Paauwerfully Organized - Organizing advice for scrapbookers

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Organizing advice for scrapbookers

Dear Kathy,

Could you please provide me with some organizing tips for scrapbooking?

Sincerely,
Creating Memories

Dear Creating Memories,

I’d be happy to provide some organizing tips that will help you maximize your effectiveness and enjoyment of the scrapbooking process.

For starters, being organized is not about how your environment looks, but about creating an environment and a schedule that enables you to work, play, and live exactly as you want to. Motivation is needed to get you started, and good habits are needed to keep you going. I offer some tips to help with both getting motivated and creating good habits. Pick and choose the ideas that you think will move you from intention to action.

Answer these questions to help you get motivated:
• If you were to get and stay organized, what different results would be possible?
• What will getting organized enable you to do that you are not doing now?

Once you are clear about the answer to these questions, keep your eye on the prize and you’ll have the motivation to succeed. Imagine how it will feel to do your scrapbooking without having to clear space and hunt down what you need
Create storage containers that allow you to store the things you use at the same time all in one place. I like the see-through plastic drawers on wheels. They come in many sizes. Some have small drawers on the top and larger drawers on the bottom. Or, if you prefer something other than plastic, the "Everything" Cabinet makes oak or pine handcrafted modular pieces of furniture in two sizes, with 28 removable trays in each piece. This was originally designed for rubber stamps but can be used for all your odds and ends.
Use a label maker to label your containers and drawers. This serves two purposes: it helps you find things quickly, and it helps you to store things where they belong.
If possible, create some dedicated flat surface space for doing your scrapbooking. This will enable you to leave your unfinished projects out rather than having to put them away or work around them between working sessions.
If you don't have the supplies needed when you're ready to do the work, motivation can dwindle rapidly. To prevent this from happening, schedule a monthly or quarterly standing appointment with yourself to check your inventory of scrapbooking materials. Keep a file of catalogs and other resources handy for where to purchase scrapbook products. Include in your file favorite Web addresses such as 20^th Century Direct.
Determine how much time you choose to devote to scrapbooking on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. Then get your calendar out and make an appointment with yourself to do it. The difference between intention and action is in reserving the time to follow through. Click here if you’d like to learn a powerful weekly planning process to help you organize your time around your priorities.
If you are more motivated and energized by doing scrapbooking with someone else, identify who you'd like to do it with and schedule time with them to make it happen.
Decide how you choose to organize your photos and mementos. Do you want to create scrapbooks by theme or special event (holidays, birthdays, vacations), people (Mom & Dad, the kids), or by year? Once you’ve decided how you want to display it, set up corresponding labeled folders or containers. For example, if you were using a family vacations theme, you might label hanging folders or shoe boxes like this:
• Disneyland (1999)
• Caribbean Cruise (2000)
• Grand Canyon (2001)
• Washington, D.C. (2002)

Once you’ve selected the theme and started gathering the materials -- photos, postcards, ticket stubs, etc. -- you can decide what scrapbook supplies you need and then purchase them before you begin. Then when you purchase those patriotic stickers to use with the Washington, D.C. vacation pages, you can add them to that folder or container so everything is in one place when you are ready to start your scrapbooking.
If you have years of photos to sort through, incorporate those as you are able, but promise yourself that starting today you will begin using your new organizing system. As you develop film or receive photos from others, put them in the appropriate folder or container when they arrive rather than adding them to the backlog.
Have a family & friends gathering to show off your scrapbooks once they are done. Setting a date for this and getting invitations out can be a huge motivator for completing a scrapbook.

Best wishes,

Kathy Paauw
Professional Organizer and Certified Business Coach

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