My arts/crafts supply is pretty massive. It’s also under control, most of the time.

It’s also the ONLY area that I had to adjust my Kondo expectations...rather than item by item, I recognized that the act of being creative sparks huge joy, and so the supplies I keep need to be aligned with that.

The first thing I did was go through all the items and examine them for functionality. Old paint, rusted needles, etc., got tossed immediately. I recognized that anything I would have to fight with would diminish the joy of being creative, and needed to go. That was easy.

As for organizing, this is a really tricky area. I began with rigid organizing systems, but that doesn’t work with the ebb and flow of supplies. More than once I had to completely redo beautifully labeled organizers as my supply of thread, fabric, or paint changed.

Here’s what I do:

TOOLS get a dedicated container. So my glue gun, dremel, scissors, protractors, etc. have their own labeled boxes with the accessories in them and are placed on a top shelf where I can just pull them out as needed. I like these. I have a box that just for small tools such as a small screwdriver, wire cutters, etc. My larger tools, such as paper cutters and laminators are also put on the shelves, as they don’t fit in a box reasonably.

Supplies get a FLEXIBLE, IMPERFECT system in drawers this includes ribbon, paints, tape, floral supplies, sewing items, and other supplies. Basically, I put like-with-like in containers/boxes/baggies with plenty of empty space to allow for changes in supply level.