Getting ready to organize my stamps - why am I nervous?

Maybe in the back of your mind you're thinking about doing something else with them but you're not sure what? Or maybe you're hesitant because it's a fairly large task?

I like both your ideas for storing them, and I also like the idea of pulling a few out that inspire you as you're going through them all.

Plan some fun projects 

I have been putting off reorganizing mine. I have them in stamp pockets sorted by manufacturer, but need to break up some (looking at you Lawn Fawn) into small categories (like Christmas, Valentines, etc.) I keep putting it off too.

I know what you mean...I get to buy myself something when I complete my 50 page challenge, and I have been adding all sorts of stuff to my scrapbook.com cart. But what I really *should* invest in is a printer, so I don't have to use Walgreens anymore. Somehow that doesn't seem as fun as all the pretty stuff coming in the mail!

Can you use regular copy paper for the backing? It’ll give you the white background but it easier to cut.

I know what you're up against! I did this several years ago and it was a daunting task. Initially I stored mine in the pockets in a type of "clip it up" way. I have a bulkhead in my craft room that I attached an Ikea towel rod to and used their curtain clips to hang my stamps. I had my stamps organized in categories that I understood and could very easy flip through them to see what I needed. But as my stamp collection grew, I ran out of space and I changed my system to the fridge bins (think Jennifer McGuire). It's not a horrible system... it works... but it's not as easy to actually see what I've got and I often forget what sets I have (although this is likely not the storage system that is at fault!) I tried to use Evernote and that task was even MORE daunting so it went by the wayside. At the end of the day, for me it was totally worth it to organize my stamp sets using the pockets... now I just need to figure out a way to get a bigger room!

I did this task a couple of years ago. I dreaded it because I would have to see all the stamps I've bought and never used.
But, I love how it looks now that it is all done. I keep my supplies handy, so I can quick make up the new ones I buy.

@bdhardy, you'll find yourself going to peek at your stamps and dies, just to see how pretty they are when you're done!

(Are you doing your dies, as well? Stencils?) Once you get started, you'll be looking for things to stick in the envelopes! LOL

I hated that part too, I found 5x7 cardstock at Hobby Lobby and got a few packs of it each time their paper was on sale. It really made the job a lot easier. And a lot quicker.

I got lazy though and now I need to go back and organize stamps (I have a basket that I've just been tossing them in for a few months) and sort them into envelopes.

I only have three bins of stamps and keep them in these bins from Target. Love that they pull out and I can take to my table. The fourth bin is embossing folders.

One thing I did was pull some things in categories and give them their own bins. In my case this was holidays to put away until needed, geometrics, alphabets, things more for mixed media, and “basics” stuff I use all the time. It’s resulted in less searching. It’s an effort & bit of a mess, but so worth it!

I just went through my dies this morning and added some white cardstock to most of them as a backing sheet. I added some magnetic bits to some to hold the dies in place, others were already on magnetic sheets so I didn't bother, and a few just got cardstock. It does stiffen up the envelopes and feels like it will keep the plastic in better shape, and looks nice.

It bugged me to use nice cardstock - turned out I didn't have any junk white - and the sizes were so inefficient from letter sized paper, so I'm not keen to do my stamps unless I can find some discount cs.

Anyway, it was good to go through all of my dies and get a reminder about the ones I hardly ever use, and I was able to consolidate some into groupings, like the 3 gift card related dies from MFT - I put those together into one large envelope since they're all designed to be used together. I just wrote the style numbers on the back in case I need that info for some reason.

Anyway, thanks for the inspiration. A little organizing can give me motivation and ideas for actually using my supplies, shows me where I have gaps, and reminds me not to get more of certain things. And I just remembered I can claim some challenge points so double-yay!

I’m mostly a stamper and don’t really scrap currently so I have a lot of stamps and dies. I will say that when I decided to unmount my wooden stamps, it was a lot but NO REGRETS! 😬 It really got me back in to papercrafting and excited about what I forgot I had. Of course, the free space I gained from getting rid of those blocks was amazing. I decided to split up sets and organize by categories (flowers, animals, etc.) because that’s how I think when I’m stamping. I want to see all my flowers at once. It definitely needs to be done for the way you think when you create. In the process I also learned I liked certain categories more than I realized and had gaps in other areas. I enjoyed doing it because it reignited my passion for it. Also, I just took off the plastic packaging for my newer clear sets and popped those in the plastic envelopes. I put any matching dies behind them and put a big “D” on a sticker on front. I used the open containers to “flip” through the envelopes. I could add a lot more info to my process if you are interested. But I say go for it!