Organize Your Scrap Space - 2010 Edition - Week 5 It's All About the Photos

[MazdaUK]

I've got a little unit which will hold my punches, and have two shelves for other bits (like boxes of stuff) which are currently in a pile of totes, falling off shelves, etc Its only small so i can put it in the conservatory and just lift it in when I need it (its plastic, from Ikea about 8-10 years ago) Just need time to spread things about (when DH is not around to say "How come you have so much stuff)

 

[PinballFamily]

Since it relates to scraps, I thought I'd post this here too, but just posted this as a separate swap thread...

Ok - I had an idea - let me know what you all think!

I added scraps to our sorted (by color) bags this morning and thought "Wouldn't it be fun to have a 12x12 page swap made only from scraps from our collections?" We've got some great paper in our box, but not enough to do a traditional swap with any of it.

Each page would be different - no two would be alike because of the scrap bits we all have. You could use a "new" 12x12 piece as your base paper, but everything else would have to come from your scrap stash. Photo mats, tags, journal boxes, title topper/space, etc. would be options, but perhaps not include other embellishments. The recipient could add those as she needs/wants.

Participants could sign up for as many pages as each wants, and each would get the same number of pages back - and of course, none of your own. I'd divide them up so each person gets pages from as many other participants as possible.

Z2H and I were thinking that perhaps this could be its own swap or I could hostess it as piggy-backed onto her color swap later this year. It might be cheap or free to add these pages if you're already participating in that?

I'll post this here and in other threads to get feedback from as many folks as possible.

Thanks!
Pam

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

piggy backed with the color swap would be good. Especially if you are already sending 12x12's because postage has gone up so much.

 

[MazdaUK]

Sounds good! I did start cutting scraps into pieces of a size to make elements but I got bored!

 

[LindaBabe]

Good Morning!
Don't know WHY I never noticed this thread before . . . yes I do, it's because I usually just go directly to the scrapbooking board from whereever I was previously. Can I get on the train late?

Just read the whole thread - you gals are doing AMAZING, given all the constraints you've had to work with! You inspire me!

My little space is overflowing.

One of the issues is - because we don't have an LSS - I buy tons when I get to one, and have to store the stuff until it's used.

The next is - my storage is all 'repurposed' from what I had, and it doesn't work very well for the awkwardly shaped items like punches and memorabelia.

Every time I've purged I've lived to regret it because sure as shooting the next week or month, I need something that went!

Thought I had found the perfect solution in a cabinet from IKEA http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80157134

But I don't have any wall space for it on the same floor as the scrapbook area. Actually, I don't have any free wall space ANYWHERE in our 1200 sq ft townhome, because the 3 outside walls are taken up with windows.

Ok. Get off the computer and get to work on the mess.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

I purged my scraps! Well I'm only 1/2 way through but I did it. I cut everything down to 4x6, ATC size, and my CM tag punch. I've emptied 2 binders so far and have 3 to go.
It has cleared a ton of space in my bookcase!

 

[PinballFamily]

Great, Buffy!

I'm still interested in doing the scrap page(s) swap. (Just haven't taken the time to think more/post about it lately.) The little bit of research I've done on the topic: other folks just do a scrap swap where they package up their scrap paper into an envelope and mail it off to someone else as the swap. That just doesn't sound like great fun to me - would feel like the neighborhood yard sale where the participating households just swap their crap with other people's crap! To me, making useful pages out of the bits feels more fun and creative.

Thanks all, who have said you'd be interested (even the cheater-wheaters who say they'll play but shop for new paper to use!)

 

[rlovew]

Well I have gotten my new shelf up and sorted things out a bit- my space is much more useable. As i scrap I keep and Iris box beside me and all my scraps go into that and then from time to time I cut them all down to flat sides and then put them into my scrap file drawer. I do pull out scraps when I am cutting for paper piecings and such.

Right now my scraps are under control- I have most things housed although I need to switch out drawers so I have those I use the most on my desk instead of against the wall.

Overall my scrap room is fairly organized at the moment and I only have the rements of the sketch swap I finished yesterday out.

Rebecca

 

[MazdaUK]

I've sorted my plain scraps by colour in the binder where I started cutting into element size and got bored It doesn't really make more space but I'm more likely to use them, so that's good I also sorted my sock drawer

 

[LindaBabe]

My scraps are done - I have a 9x11x2 box. Bigger than that, it's filed with the color. I don't keep fragments smaller than business card size. Without substantial amounts of fresh paper, I probably couldn't make more than a couple pages with what little I have.

 

[hopemax]

It's Photo time!

There are two parts to this week's organization, digital and physical photos. Last year, I did well to get my physical photos organized. I use your basic photo box. I have one for negatives, one for my trans-Atlantic cruise, and one for all the photos that I have printed. Most of these, are DH's older photos from the pre-digital, pre-me age.

I am more concerned about all the digital photos that I have never had printed. I don't even have all of them stored on my laptop, because it would fill it up. Which brings me to the first, and most important task to do this week. If you do nothing, but this, you should feel proud.

BACK UP YOUR PHOTOS!!!

I have not lost any yet, but I thought I did, and that was enough to make me cry. Recent photos, I have: Copy on Laptop, copy on external HD, copy on old Desktop that is used only for scanning things and photo backup. I also should have a copy on CD/DVD, but I have been lazy in making those backups. I will work on them this week.

My primary project this week, is whipping the digital organization into shape. It had been awhile since I opened Picasa. The newer updates have made it extremely easy to tag photos with keywords. They also have a photo recognition tool, so it will identify faces and tag them with a name. This is what I started doing yesterday. So far, it is so so. It misses some people, and then you have to go add them manually. It seems like it doesn't recognize a person if they are holding something in front of their mouth, like food. The other big problem, is in Disney pictures it pulls out lots of faces, so I spend a lot of time telling it to ignore faces.

But it is going fast enough, that yesterday, I was able to get through all the 2009 pictures. Which included 2 Disney trips. I can do it while watching TV, and today is a big TV day. I hope that tagging my pics will help me with the organization so that when I pull out my swap items to use, I can do a quick check of how many photos I have for that event. I did this with the Gingerbread House at the Grand Floridian, and it seems to be doing good so far.

Here's the Wookiemouse link: http://wookiemouse.blogspot.com/2009/06/organize-your-stuff-challenge-week-6.html

And remember: BACK UP YOUR PHOTOS!!!

 

[MazdaUK]

Need to back up on my external HD but everything else is sorted

 

[New England Eeyore]

Now that I have a new computer and don't have to keep all my photos and music on an external hard drive to keep it from running too slowly, I finally subscribed to an online backup service so I have that extra security for all my photos, etc. I still have the external hard drive but I no longer leave it connected all the time, so that's still a 3rd location where they are.

 

[PinballFamily]

Hope - thanks for the kick in the pants on this topic!

This is an area in which I can (and need to) do much better. DH does do frequent backups of our machine (and the Macs do it themselves easily, too), but I need to take better precautions - and build in redundancies - in handling our digital photos and files.

I just signed up for a special free 3-hour Apple class/open project time (we have a special one-year membership plan) where they help you out with your questions and projects. I'm going to learn more about the software we already have (that I haven't yet tried to use) to help manage photos. Whee!

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

DH just installed a bigger hard drive last night so now I can finish gathering all my photos and back them up. This will be Wednesday's project if we are snowed in.

 

[ohMom]

everyone!

i have been waiting (im)patiently for 3 weeks and FINALLY the carpet was tacked back in place yesterday. my girls and I spent 1.5 hr unloading the mass of boxes from the crawlspace and have a righteous mess now! and...i'm going away until Sun-----but, then, i will return with progress!

i know scrap week is over, but i wanted to share my recent epiphany, with a little help from a friend. I have a small box (multi-tampon actually) that i'm going to cover in paper. it is divided into 3 sections...so i'm saving small circles from punches/coluzzle scraps, one-inch any length, and one-inch squares. the one-inch squares are cute to line up coordinating pieces as a border on a card.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

hey Hope.

I'm ready to get back into this and I found the thread on 2peas.

Where are we at this week?? I may have to start over......

 

[hopemax]

Where we are...at a standstill I guess.

I'm thinking now that we are 3 months into the year, people aren't feeling the energy to organize so much anymore, given the lack of posts. So I guess we can be where ever you need it to be!

I actually finished a pretty big project today. I finished completely sorting 4 years of swap stuff. I had started with a bunch of 1" binders, but those filled up quickly. I had been collecting 2" binders at garage sales, but hadn't been good about getting everything put away. And some categories had just too much stuff to fit even in those.

At M's clearance, I found a bunch of file folders in a black & white pattern, with either a hot pink or lime green on the inside. They were 6 in a package for $1.99. I flipped them inside out, so the pink is on the outside, so it better matches my room. Then I taped the sides shut, so things wouldn't fall out. I used these for all my Animal Kingdom, Cruise and Color swap pieces.

I still need a couple more binders (or better yet, scrap stuff, so I have more room in the binders I already have), but I sorted stuff into page protectors. The ones without a binder are standing up in a tote.

I also finally got my Jetmax drawers labeled, when I had my label maker out for the binders.

So anyone else ready to recommit to organizing?

 

[joyah]

I need a kick in the pants please. I got it all reorganised pulled out a bunch more to go through and there it sits. I've got to move.

 

[Pixieflip]

What happened to all of us?? We were doing so great and then we dropped off the map! I'm pretty much in the same place, not worked on organizing in months. Now we have a meeting next week and I'm volunteered to have an example project of using our organizational products. Guess I needed a deadline to get myself back to it. Tackling Grandma's 65 years of photos and cleaning up a big mess in the process. THAT will be good.

So, where are the rest of you?