Washi -- OMG! Does it breed??

Whatevere you do, don't feed it after midnight! 

cbscrapper recently posted a neat and cheap DIY trick to store washi in a way that makes it easy to use and access: reuse the holders your rolls of baking paper, parchment paper, aluminium foil, etc. come in by filling them with rolls of washi. 

Here's the video:

Ha! I recently just moved my washi. I had a washi wheel I bought years ago, I liked the display aspect and supporting small biz. It worked out ok for a while, but then something wonky would happen with the wood when it would constrict/expand in different temps and sometimes it would fall off. So I ended up deconstructing and sitting one part on it's sides with the spokes going up, stacking the washi there. That worked fine for a while, but I was slowly adding more here and there and spilling over into other storage.

allreadymemories.bigcartel.com/product/washi-wheel

I recently rearranged a bunch of stuff and now store it in a about 13x13x2 plastic bin, all the washi just on it's side. I'm not sure where the container came from, I want to say Target, like an office supply type thing. Instead of keeping it behind a cabinet, I put it on the top shelf of the cart I work on and I find myself reaching for it more. Plus, it's easy to see/spot what I want.

I used this method for quite a while, but got tired of it and recently changed. Since my washi was not all on the same size barrels, this method looked great but didn't work very well in practice - some of the rolls were harder to access because they didn't all fit the dowel the same and couldn't spin as easily as others, KWIM? Plus, I had enough washi for 2 rolls of this type of storage, and it was a little awkward to store the rolls. Anyway, it didn't work as well as I wanted -- for me -- YMMV!

Also, DD#2 gave me a bunch of new washi tape for my birthday last fall (yay!) and there was no more space on the existing dowels/rolls, so the new washi had to be stored elsewhere...which was finally the impetus I needed to find a new storage method for mine.  

Anyway, I ended up taking all the rolls off the dowels and just dumping them in a plastic bin (meant for fridge storage) that I had sitting around. (I love to repurpose storage/organizer pieces that aren't being used elsewhere.) Now all of my washi is in a sort of jumble but the bin is just the right size that I can see everything and access it all easily.

My current, and favorite method, is an organizer from Michaels that is 3 drawers that you can pull out and angle down so you can see everything. You can remove individual rolls because they are just stacked in rows, but without anything through their middle that keeps them in their place. I couldn't find it on their site just now, so it might have been discontinued.

The closest thing I could find on their site was this one: www.michaels.com/6pk-three-drawer-washi-organizer-by-simply-tidy/MP542364.html

ETA: here is a link to the one I have, maybe I'm just not searching correctly on their site: i.pinimg.com/originals/86/26/e8/8626e80f3063e8413eab4c1e7774cf96.jpg

Hahaha totally breeds! I had to get rid of a bunch because it all dried out. I've noticed, not having access to my stash right now, it's one of the things I miss. I wish it came smaller or something since I almost never use it up in time.

If you're wondering about the ones I posted about, it looks like in their photo each row holds 15 rolls of tape, their example looked like normal width washi. So, 15 rolls per row x 3 rows per drawer, 45 rolls per drawer. You can also get just one unit, looks like I linked to a 6 pack of units!
www.michaels.com/three-drawer-washi-organizer-by-simply-tidy/10542364.html

This is similar in size to the bin I use. I love it. My washi bin just sits on top of my Sterilite 3-drawer unit that holds all of my inks (distress, distress oxides, embossing, etc.) & embossing powders. So the washi bin is open on top, but the whole thing is on a shelf (regular bookshelf, not Kallax) so it's somewhat under cover/protected.

My washi tape is on two tension rods under the shelf above my desk. It is out of the way, but I can see and easily access it when I want to use it. Just used some today.

I have all of mine in one of those flat Iris bins. I cut of the tops of several foil boxes and pulled off the metal serrated strip. I use them to keep the tape lined up and organized. The bin is completely full and I keep telling myself that it's my limit--that I can't expand out of the bin. So if I buy a new roll, I toss an old roll. I do use washi quite a bit to edge mailing labels. I mail 3-7 boxes a month and it adds a nice touch. The kids say that they can always spot my boxes in the mail room.

Late to the party Loydene, but this is what I use:

www.michaels.com/washi-tape-storage-keeper-by-simply-tidy/10536003.html?r=g&cm_mmc=PLASearch-_-google-_-MICH_Shopping_US_N_Storage_N_Smart_BOPIS_N-_-&Kenshoo_ida=&kpid=go_cmp-9982373416_adg-102401876602_ad-433378147617_pla-1343642091831_dev-c_ext-_prd-10536003&gclid=CjwKCAiAx8KQBhAGEiwAD3EiP-TPLw6lYShwgWWoAdwJg33U7NeK5p6H_qbo2CJM08yKULStq4M89BoCL4YQAvD_BwE

I bought it at Michaels 5 or so years ago, and promised myself to NEVER outgrow the case. I like that it fits in with other cases of the same size, and it is easy to see my collection.

This is what I have:

Yay! I loved that you could see the washi through that container, and it could be repurposed if you ever wanted to.

I reorganized my washi a bit today too. I think mine is breeding like rabbits. 🐇