Organizing Paper Scraps

My thoughts always turn to organizing at the beginning of a new year And, goodness knows, my art room certainly needs it!

I think paper is the hardest to organize.  I have my 12x12 and 8 1/2x11" cardstock stored nicely in paper towers and file drawers by color.  If I use a portion of a piece of cardstock, I try to cut the remainder into as many 5.5x8.5" pieces (card base size) or 4x5.5" pieces (card front size) as I can so they will be ready for cards. The remaining scraps are stored in file folders by color in a file cabinet beside my desk so I can reach for them easily. I find this works really well and I actually use alot of these scraps before cutting into a new sheet of paper.

My problem, however, is the patterned papers. The full sheets are no problem as I store them like the cardstock but in theme and season categories. The problem comes with all the scraps and, yes, I hoard these like everything else. About a year ago I found this organization system from Betsy Veldman and it sounds perfect. I rediscovered it on Pinterest today here: http://www.papercraftsconnection.com/blog/2011/07/groovin’-with-the-go-to-gals-the-scrap-basket-challenge/

Betsy cuts the papers into 6x6" pieces and files them by predominant color. She also has a second container for stripes, florals, dots and neutrals. She discards any remaining scraps. And the container is so cute!

I'm thinking I might try this. Currently my patterned scraps are in a large box and they seem to multiply!    This seems to be a more manageable system. I just need to overcome my urge to keep them all and learn to discard anything smaller than 6x6."

How do you store your cardstock, patterned papers and scraps? I would love to hear from you to find out what works or doesn't!

I won't be posting again for several days. I'm off to Albuquerque to babysit this little guy. Can't wait to cuddle and love on him!