Question:
I have accumulated many strands of beads and findings during the past two years, and I need some advice on how to better store and organize my beads and findings.

In the past, I have purchased the plastic boxes with separate small storage "bins" and this has worked up to now.

I keep thinking that there is a better method to the storing of these beads where I can get to them readily without unsnapping these lids of plastic boxes and hunting for the right beads. I have about 15 of these plastic boxes, and I am gradually losing my patience!! Help!!


Answer:
There are two things that come to mind in organizing you beads and findings so that they will be readily visible and available.

If you have wall space available, stands can be hung on hooks from a peg board. You can group your strands by color and see everything that you have in a glance. The pegboard can be mounted to a wall or built onto a free standing frame. The hooks and peg board are readily available at Home Depot.

For smaller items like findings, we like the tip out plastic drawer organizers. Home Depot carries these also but the ones that they carry, in our area, are a little large.

We bought our tip out bins wholesale and actually had to become a dealer to get the smaller ones. I believe that each drawer (bin) is about 2" square. There are about 8 bins across in each set and they interlock, so that they can be stacked. You can glue a sample of what is in the bin on the front of each bin for easy identification of the contents.

You can also use slide out drawers that are used to organize nuts and bolts. Wal-Mart carries these slide out drawer bins that can be used to store findings. The front of the bin is clear but you can attach a sample on the front of the bin so that you can easily see what is in each bin. Look in the tool department for these organizers.