Take 10 Tuesday | Containing Clutter

Hi! Today I'm sharing some of my storage solutions with you. Whether your version of pocket scrapbooking is just cards and photos or includes lots of embellishments, it's easy to all of a sudden bury your workspace. And though a creative mess is usually part of my process, I like to keep my space organized. I like to clear my desktop every week or two. It helps me focus, use my supplies better and have time for other projects!
So here's a few of my solutions for my small scrap space:

I love my Ikea desk and all its cubbies! I have stamps and project life cards and other random box type items on the lower shelves. I keep my albums and other constant use and small stuff up top. I have to remember the little curious fingers in my house. :) I have a variety of small containers for those items and this part of my system is still evolving...

I got this storage tower from my mom when she purged her scrapbooking supplies. It's awesome! It's not fancy out stylish or eye catching on any way but it's very usable. I keep paper and flat embellishments in the drawers. The top has always been small stuff but is mostly washi right now.

This looks like a mess but this is where all the random papers I want to keep go. I have a box for our family and for each of my 3 kids. Every time they have a doctor appointment or we go to the zoo, I save their stats and our tickets, etc in these boxes. So it's very handy to be able to look thru these boxes as I scrap our pictures. They're mostly in order by date and I try to mention what I have in my journal so I know to look for something to include on that page. I have one box from Ikea and the next time we go there I'll get 3 more. The closest Ikea is now about 3 hours away and we've only been once. Our list was so long that by the time I picked out these boxes at the end, I had to cut back to one for now. Gotta save the budget! :) 

I hope this peek into my storage solutions will inspire you to organize your crafting space with what you have on hand. I'll be sharing more of my organization solutions on my blog this month as well. Find out more about Take10 Tuesday here. Have a great Tuesday and find 10 minutes to bring out your creative side!

Take 10 Tuesday | Journaling

 Hello! It's Tuesday again. :) Are you taking a little time for yourself today? Just 10 minutes of creative time leaves me feeling refreshed! Today I have a tip for you about journaling. 

I started pocket style scrapbooking as a way to make my oldest daughter's baby book. She's 5 1/2 now and I'm currently scrapping 2011. So it's reasonable to ask how in the world can I remember details from 2011?? When my baby girl was 1 there were so many new details and milestones to record. I knew that someday I wanted a scrapbook or baby book for her. I hadn't found Project Life yet and hadn't started the traditional scrapbook I had laying around, so I journaled. A lot. I've always loved journaling. It's a way of release for me! I record memories, prayers, emotions... It just gets it on paper so I can process and deal with life in my head. :) 

This is my journal that was gifted to me by a dear friend sometime before I was pregnant. I have about 2 years of memories in this one. Now that it's full and I'm documenting memories from this time period, I always have it on my craft desk. I have a bookmark or a couple in the places I'm pulling info from for my current pages. I also used to use a little moleskin planner. So I keep my planners close by as well. If I don't have a journal entry for a few days, I'll check my planner to make sure I'm not missing anything. 

Now I journal and plan in a completely different way... I've gone digital! :) I create a new Google doc each year for journaling and my planner is the calendar on my smart phone. At first I was really annoyed that I was using my phone and not actual paper and pen. I planned to get back to paper journaling as soon as I found a new journal I liked. But I had another daughter and life got busier! So I stuck to my new solution and have embraced it. Now as a mom of 3, I find it much easier to journal on my phone. I always have it at my finger tips and I can even use voice texting if needed. And I need the reminders my phone sends me about my calendar events. Seriously, 5 schedules is enough to scramble my brain that's especially forgetful on an infant sleep schedule!

So this is my solution for journaling and keeping those memories fresh for documenting when I have time. There's no getting behind because it's all just ready and waiting! I hope you find some helpful tips in what I've shared. Take some time to record your story today, even if it's a little journaling to add to your photos another day!