The Real Studio Tour - Storage

The Real Studio Tour week 2 is about our favorite storage systems. Mine is see through plastic; I use shoe boxes, the next size which is about 16L x 11Wx 6 or 7H, and the larger size 17 x 28 x  I like that size because it will fit under my bed or on the metal shelf unit. I have one large box to hold to hold the whole assortment of  my black and white fabrics and one for my odd leftover blocks.(I should probably make a quilt or two or something useful with those blocks). I like the older Sterilite boxes because they do not have so much taper and they are the ones that my metal shelves were adjusted to fit.

I have more of these with the white tops than I do the older Sterilite boxes which I really like better because they do not have that wide lip on the top to snap on the lid. These take up a little more space and are a little taller so they are a tight fit on my metal shelves, which were adjusted to fit three of the older boxes side by side. I hate to stack things on top of each other as I am less likely to put them back on the shelves.
 I like to organize smaller things in zip lock bags inside the boxes. Here  I have rolled  "Layer cake" size squares around a cardboard tube to keep them organized in this box of cut squares. You can see the wide lip on  this box compared to the small lip on the box on the right.


I recently acquired two 9 inch wide 4 drawer units from a friend who didn't need them and I use them to store all my tools. I liked them so well I added another wider one with wheels for all my thread and things that I use when I am sewing on the  machine.



I found some stackable boxes for thread that so far work out very well and fit nicely in the drawers. The center row is higher which makes a grove in the bottom and the lid is higher above it so that they stack without sliding around. I have pushed it to the left  a few inches for the photo to show how they fit together. I would buy more of these to replace some of my other thread containers but I am putting all purchases on hold. I plan on changing some things in a few months and it is my hope that I will be able to have all of the same kinds of boxes and shelves for the things that are stored together. I have a lot of stuff that would not be missed if it was gone. I believe that everything should have a place (even if I don't always have everything in it's place) and I find I no longer have a place for everything.

Check out the other storage ideas here. I already have a good idea about storage boxes from Lynn Taylor at the Patchery Menagerie and an idea from Vickie Walsh for a top to my drawer unit for my thread.