to accomplish...

I promised that i'd share with you ideas of what I did to all the STUFF i took out of all the packages!
In the past, I wanted to know the vendor for every item. Well, not so much anymore. I need to be more organized AND save room more than I need to know the vendors!
So.

In the previous entry, you saw a garbage can full of Tim Holtz and Heidi Swapp packaging. It was 'hard', but I put ALL the stuff into containers that had OTHER things in them! The metal containers you see had Maya Road chipboard in, which I put into my 're-cycled' mayonnaise containers that I've shown before! NOW I can see it easier. Tim Holtz stuff:



Heidi Swapp stuff:





More stuff from packaging that I've emptied earlier:


All the 'crazy' packaging from several different flowers. I've actually USED it a few times this way, and it's much easier than rifling thru several different packages.


The TONS of different bRads! Man, we sure can collect a cacophony of types and colors. This alone took up a LOT of space. Well, I tell you, it's MUCH easier to find a brad that I like than looking in the several different places that they were before. I had them not only by color, but ALSO by vendor or style. Now, they are ALL by color, in ONE place. The only ones I did not put in these were the specialty ones. You'll see one of those below:


I put all the gem brads into one container. Similar ways were used for others, and some I left in their packaging. Hopefully I can REMEMBER them!

You can see in the jar to the left, it's all Doodlebug buttons. I cut off a little piece of the packaging with the vendor name, and drop it into the container, to help me remember who they are from. I've several of these containers.





Remember these? They are the 'Hugz' from ScrapWorks. I really liked these, but always forgot I had 'em. Now they are front and forward and easy to see. Sure beats the several packages I took 'em out of!





Here you see just an inkling of ways I saved space AND made stuff easier to find. All by re-using containers! The small plain clear containers are from the Doodlebug flowers (which I put into a big jar). The little jars held buttons by My Minds Eye, which all the buttons are now mixed together with ALL buttons from different vendors by COLOR. You can see that below. They are in jars that held sunflower seeds... 'cause I wanted BLUE, so my friend KC saved 'em for me!

The OTHER thing I wanted to share with you... is HANGING STUFF.
Yeah, the 'Clip it Up' system. I didn't want the tower, and I didn't want to ORDER it, so I made my own. BUT, I would recommend buying the original. I used a curtain rod ... which BENT... I had to add several braces. A PAIN. And my rings are earring rings... which are not the best. But they worked for me.

I started with this:

Then I emptied TWO of these:


And ended up with my hanging product! I LOVE it. I liked the bins too. But I think I just had TOO MUCH. So, the hanging method works easier for me.


The shelf cabinet used to have doors. I HATED them! So we took them off, moved stuff around a bit, to make more room, and ended up with this (above) BUT the third row bins now house my collection of foam stamps! Before they were impossible to get to without a step-stool! You see the Making Memories spinner on the top? It WAS going to be temporary, but I ended up LOVING it up there, OUT of the way, yet stuff is EASY to get to and reach! Gives me MORE ROOM on my work counter.

One last thing I want to share with you! I had two of these wing chairs years ago in Troutdale. I gave them to Kari way back when... We all love these chairs, as they are comfortable and classy looking. BUT, I didn't want the COLOR. So I bought a slip-cover and... tada! wow, what a diff! LOVE it!

Before: and After:



















Next on my 'list' is painting. (guess what I'm gonna paint? You can see 'em in the photo!) Wait 'til you see! Remember, I told you all that I'm NOT buying new if I can help it? Re-do and re-use! (trying to do my part in being GREEN, it's very important to me and to the future!)

So, my friends, this is it for this POST. One last photo tho, to show you something I have to DEAL with when I'm on the computer... man, I TELL you, life is TOUGH!







'til next time!
thanks for visiting...
danella