Home Organization How-To: Button Storage

Last night I was scouring the internet for crafty ideas that would be useful for home organization. I've always had an abundance of extra buttons, thread, and yarn that come along with the purchase of most clothes. Instead of organizing them in a convenient way, I kept them (read: haphazardly shoved them) in a small box that one of my old watches came in. Of course, with the passing years and lots of additional clothes purchased, you can imagine how cramped and overflowed this box became.

Thankfully, I found a solution for organizing all the extras on Martha Stewart Crafts and this afternoon I went out to buy the goods I needed to get everything organized. One thing I learned: Sometimes the most simple of supplies can be the most beneficial.

Here's what you need:

• Clear plastic business card pages, found at most office supply stores. I bought 2 packages at Staples for $3.99 each.
• 3-ring binder. I bought a 1" binder at Staples for $4.50. I decided to go with a durable one since I wanted something with some substance as the binder will get full and hefty pretty quickly.

Here's what you do:

• It's simple. Just slide all of the buttons and yarn into each compartment of the business card pages. Martha suggests labeling each compartment with the article of clothing, but I know my clothes pretty well and can tell which button goes with each piece of clothing. What I did do, though, was add the package (if I still had it) that says what store each button is from, just because a lot look similar.

I'm such a visual person... I don't think my brain works unless i can see everything, so it's comforting to know if I ever do lose a button it will be so simple to just flip through and see everything at once. Versus frantically digging through a box of buttons in their original packaging! And all for $13. Moolah well spent!

Stay tuned for another fun and useful home organization tip later this week!

[Chels]