Corralling the Kitsch or How I Organize My Craft Supplies

Ya’ll I have a lot of stuff. No, I mean A LOT. I’m not complaining, I love my knick knacks and trinkets it’s just corralling them that can be tricky. I have a bad habit of dumping EVERYTHING into large bins never to be sorted or seen from again. This was clearly a problem.

Please note this post is sponsored by livinbox, but all opinions and copious amounts of tschoiskes are my own.

Flat lay of vintage trinkets in green by Jennifer Perkins

My Kitsch Corralling Hero – livinbox

When livinbox reached out and asked me if I would be interested in partnering on some content involving their compartmental storage bins I couldn’t say yes fast enough. I need all the organizing and sorting help I can get. If that comes in cute colors with handles and fold out sorting trays – better yet!

Let’s start with a before photo, to give you an idea of just how serious the problem was…

Sorting Systems

The first thing I needed to decide on was how I was going to use my new storage containers from livinbox and the best way to corral all of my kitsch.

Sort by Color – This is my current rough system and works for the most part, but things are still all over the place.
Sort by Purpose – I use different trinkets for different things. Some I sell on Etsy, some I use in my art, others are from my previous life as a jewelry designer.
Sort by Type – Should all the buttons be together no matter the color? All the cameos in the same place whether they have Abe Lincoln or roses?

In the end I decided to approach this on a case by case basis.

A Different livinbox for All My Needs

livinbox has several different sizes and shapes to choose from. Some are small and square which works perfect for items I don’t have as many of. Some are large like a tackle box which can hold multiple types of things all within the same broad genre. Others are more narrow.

In the end while sorting supplies I decided that each box would serve a different purpose.

Sort by Color

Sometimes when you collect (hoard) as many random things as I do, sorting by colors is the easiest thing. A few of my livinboxes will be sorted by colors like all purple, green or blue. If it is small and that color, it is going in the box. If I decide to further sort into more specific categories I can.

I like the idea of using the larger livinbox for items sorted by color and then smaller boxes as a niche down.

Sort by Purpose – Costume Jewelry

I corralled all of my rhinestone jewelry, enamel flower pins and single vintage earrings in one container. I know that eventually I plan to use these to make kitschy jewelry trees so I wanted all of these things in the same place.

Technically this livinbox has nine sections which works perfectly. Most tackle box style storage bins do not have divided sections in the bottom container which just takes me back to my original storage problem of a giant messy pile. The livinbox has divided sections in the large bottom compartment which I love. I was able to divide up things by white rhinestones, colored rhinestones and enamel flower pins.

Sort by Type – Single Earrings

Now that all of my single gold toned earrings are in one place, the plans for an assemblage art piece seem to be coming together more. Funny how that happens when your supplies are better organized.

I am such a sucker for cute and handy storage. I also love that each livinbox has a handy handle so I can easily take it with me where I am working. To-go craft supplies that are also systematically sorted – win win.

A Place for Everything and Everything In Its Place

Another thing I love about livinbox is that they come in several different shapes and sizes. We all have different sized cabinets, shelving and storage. These slim fit boxes fit perfectly into an otherwise small shelf space.