You'll quickly discover that you need to take steps to organize your supplies in order to have a successful scrapbooking hobby. This will ultimately save you time and leave you free to work on your projects and come up with brilliant new ideas, while at the same time allowing you more time for shopping!

The first thing every scrapbooker needs is shelves. You can organize your odds and ends into all kinds of containers, but if you don't have shelves to put them on, that stuff will still be all over your table or desk, taking up your work space. Make sure your shelves are sturdy so you don't end up trying to sort through a giant pile of paper scraps, buttons, and ribbons.

Next, you need storage containers to put on your shelves. You can find all sorts of different drawers and containers at your local scrapbooking store, craft store, fabric store, and even hardware store. If you don't do all your scrapbooking at home, the best way to organize is in containers that can be easily transported without spilling out your supplies everywhere.

If you don't wish to spend a fortune on organizers and containers, then you can simply utilize items that you may have lying around the house. You can use jars, small boxes, and baby bottles. Old toolboxes, tackle boxes, and jewelry boxes can also be used. Look at any empty container with new eyes and see whether you can re-use it for storage.

For flat items such as paper, cardstock and so on, use files - they're really useful. You can get expandable plastic file holders that are extremely convenient, with a tough cover to protect your things, pockets to keep them separate, and a rubber band or other fastening device to keep the whole organizer secure.

Do you plan to carry your scrapbook gear somewhere? You might want to go to a gathering of those who share the same interests, work somewhere else or take your scrapbook materials to show someone. So you will definitely require a certain amount of portability. You don't have to carry all your stuff - you'll only need a few things to do a certain amount of work.

It's a good idea to have a bag that's larger than what you feel you require - there will always be things you've forgotten or haven't taken into account. You'll be glad then that you gave yourself some leeway by way of bag space. You should also attach name tags to all your tools - this will make them easier to locate without rooting through everything or dumping it all out on the nearest available surface.

The most important tactic for keeping your stuff organized is to pick a system and stick with it. You can organize by colors, sizes, themes, and patterns; you can even use multiple schemes to organize. Someone you know might have a system that's great for them, but that doesn't mean it's great for you. All that really matters is that it's organized in a way that you can easily find what you're looking for.