Mommy's Time Out

I was the type of child that spent a lot of time sitting in the corner thinking about what I had done wrong. I was always up to mischief and into trouble. As an adult, I still love to get myself into mischief and trouble. I figure life is too short to be well behaved, but now I do not mind being sent to the corner. Actually, I love it more than anything when my husband or daughter has to reprimand me for being too silly. (Yes, I hide in the shower almost daily just to scare them. You would think they would catch on!) I tend to get a little slap happy and goofy around the house and when they have had enough of my antics they put me on time out in my little corner.

Besides being slightly odd and misbehaved, I am also what my husband refers to as an “anal-retentive obsessive-compulsive neat freak.” Everything in my house has a place, and I expect it to be there. Nothing aggravates me more than having to search high and low for a misplaced item. This sickness has spilled over into my scrapbook corner as well. With the exception of straightening the stacks of cardstock on the shelving, I did not have to clean up for these pictures.

The Base
The base of my storage system is a baker’s rack that I purchased years ago at Sam’s Club. It has definitely been a wise investment. In its former life it has been in my kitchen, dining room, entry hall, and bedroom. It now happily resides in the corner of the dining room section of my great room. When I scrap, I sit at the dining table directly in front of this rack. From my seat I can reach around behind me and grab most items, plus I am able to be a part of the action in the living room.

The Hidden Hole
Shh…don’t tell anyone that I store things in the corner space behind the bakers rack. If my husband found out it would blow my cover as an “anal-retentive obsessive-compulsive neat freak.”

• Extra Cardstock: I tend to purchase my cardstock in mass quantities, especially black and white. Stuck behind my rack you will find several packages of cardstock still wrapped in its original packaging.
• Accordion File: I also tuck an accordion file behind my rack. This one file holds all of my cardstock and patterned paper scraps sorted by color. Periodically I sort through this folder and throw out what I know I will not use or pieces that are too small to be useful.

The Top Two Shelves
On the top two shelves of my bakers rack, I store the items that I do not need to be able to reach around and grab easily. This eliminates the need for me to get up and down often, which would resemble exercise.

• The Top Shelf: In the large Longaberger basket, I store the pictures that I need to scrap, and small memorabilia.
• The Second Shelf: The second shelf contains two small drawer units purchased from my local discount store. In the unit that has one drawer, I have all of my unmounted stamps stored in CD jewel cases. In the multi-drawer unit I store all my different adhesives. The Longaberger pen basket holds my frequently used tools and pens. I typically set this basket on my dining table while I scrap.

Embellishments and Patterned Paper
The third shelf down, which I can access while sitting down, holds my three embellishment drawers, patterned paper, and stickers.

• Embellishments: The top drawer holds miscellaneous embellishments, the second drawer contains all of my Making Memories products, and the bottom drawer holds beads, buttons, and brads.
• Patterned Paper: I recently switched my patterned paper from accordion files to the Cropper Hopper Vertical Paper Holder. I am in love with my new system. It allows me to use dividers to sort the paper by manufacturer and keeps it from being damaged.
• Sticker Storage: I also store all of my stickers in a Cropper Hopper Vertical Paper Holder. Inside this file I have placed three of the smaller Cropper Hopper Paper Pouches to organize them even further. This allows me to divide my stickers in the following way: embellishment stickers, colored letter stickers, and black letter stickers.

Cardstock Storage
On the bottom shelf of my rack all of my cardstock is sorted by color. My husband modified a set of storage cubes, so that I would have both 8½” x 11” and 12”x12” storage. Most of my cardstock is the smaller size, and I am able to separate it out by color in the first column. The second column, the 12”x12” portion, holds larger cardstock, rub-ons, projects I am trying to complete, and design team products.

On the Bottom
To utilize the space between the bottom of my rack and the floor, I have three more drawer units. One of these units holds all of my fibers, one holds all of my ribbons, and the last hold my ink pads and acrylic paints.

Albums, Magazines, and Idea Books
In my bedroom I have a beautiful bookshelf that is divided into eight cubes.

• Albums: Each cube can hold four of my completed Keeping Memories Alive 8½” x 11” Memory Binders. I store them in chronological order with the months, year, and special events in the label holder on the spine.
• Magazines: One of the cubes holds copies of all the magazines I have had layouts published in.
• Idea Books: Another cube holds idea books and current magazines.

That’s it. That’s my little corner of the world. I have thought about moving my scrapping stuff into a separate room, but I always come to the conclusion that I love being in the center of the house where all the action is taking place. From my perch I can watch Lucy play, keep an eye on dinner, and watch television with my family. Besides, if I had my own room it would be much more difficult to pester and annoy my family!