designing. Prior to this, I had them all in a little basket on top of a shelf. Which was cute....but let's face it, not very practical.

What's Most Important to You?

I have three main concerns when it comes to ribbon organization:

1) visibility....If I can't see it, I won't use it

2) accessibility: If I have to dig through a basket or drawer, I'm going to get frustrated and probably not use it

3: Protecting my ribbon: I don't want it to fade. I don't want it to fray. I don't want it to get soiled.

And, because I am on a design team for RRR, I also need a place to keep my design team ribbon separate from all my other ribbon. So, this little cart fit the bill on all accounts. Here's how I use it:

The side of the cart designed for ribbon storage has 2 dowels, one above the other. I used the top dowel for my spooled ribbon. I don't have a lot of this, but this is where I keep most of it. You've probably noticed how frequently I use Natural Jute String in my projects. I love adding it beneath a button or on a masculine card. So I keep it right at hand. I can see it, it is easily accessible and it is protected. Same holds true for the other ribbons on this top dowel.

I also keep my crocheted lace on the top dowel. Because I link to whatever product I'm using in my posts, I keep the little wrapper with that crocheted lace's printed name on it. This saves me a ton of time. If I've unwrapped it, I just put it into a ziploc bag and clip the name onto the hanger with the lace. By the way, these are cafe curtain rod clips that I found at Target. Super cheap, and they work great for hanging ribbon from a dowel.

Now, onto the lower dowel:

I have my ribbons on the lower dowel packaged in sandwich sized ziploc bags and hung from the same cafe curtain clips. I have the ribbon organized by type (satin, grosgrain, gingham, etc) and if it is part of a ribbon assortment package, I keep it together in that ziploc bag.

Again, this helps me when it comes time to link a product to a post. It also helps me remember what to re-order when the time comes. After using the ribbon, I re-fold it and put it back in the bag.

I use this same method with the monthly Ribbon Club assortments. Once I open the assortments, I do put the ribbons into a ziploc bag. Storing my ribbon this way takes up very little space and keeps everything nice and neat. Which makes me happy.

I also have this clip it up Ribbon organizer on the opposite side of the room. This is where I store my lace, some ribbons and odd bits of trim. There is a 9-cubby organizer shelf right below it, and this is where I keep my Zutter Bow-It-All Tool. I use the rear spindles to store more of my favorite RRR ribbons: Natural Jute Ribbon, Cream Seam Binding, Silky Crush Champagne Ribbon, and White Delicate Stitched Satin Ribbon. I use these so often that I just leave them on the back of the Bow it All so that they are always at hand.

Storing Odds and Ends

I know one of the biggest issues I had to address was how to store odds and ends of ribbon. You know, you just have enough left to make one little bow, but you don't have room for another spool of ribbon in your storage space. Here is how I solved that problem:

This clear shoe organizer hangs on the back of my closet door. As you can see, the ribbons are organized by color. This doesn't quite pass the visibility test, because I keep the closet door closed. However, this is the closet where I store my paper, so every time I go in there to get a new piece of paper for a project, I also see this ribbon. So I guess it does pass the test after all. It keeps it accessible and protected, too. Plus, it uses what would otherwise be dead space, and that is always a good thing.

One last little thing. Do you ever tie a bow and then decide not to use it? Well, I have a little set of plastic drawers that I put those bows into where they wait patiently, ready to go when the right project comes along.

And that's it for me! I'd love to hear your ribbon storage tips! Thanks for stopping by....your visits make me happy right down to the tips of my crafty little fingers.

Cheerio,

kathy