Tools and Adhesives
Gather together all of your tools and adhesives into a box and let's start S.P.A.C.E.ing them!
Sort:
One by one, put each item into piles: FAVOURITES, TRASH, TO SELL, STORE, DONATE.
Purge:
Purge:
For the SELL pile: bag up and assign a price and your initials to tools/adhesives that you don't love/use anymore and put them in your garage sale box. Throw out the TRASH pile. Arrange pick-up or drop-off of the DONATE pile.
Assign:
Assign:
Store your most used items in a basket or box or other system right on your desk, within easy reach. Divide the STORE items into categories that make sense to you: cutting tools, pens, punches, templates, etc.
Containerize:
This is the time to tidy up your tools. Tools need regular maintenance to keep them efficiently working. As you put your tools away in whatever container (drawers, shelves, boxes, baskets - always ensuring the container is clearly labelled) give them a little maintenance.
* scissors - sharpen your scissors using a small scissor sharpener, or have them professionally done. Carefully clean the blades (I like alcohol swabs to remove sticky adhesive).
* pens - test pens and throw out the ones that are dry or don't work well.
* craft knives - change the blades.
* trimmers - clean the deck of your trimmers with a damp cloth, and a little cleanser if necessary. Replace dull blades, or cut through fine sandpaper or aluminum foil.
* Work surface - clean ink, adhesive and paint from your self-healing mats.
* Punches - to prevent punches from sticking, punch through wax paper. Problem punches may need a little lubricating oil such as sewing machine oil, then punch through scrap paper several times to remove oily residue. Dull punches can be sharpened by punching through aluminum foil or fine grade sandpaper (both right side up and upside down).
* Stamps - stamps should be cleaned after each use, but if there is a build up of ink on your stamps, you should clean them with an alcohol free baby wipe, or paper towels moistened with a mild cleanser (ammonia free/bleach free) Use a soft toothbrush to remove ink stuck in the crevices of a design. Store stamps flat, rubber side down.
* Dies and Thin Cuts
* scissors - sharpen your scissors using a small scissor sharpener, or have them professionally done. Carefully clean the blades (I like alcohol swabs to remove sticky adhesive).
* pens - test pens and throw out the ones that are dry or don't work well.
* craft knives - change the blades.
* trimmers - clean the deck of your trimmers with a damp cloth, and a little cleanser if necessary. Replace dull blades, or cut through fine sandpaper or aluminum foil.
* Work surface - clean ink, adhesive and paint from your self-healing mats.
* Punches - to prevent punches from sticking, punch through wax paper. Problem punches may need a little lubricating oil such as sewing machine oil, then punch through scrap paper several times to remove oily residue. Dull punches can be sharpened by punching through aluminum foil or fine grade sandpaper (both right side up and upside down).
* Stamps - stamps should be cleaned after each use, but if there is a build up of ink on your stamps, you should clean them with an alcohol free baby wipe, or paper towels moistened with a mild cleanser (ammonia free/bleach free) Use a soft toothbrush to remove ink stuck in the crevices of a design. Store stamps flat, rubber side down.
* Dies and Thin Cuts
* Clean and recalibrate electronic cutting systems
Equalize:
Once you have a system in place for your tools, putting them back in the same place every time will become a reflex, and you will never have to hunt for you scissors again! Take a couple of minutes at the end of each scrap session to put your tools away.
We have started a Facebook group as a place for us to share photos, accomplishments, encouragement, tips and tricks as we work through the Craft Room Organization Challenge.
We have started a Facebook group as a place for us to share photos, accomplishments, encouragement, tips and tricks as we work through the Craft Room Organization Challenge.
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