Organization for me is not a choice, it’s a necessity. I was not blessed with one of those brains that can function in a chaotic atmosphere. My differences are not apparent because early in my life I learned on my own how to cope with them. I started using color coding in elementary school. Through the years I have developed many sophisticated ways to organize, categorize and classify the outside world. For example, in my mid forties I devised a color coding system that helped me learn how to read music and play the piano. My ‘to-do’ list, which I update daily, is arranged in five separate color schemes that correspond to different areas of interest. One of my favorite gift from my husband is a “label maker” – jewelry doesn’t even come close.
Several years ago I devised a way to keep my colored pencils, crayons and oil pastels organized. Here are four images to illustrate my system. Perhaps some of you will get inspired to make one of your own.
Shelf Storage Unit
Single Shelf
Materials needed: 3/16″ Gator Board for the shelf storage unit, regular foam board for the individual shelves, removable, double-sided tape, regular tape, and a glue gun. Each movable shelf measures 6″ x 20″. Several strips of removable, double-sided tape are placed lengthwise on each shelf and secured on the 6″ side with regular tape. This results in a low tack surface where the pencils, crayons, oil pastels can stay put and organized by colors.
More Shelves
Inventory Storage Unit
The last image is that of my inventory storage unit where I can keep up to 18 colored pencils in each cell. This was built with regular foam board, a glue gun, and a lot of patience.
Wow! You ARE organised!
I simply have a tidy up of my studio space about twice a week. I do like this system though. Does the low tack surface not leave any sticky residue on the pencils over time?
No, the tape I use doesn’t leave any residue on the pencils but over time it becomes less and less tacky (dust, dirt) and needs to be replaced.
Your inventory storage unit is amazing – I have been trying to buy one (don’t exist for regular people), or make one out of wood (not my forte).
But I never thought about foam board. That is so cool. But it must take a lot of planning and cutting and gluing. How long did it take you to make it?
If I remember well, I think I worked on it over several days for two to three hours in the evening. The important thing is to work systematically, plan it well, take good measurements, do all your cutting at once and then all your gluing. It’s not so bad if you think about the results – a storage space for your pencils that is totally custom made. Let me know if you have any other questions.
I keep my colored pencils/regular pencils in a plain old schoolbox that you’d use as a kid. It seems to work for me