storage box sadness.

I have 18 of the ones you posted first. Love them. Love them. But yes, I had to cut off the little strip and keep them in the box if they are decorative. I don't need them to be attached. I keep my favorite lines in these bins. My other paper goes in 12.5 x 13 baggies that are very clear and not like Ziplocks. I haven't found a solution to your problem and I have been looking for years.

Since I only buy six of the boxes every few months, it isn't bad. My favorite lines seem to have great branding strips though. I use them all the time for another pattern.  For me more is more.  . These boxes are just so great for tight storage and edges don't get bent. They also travel well for a crop and I can keep some embellishments in them too. I would love to have a half inch more though.  

Something super satisfying when a paper fits snuggly into a box.  Will let you know if I find something of that quality that works with 12 x 12.5.

blemon, sorry those didn't work out for you.
I have my papers in Artbin Satchels, most of which I bought at Joann's.
I couldn't find the particular ones on the Joann website but here's what they look like:
www.amazon.com/ArtBin-6955RJ-1-Compartment-Organizer-Translucent/dp/B07HXRNMP2/ref=sr_1_3_sspa?crid=DX3Z0AV924ER&keywords=artbin%2Bsatchel&qid=1691726843&sprefix=artbin%2Bsatchel%2Caps%2C116&sr=8-3-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1
Most of mine are clear but once in awhile, Joann's would have different colors.
Joann's was cheaper than what is listed on Amazon, esp if you can use a coupon.

I like those boxes you linked! I haven’t seen them before. I also dislike iris boxes. They are so bulky and the depth is awkward to dig through.

But I’m really bothered that it’s more expensive to buy the bigger amount in that link. Getting quantity 4 makes them $7 each, but getting 6 is $7.50ish. That’s ridiculous.

Can you use a long ruler to score and bend the label edge instead of cutting it off?  That's what I would do. Good Luck!

I don't scrapbook anymore but still have tons of paper.  It boggles my mind that it's so hard to find perfect paper storage and when you do it's outrageously expensive.  It's virtually impossible to find plastic bins that hold 6x6 paper pads without paying an arm and a leg. 

I know you said you don't like your paper to flop, but would a slim iris work? www.amazon.com/IRIS-Slim-Portable-Project-Clear/dp/B00IKAF79G?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&th=1
Or is it the extra size around the perimeter that bothers you?

I hope you find the solution that works for you!

I bought the slim Iris cases and love them so much. I had searched for the right solution for me and these are it…I store kits with stickers, ephemera, alphabets, etc in them. I use the Art Bin ones for bigger collections that I may have overbought…like Story Teller!

I have the Weston boxes and love them. They are strong and easy to use and translucent enough that I can easily tell the colour of paper they hold. However, I’m in the UK and shipping was free as I bought them from Amazon. I have 40 of them, and they look fabulous on my Kallax. 😊 I’ve never come across better 12x12 storage. 

Honestly, I would send them back and buy something that worked better for my needs. There are so many other products that would work better for you. I feel your frustration, though. I've bought many things in the past that I thought would work but didn't. I hope you find a solution that makes you happy.

These boxes sound fabulous blemon. lesley, now you have us all coveting them.

We need someone to become a Weston distributor in the U.S.! Anyone know how to import/export? Just kidding, but not really...

To hold my collections I like to use the clear snap envelopes like these from Scrapbook Generations. I just used up the many packages I had of the Recollections brand and went to buy more but can’t find them. These are $2.00 a piece, which is more than I paid using the coupon at Michael’s and I think a bit much for what they are. However, I really like the system I have so I’ll pay it to keep up the consistency. They hold a collection pack, complimentary card stock and some embellishments very well, with plenty of room for the strips. I also use them to hold misc papers by color and color family, and some layouts when I’m working on them. 

They’re stored upright in these canvas bins and the width being wider at the top makes it even easier to flip through them; however, I want to be able to hold more so I’m considering looking for different bins. I do have 2 of these clear plastic boxes holding them, and they also work well. I just want to bring some color into my room. 

I like that they’re easy to flip through, clear enough to really see the colors of the collection without having to open them up, and storing them vertically I can open them up and then flip through the individual pieces of paper easily, which I can’t do with the IRIS boxes (both sizes) I use for projects.  Just storing things vertically works better for me so I don’t have to stack and restack them when I’m done. 

The IRIS boxes are great for storage of other items and also for projects, and I like that the 2 depths stack well together. And the fact that they nest a bit with each other automatically keeps my columns of boxes neat, as opposed to completely flat surfaces. 

How did you organize your tiny things? I store mine by color in their own drawer because that’s how I’ve historically scrapped/made cards. I’d think I wanted to add some color to the page so I’d just pull out the purple drawer of embellishments and put it on my desk to rifle through. Easy to find, easy to put away. But I’ve found that now I need my enamel dots/brads/etc. grouped together because I no longer use just one or two colors at a time with those items. So I’m trying to decide how I want to keep them now. I can clear out a couple more drawers to use; unfortunately they wouldn’t fit in just one or that’d be an easy decision. So I’m in the process of considering other options.

My recommendation is to organize how you scrap. Do you think “this is a vacation/travel page, what do I have for that?” Or is your process more “I want a sticker/journaling block right here?” For me, it works best if themed products are all together, that is top in my hierarchy. At a quick glance I see travel/vacation, camping/outdoors, and floral in your items. So I’d have all embellishments related to that stored together. And when I was ready to scrap a picnic I’d grab the outdoor box/drawer/bag of embellishments and the paper collection (by collection, color family or color) and take them to my desk with me.

For the more generic items I’d group them by like things like all journaling blocks, film strips, frames together because that is how I’d look for them. I can’t tell exactly everything else you have there so I can’t break it down any further. 

As for what I’d store them in? If I have to choose between ease of use/practicality and pretty then ease of use will win out every time for me. I like the Sterlite 3-drawer units in both sizes. I keep them on shelves directly behind my desk so all I have to do is turn my chair around and roll a bit and everything is at my fingertips, just pull out whatever drawer I need and bring it to my desk. They’re small enough that weight is never an issue and I do this one handed. Whereas if I had them in a box I’d have to take the other boxes on top of it off first. It also takes no time to put everything away when I’m done with a layout because I just throw things in the drawer, don’t try to organize more than that save for the small clear divided plastic boxes I keep dots/brads/eyelets/buttons/etc in. Right now I have one in each color embellishment drawer and those are the items I want to consolidate.

I also think about how I like to access things. Do I need it on my desk because out of sight = out of mind? For me that’s not an issue but I’d get anxious with a lot of little bins out on my desk or shelves. I barely tolerate my tool caddy out. 

Another thing I consider is if I will be able to replace/add to the storage solution in the future. Take plastic boxes for example, I’m using the same brand I was 20 years ago and they (container store) haven’t make a lot of changes; and when they do the boxes still stack nicely on top of each other. And I can use them interchangeably around the house. I like IRIS 13 x 13 boxes because they’ve been the same size for ages. So I also use them all over the house. So if I don’t need one for scrapbooking, or a card project I can use it to store say a color family of my yarn. I’ve added many Sterlite 3-drawer units over the years. They changed the sides (no longer solid) and while that sucks from a dusting aspect, you can’t tell when they’re on the shelving unit and I can still use them with the drawers I bought 15 years ago.