I love to modify and enhance packaging to reuse it.  I haven't shared many of my construction mods here, but trust me, I'm a whiz with thin cardboard, invisible tape, and binder clips.  But the absolute best is when you can reuse packaging without any mods at all.

My craft notebook was commandeered for moving duty.  All our notes and lists and whatnot used up a bunch of pages.  I ventured over to Borders to see if they had any more notebooks the same size because I can use my fancy page moving technique to keep all my crafty stuff together as long as the paper and binding are the same.

The type of binding used to make my craft notebook is called Wire-O.  I like it because it doesn't crush easily, and it allows me to open the notebook flat.

But my absolute favorite benefit of using a Wire-O bound notebook is that you can easily move pages around.  This is the only reason I can use notebooks at all, otherwise I'd have to use binders because I HAVE to be able to add pages in the middle.

Diane of Craftypod and her sweet Mom, Pam Harris of Gingerbread Snowflakes record a podcast every year around Christmas, and it's one of the highlights of the holiday season for me.  In this year's podcast Pam said that she had the whole year's blog posts planned out already.

I only have two more pages to fill up in my old notebook before I get to switch to my new one.  To get the new one ready, I hand-sewed clear vinyl pockets into it.

Last week I also got some surprise gifts from Andrew, too.  [ summary: owl magnets and the most awesome notebook ever ]

And now for the reason I was thinking about the tape on the presser foot trick ...

I've been carrying this small notebook in my purse with my to do list written in it.  For important, persistent information I was using post-it notes on the inside cover.  But with rough daily use in my over-stuffed bag, the post-its were getting all mangled.  I was afraid I was going to end up losing them.

When my necklace collection started exploding out of the little jewelry boxes I have, I headed to home depot for a solution.  I'd planned on building an elaborate thingamajig out of dowels and fabric, but when I saw this tie rack for under $10, I was persuaded to forgo the craft project.

i gots htem

can i has vakyoom cleenr now?

kthx

This is my craft table.  The thing on the left, under one of Andrew's old t-shirts, is my sewing machine.  On the right is a black desk organizer which houses my most used tools (scissors, stitch markers, pins, etc) as well as my floss drawers, a pen bucket, and some stackable shelves.

Since this is my only workspace, it's very important that I keep it cleaned off so I can use it.  I'm terrible about cleaning up in between projects. I just don't do it, so I've devised a work around.

This is a close up of the stackable shelves.  They are my secret weapon. The middle shelf (with the monkey) is a dumping ground for bits and pieces of completed projects that need to be put away.  When I come to my table and it's a mess,  I put everything away that has a place to go (like the scissors) and then the rest gets tucked into the middle shelf.  Mostly these odds and ends are large bits of felt and unused strands of floss.

The bottom shelf is where I keep my other secret weapons.  These two boxes hold my bits of felt and unused floss.  They are the most perfect containers from a terrible tasting Trader Joe's meal.  I mean, this meal made me sick to eat, but the containers were so awesome that I ate two of them ... and I would have eaten a truck-load more if Trader Joe's hadn't stopped making them.

Anyway, once a week or once a month or whenever, I'll take the wad of stuff out of the middle shelf and sort through it.  Here you can see the two containers on the left and my pile on the right.

I put the felt bits in the felt container.  They get used for stuffie eyes, test runs, and other things like that.

The floss bits get put into to the other container.  I take 3" x 5" cards, cut them into four strips (3" by 1.25").  I cut a slit in the side, wind up a floss strand, then cut another slit to hold the other end.  Above it, I write the color number.

"Full" on the first one refers to the fact that the floss bit is 26" long, which is the starting length of floss that I always use.  I don't measure them initially, it's just when you pull out a piece of floss from the skein that's "two pulls" long, it equals 26".

When I have leftover floss, I also toss the skein on the middle shelf, too, so I'll  know what number it is when I wind it up.  The fact that I have skeins of floss hidden away on the middle shelf is usually the reason I decide to clean it out.  Otherwise, I think I'd have an elephant sized wad of felt and floss squeezing us out of our apartment.

These are all of my little floss cards in the box.  I don't save really short bits.  Well, I used to, but I never used them for anything so I don't anymore.  You can see a loose piece of ecru on the right.  I use that color for labels a lot, so I don't bother winding it up.  I always know to check this box first for ecru.

If you have trouble keeping your workspace clean, a small box where you can dump the mess until you have the time (or inclination) to take care of it might be the solution for you, too.

Organization can be as much of an art or craft as anything else. The supplies and methods can be fun and innovative. Who doesn't love good office supplies? They are just a jump skip and a hop from craft supplies, if not the same, most of the time.

For the bulk of my organization, I rely on a browser-based To Do application my husband built for me. It's my own personal compilation of everything. Addresses, phone numbers, lists and lists and lists. It's organized exactly how I want it. I can get to it from work or any computer connected to the internet - which means just about anywhere.

But what about in the store or the car? That was the problem. I started writing the day's To Do List on 3 x 5 cards. Then the shopping lists as well. It was working OK, but my purse was becoming a graveyard of crinkled paper held together by binder clips. I cringed every time I plunged my hand into my purse hoping this wouldn't be the day I paper-cut myself to ribbons.

When I was at Walmart to buy my next brick of 3 x 5 cards, I found this lovely thing! It is a clear plastic sleeve for 3 x 5 cards. It came with spiral bound 3 x 5 cards, which are perfect for notes on the run (they sell refills, of course). There is a pocket in the front and a pocket in back. In the front I put today's list facing out so I can read it without having to open it up. The back pocket is reserved for photos.

On the inside, I fill the pockets with all the supplemental list, stubs, directions, notes that I might need or I collect throughout the day. When it's all closed up, there are no sharp edges to rip up my purse or my hands. At night, I unload the day and load in the next day. This wonderful thing has made my life just a little more organized, and I am grateful.

And why, do you ask, the musings on organization? Because I am totally overwhelmed with things to do! Every blog I discover, every book I buy, every season - holiday - idea - inspiration ... has me adding 10 more things to my to do list.  That's in addition to oil changes, teeth cleanings, grocery shopping, laundry ... you know *exactly* what I am talking about. Yesterday my To Do list for the day filled up two whole 3 x 5 cards - and I write *tiny*. Tonight I finally decided it was time to put all the great blogs I read into Bloglines - there went an hour right there.

I'm having such a great time doing this.  I can't wait to get to all the things I have planned. At least I have a place to keep them all so they don't get forgotten.