Getting from Containerize to Organized – Why You Need the 4 Section System and a ScrapRack
Hello everyone, Tiffany Spaulding here today from Totally-Tiffany on the Creative Scrapbooker Magazine blog. I’ve been helping crafters, specifically scrapbookers and card makers get organized for just over 15 years. In that time one thing has remained constant, crafter’s whose supplies are visible and accessible – get more done, craft more often, use more of their stash, experience less frustration looking for supplies, enjoy attending more crafting events AND have a significantly easier time putting their supplies away at the conclusion of a project. If you want to improve your crafting experience, it’s time to give up the “dig and search” for the “Flip and Find!”
Your big question? “How do I get my supplies visible and accessible?” The answer is simpler than you might imagine –
- Embrace the 4 Section System
- Move your supplies into a ScrapRack
When you look at the image above, your initial reaction is probably something like – “Hey, that looks pretty organized.” However, the majority of the supplies on this shelf are actually just containerized, which is a long way from organized. If you needed a Christmas embellishment from this stash, where would you go? Stickers, Bling, Die Cuts…? You might need to get into all of them, – IF, you remembered that you had Christmas embellishments in each of those containers.
If you want to see what you have and find what you need, follow these easy steps;
Sort your supplies using the 4 Section System;
- Alphabets, Numbers, and Punctuation
- Themes and Sentiments A-Z
- Holidays and Seasons – the calendar year
- The Rainbow
If you want to learn more about the 4 Section System, you can watch this video, or download a detailed printable article.
Start with one container and sort the supplies into categories.
I sorted the travel stickers in the image below by generic travel and then sorted them by destination. 
After sorting your supplies, use the ScrapRack Pocket Pages to group them together. 
In the above images, I’ve sorted 2 collections within the Travel Section – Las Vegas and Hawaii. I used a 2×1 Double-Sided Duo Page which has two 12” long by 6” deep pockets on the front and one 12.5” x 12.5” pocket on the back.
The content of the container you’re sorting is irrelevant – most items in your craft stash are going to fit into 1 of the 4 Sections. All the generic embellishments pictured below belong in the rainbow category. While it would be tough to get glitter jars into the rainbow section, it’s easy to get glitter baggies into the rainbow section. Plus, baggies don’t leak like jars do, when you try to travel with them.
The more you include the more you’ll use!
Do you have Christmas embossing folders, stamps, and dies? Where are they? Will you remember that you have them when you need them. If you do remember that you have them, will you be able to find them quickly and easily? 
You can easily add these items directly into the category where you’ll be able to see them and use them.
One of the biggest benefits to using the 4 Section System is you’ll see things you didn’t remember you owned when you’re looking for other things in the same category. This is true for things like stamps, embossing folders, embellishments, stickers, rub-ons, etc.
After you’ve sorted your supplies and put them into ScrapRack Pocket Pages, add the pages and a few dividers to an expandable ScrapRack System to create your “Flip and Find” storage solution.
Expanded ScrapRack – ScrapRack base units can be linked together to create the perfect system for your supplies.
Why do you need a ScrapRack?
Finding supplies is as easy as flipping to the category.
Putting new purchases away is quick and easy.
Clean up after a project is fast and simple.
The ScrapRack is portable – you can travel to a crafting event with your supplies organized just as they are at home.
The ScrapRack is expandable – as you need more storage, simply add another base.
The ScrapRack makes space for itself.
Thanks so much for visiting the Creative Scrapbooker Magazine blog today to learn a little bit about how The ScrapRack can make your crafting life more enjoyable and productive.
Please do visit our website – Totally-Tiffany – to learn more.
