15 March 2009

Piles of layouts, BEGONE!

What is it about piles of completed layouts? I absolutely detest putting them in albums, which is totally counter-intuitive. You'd think I would enjoy the sense of accomplishment in tucking away the finished products.

Well, I get frustrated because I inevitably have to move the pages around once I get them in the album. This frequently entails adding pages, post-extenders, and spacers. Since I don't necessarily scrapbook chronologically (but I load completed pages chronologically), I'm constantly moving pages around. Because I dislike doing this, I have piles of completed layouts sitting around and getting out of order.

Well, digging through piles makes me crazy, so I found a simple solution. I made some quick dividers and stuck them in a plastic file box I purchased at Target and was using for something else. Now the completed layouts can go in the file box by year. When I've finished a particular year of layouts, THEN I will load the pages into the album. The box is full enough that the layouts stand up nicely without bending.

The box won't hold a ton of layouts, but it will hold quite a lot. It's MUCH better than having them in piles on the floor. The layouts stay in order and will be easy to place in albums when I'm ready.

By the way, as soon as all my post-bound albums-in-progress are full, I'll be switching to three-ring binders. They're much easier to work with and more economical, too.


6 comments:

Heather said...

Very organized! I keep my albums in chronological order too. I have one 3-ring binder that is my "work in progress" album. I put completed layouts in it if I don't already know exactly where they will go in my post-bound album. It's always a pain moving them over though.

Kristina said...

I'm a page stacker also. I have a clear plastic storage tote that my finished pages go into and when that's full, it's my queue to put them into albums. I like the storage file you use.

Sarah Coggins said...

Great organization idea! I have that problem too with my old post bound albums. The 3-ring are much easier to switch around so I usually get those layouts in the albums right away. Like you, I scrap as I want but then *must* have them in chronological order in the albums. Otherwise it would just be chaos! ;)

Linda said...

This is a good idea for storing your layouts. I also scrap like you but it is only a problem for my childhood photos. I am current (about a year behind) with my kids albums so that doesn't give me too much grief.

Benita said...

What a great idea! I need one of those file boxes. You will LOVE 3 ring binders so much better than post bound albums! I switched over to 3 ring last year & haven't looked back :)

Darcey said...

Great idea!