Organizing Your Craft Room on a Budget | Vintage, Paint and more...

Thursday, January 14, 2016

Organizing Your Craft Room on a Budget

Good morning friends. 
 Can you believe January is flying by so quickly - here it is the 14th and I still have not started on the organizing I had planned this month.  We are still in holiday mode here as our grand kids are visiting this week. So I thought I would share some organizing tricks I have used in the past that I am still actually using. Organizing ways I have found that cost very little money, are easy to accomplish and make organizing your craft/work area easy. 



organizing your work/craft space on a budget

I don't know about you but if my work space is cluttered and in disarray I cannot concentrate and get anything accomplished.  I spend most of time searching for the exact item I need or just staring at the mess.  So over the years I have come up with a few very easy and budget friendly ways to corral that clutter and keep those most used items close at hand. 

using diy embellished tin cans to organize a craft space

One of my favorite all time organizing items is a recycled tin can.  I have used them for all kinds of organization from pens to craft tools.  I love to embellish them and make them fit into my decor.  As you can see above I have painted these and used all sorts of vintage trims to make them "pretty" for the space.  You can find more on how to make these here.

diy embellished jar organization for a craft room

Another great storage item that you probably toss after use is the jar.  I love using these for those little items that get lost or you forget you have.  Having them in clear jars makes keeping them close at hand simple and always in your sight.  You can read about these that I embellished to fit into my vintage decor here.  


diy embellished hat boxes and cheese boxes for craft room organization on a budget

I also love to use unusual items to corral some of those odd shaped or overly large collections that I have accumulated over the years.  These hat boxes and cheese boxes house all my lace trims and specialty ribbons.  They hold an amazing amount of stuff and the best is they cost around one to two dollars each at thrift stores. You can read all about them here.


using thrifted kitchen canisters to organize ribbon on a budget

I am always on the look out for great items that can be used to organize some of my things when I am out thrift shopping.  These old kitchen canisters make the perfect ribbon storage when the ribbon is wound on clothespins.  You can read more on this here.



budget friendly diy paper organization made from cereal boxes

I think boxes have to be one of the most universal organizing tools around.  They are abundant and most are free.  This paper organizer sits on my desk and is used daily to house all my ongoing projects and ideas. I used cereal boxes to make it - can't get much more budget friendly than that.  You can read how to make yourself one here.

budget friendly diy box storage for organizing a craft room

Another way I love to use boxes is to cover them with wrapping paper to match my decor. The ones I used above are old shoe boxes and cardboard boxes.  I used paper from the dollar store in coordinating prints and solids and then embellished them with vintage trims.  I also placed some labels on them. These house everything from books to faux flowers to scrapbook supplies.  You can read more about how to make these here.

using paper back books to diy business card organization for a craft room

How about old paper back books?  These can be folded to hold business cards, small notes, cards of buttons, or anything that fits between the folds.  Embellish it with vintage trims and you have a custom made addition to your desk.  You can read more about how to make your own here.

using thrifted and budget friendly multi purpose furniture to organize a craft room

Another way to add to your organization is to purchase multi use furniture for your space. I have had this particular piece for a couple of decades - that just shows you how versatile it is.  The multiple little drawers house everything from glue sticks to ink pads to punches.  It can definitely hold a lot of scrapbooking supplies.  So be on the look out at thrift stores for pieces that you can use in many different ways.

organizing your craft room with recycled, thrifted or multipurpose items on a budget

This is my craft space.  Most of the furniture was either thrifted or purchased on a budget.  Then I painted everything to match so it has a cohesive look and fits into my vintage decor.  This is actually a corner of my bedroom as that is the space I love to work in.  But because it is organized, uncluttered and done to match the rest of the room it fits in quite well.  I love working here - it is my favorite space in our house.
Do you have a favorite budget friendly organizing tip you'd like to share with us. Tell us about it in the comments below.
Until next time enjoy creating something you love.


I will be linking up to the parties listed on the Where I Party page.  Please be sure to go by and check out all the great creativeness and inspiration found at each one.



If you like this post you may also like these.





                          Paper Dish Organizer

26 comments:

  1. Wow Cathy, I love all the DIY trinkets you've made to keep your craft room organized. I'm swooning over your apothocary cabinet too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Marie. I love making pretty things to surround me. It gives me much needed inspiration for my other crafts.

      Delete
  2. Cathy I would never be able to get any work done in your craft room. I would be so busy admiring all the pretty containers. Each one is unique and special. This is eye candy that will distract me from getting anything done. .

    ReplyDelete
  3. I really like your recycled tin can holder and the idea of wrapping odds and ends of yarn around pegs.

    At the moment my craft / office area is disaster and in need of a major redesign.

    Thanks for the inspiration.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Sam. I love the tin can holder also - it was so easy to make and is totally done with bits and pieces headed for the trash. The clothes pins definitely keep those bits of yarn organized.

      Delete
  4. Cathy, You have created such a beautiful craft space! Love the beautiful way you organize! Thanks for sharing your tips with us at Snickerdoodle Sunday! Pinned and tweeted :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love all your ideas and room looks amazing!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. You have a lot of stuff but it's all arranged so nicely! Love all of you DIY storage ideas! Stopping over from Show and Tell.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Heather. I think my hubby would totally agree with you on "a lot of stuff". Someday I will purge some of it but not today, lol...

      Delete
  7. I love all of your craft organizing ideas.
    Thanks for sharing them at Cooking and Crafting with J & J.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow, I wish my craft area was as pretty! I am the queen of clutter!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Trust me I would have nothing but clutter if it weren't for these items to keep me organized. And still some days it isn't pretty in here, lol...

      Delete
  9. Your craft room looks like a wonderful place to hang out and enjoy working on a project.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Good Afternoon Cathy, You have created such a wonderful craft room, filled with interesting upcycled things, which most of us would probably throw away.
    I love the re-covered hat boxes and cheese boxes, they look so attractive and I am certainly going to use your idea of covering shoe boxes with wrapping paper, to store my sewing bits and bobs.
    Thank you so much for inspiring me.
    Best Wishes
    Daphne

    ReplyDelete
  11. Your crafting area is so organized ... and pretty!! (I think my favorite is your ribbon collection wrapped around clothes pins -- so cute!) Thanks for sharing, Cynthia

    ReplyDelete
  12. This room just makes you want to craft! How fun! :)

    Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Love all the tips and beauty in this area! I'm saving this for helping me with my unpacking and reorganizing my own! Pinned! Thank you so much, Cathy for sharing this with us at What to Weekends! By the way, I featured your adorable DIY Valentines Wreath at this weeks Party!
    Theresa @ Shoestring Elegance

    ReplyDelete
  14. Wow! Such an amazing place to create. Thank you for sharing it on SYC. Jo

    ReplyDelete
  15. Love your creative space and all of your pretty storage ideas Cathy! I love repurposing items for my craft room as well. Salt shakers are one of my favorite things for holding mini embellishments. I pick them up at the thrift shop along with old sugar dispensers. They hold bakers twine perfectly and the string pulls out nicely. But I also use them to corral odds and ends of ribbon and lace. I fill each one with a specific color and when I'm crafting I just grab it and see if there's a small piece I can use before I cut new. Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

    ReplyDelete
  16. I am in the process of organizing a craft space for myself, so I came across your post just in time! Your space looks so inviting and inspiring :) Thanks for linking up with Merry Monday last week! We'd love to have you join us again :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. I can only dream of a craft room like yours, Cathy, organized AND beautiful! Nice job. Thanks for sharing it at Vintage Charm.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Wow, I love all of your craft organizing ideas. Thank you for sharing this post.

    ReplyDelete