My biggest new year's resolution for 2011 is to get my craft space organized, and keep it that way.

I am finally tired of never being able to find anything and having things hidden away where I forget to use them. So first up on my list is to organize my punches. I grouped them by type of punch so they would nest or stack nicely together. The photo above is the colorful side of my squeeze punch cabinet thanks to those addictive seasonal punches. Ah, so pretty.

For so long I have wanted to create a tool binder I could flip through and see all of my shape and texture options in one place. I decided to keep it super simple or I knew I would never get around to it. So I created a chart with four rows and four columns. I added an extra line a half inch above each horizontal line so I could add the name of the punch. You might not need to know the name, so obviously this step can be skipped. I used a different colored paper for each kind of tool so I could flip where I needed easily. After printing out the sheets, I just punched each shape from white cardstock, adhered, and labeled. I added a little color-coded circle punch to each just to remind me where the punch is stored or for my friends to find what they are looking for when crafting together.

This system comes in handy especially with the decorative corner punches. I love being able to visually see all of the corners. I'd completely forgotten about some of the pretty corners I have!

I included my border punches, too, but also wanted to add a coding system to the shelf I keep them on for quick access and return. Since the shelf is above eye level, I adhered a punched sample on the lip of the shelf. I've found I use a wider variety of borders now!

I keep my shape templates in a drawer and figured they'd be easier to flip through in a binder. I simply added them to a binder using the holes they come with. Then I had a brainstorm to hole-punch a sheet of white paper to add between each template so as I'm flipping through I can see the shapes very easily. You can see the difference it makes in these before and after shots. It's just a little thing, but I think it will really help me get the most from my templates.

The next area I had to tackle was most definitely my scrap bins. I have a serious problem when it comes to throwing out scraps. My little scrap bin has turned into two scrap bins, and they cannot even close anymore. I refuse to get a third bin, so it's time to say some goodbyes.

Then I realized I could pull out my flower punches and make my own little sets of flowers for future projects. I plan to punch and group them by color in little jars. I'm relieved to breathe new life into my scraps!

I sorted through and separated all of my papers and embellishments. Now the only thing I have left to do is purchase a couple 12x12 thin boxes for my craft area to help me keep everything neat. My problem is I finish one project and then get distracted or move onto another project before getting everything put back away. So my goal with these boxes is to temporarily put any leftover paper in one and miscellaneous in the other until I can put everything away. I figured two cute little boxes will look much nicer than my usual stacks I end up with! I'm excited to keep a handle on my craft space this year, but even more importantly looking forward to getting even more use out of my crafting tools!