Organization | Stamp Storage
I must have tried a half dozen different ways over the years to store my stamps. I was constantly stymied by the fact that I need to be able to see things to know I had them, because of my ADHD, so system after system devolved into chaos for me. I also need some that is not high maintenance or I can't keep it up.
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After years of trying, I think that I have finally come up with a system that will keep my stamps organized!
My new stamp storage system is a hybrid compiling several different methods I've seen other people using, to adapt it to my needs and my collection of stamps.
First up, I finally just gave in to displaying most of my wood stamps on a shelf in my work area. It's so easy to see what I have this way!
Rubber stamps on shelf
The major components of my stamp storage system are the baskets that hold my acrylic stamps. These are something of a budget-conscious adaptation of the system that Jennifer McGuire uses currently. They sit on top of a cube unit across the room from my work table but can be easily picked up to move to my desk if I'd like.
Stamp Storage Baskets
The baskets with the dividers are easy to flip through to find what I want:
Stamp Storage Baskets
Clear Stamp Storage
There are two key components to the system: the bags and the dividers. To create these, I needed a few supplies:
Grafix Medium Weight 12-Inch-by-12-Inch Chipboard-Sheets, White 25-Pack
8.5x11 Recollections White Cardstock (Michaels)
Labelmaker
Total price assuming you have a labelmaker already (isn't that a necessity of modern life?), is about $35 for all the supplies you see me using.
To make the bags for the stamps, I cut the cardstock in half across the long side to make a 5.5" x 8" sheet. Put one of the cardstock sheets in a plastic bag, pop in the stamp set, and you're done!
The dividers are made from 12x12 chipboard sheets that are cut into 6x12 strips and then an inch is trimmed off of them to make them 11" tall. The labelmaker makes easy to read labels for them.
All of these are inserted into Sterilite baskets that are available at most major department stores. I believe mine came from Walmart.
In addition to my clear stamps, I'm also storing a few other lightweight flat things in this system, such as dies.
Stamp Storage Sheets
Storing Small Clear Stamps
Some of my stamps (such as Unity brand) didn't come to me stored on sheets, so I had to buy sheets to store them on. These came from Joann.com and come in sheets that are about 8.5x11, so I cut them in half to use in my envelopes. Teeny clear stamp sets can be a difficult storage issue. I dealt with this by just putting each set in one of my big bags. If being in the bottom of the bag makes them difficult to see as I work more with this system, I can always tape a copy of the stamp set to the top of paper inside the bag.
I have a few things that are still stored in some of the plastic storage boxes I used previously. The old Ali Edwards stamp sheets were 8.5x11, too big to fit in my bins, so they are still in a plastic storage box. Also in one of those boxes is my collection of Tim Holtz stamps, for the same reason. Then I have a box that holds my large collection of Christmas stamps. It keeps them out of the way during the off-season, and makes them easy to move to my desk when I do need them.
A few of my stamps are also stored on my pegboard, in baskets: a few Project Life favorites, my Close To The Heart stamps, and a few of my latest card stamps. It keeps them close at hand. (The CTMH stamps are there simply because they don't fit well in the basket system but they fit perfectly in one of the pegboard baskets.)
How do you store your stamps? Are you inspired to reorganize?
