Craft Room Organization: 15 Smart Fixes That Finally Tame the Yarn and Paper Pile

Craft room organization is on a lot of minds this week, and the timing makes sense. Holiday crafting season is here, and the yarn, paper, ribbon and paint are piling up fast. In the last seven days, searches for scrapbook organization ideas jumped so much that Google marks them as a breakout, and searches for yarn organization ideas more than doubled. Crafters are sharing their cleanouts too, and a crochet room makeover video passed 81,000 views in two weeks. The good news is that you do not need a big room or a big budget. A few smart fixes with jars, racks, carts and bins can turn a messy corner into a happy place to make things. Here are 15 ideas to try before the holiday rush..

Craft Room Organization Starts With Zones

Before you buy a single bin, look at your space and split it into zones: one for yarn, one for paper, one for paint, one for sewing and one big clear table for working. When every type of supply has its own home, cleaning up takes minutes instead of an hour. This sunny room shows how it all comes together with cubbies, a pegboard, jars and a rolling cart. Start with the zone that bothers you most, and the rest will follow. Ready to get started..

You will need: Painter’s tape, a notepad, a few bins or boxes for sorting, about an hour of time.

How to make it: 1. Empty one messy area and sort everything into piles by type. 2. Decide where each type will live, keeping things you use most closest to your table. 3. Mark each zone with painter’s tape on the floor or shelf while you set it up.

Yarn Cubbies From a Diamond Wine Rack

Yarn is soft, bulky and loves to tumble out of baskets. A diamond style wine rack mounted on the wall gives every color its own little cubby, and it looks like a rainbow when it is full. Sort by color or by weight, whichever helps you find things faster. It is one of the prettiest craft room organization ideas, and it turns your stash into wall art. Make sure the rack is screwed into wall studs, with adult help. What color would fill your first cubby?

You will need: A wall mounted wooden wine rack with diamond cubbies, wall anchors or stud screws, a drill (adult help), a level.

How to make it: 1. Find the wall studs and mark them. 2. Screw the rack firmly into the studs, checking that it is level. 3. Fill the cubbies with yarn sorted by color or weight.

A Pegboard Wall for Scissors and Tape

A pegboard puts your most used tools right where you can see them. Hang scissors, rulers, tape and a glue gun on hooks, and add small shelves and wire baskets for pens and markers. Paint it a soft color like mint or blush so it looks pretty, not like a garage. Everything has a place, so you always know what is missing. Pegboards come in many sizes and cost very little. Which tools would you hang first?

You will need: A pegboard panel, pegboard hooks, small baskets and shelves, spacers and screws, paint (optional), a drill (adult help).

How to make it: 1. Paint the pegboard and let it dry. 2. Screw it to the wall with spacers behind it so the hooks fit. 3. Add hooks, shelves and baskets, and hang your tools.

Craft Room Organization With Clear Jars

Buttons, beads, pom poms and sequins are tiny, and they get lost in drawers. Clear glass jars on a long shelf solve that in one afternoon. Put one kind of item in each jar and line them up by color. You can see everything at a glance, and the jars look like candy on a shelf. Craft room organization like this is as pretty as it is useful. Thrift stores often sell glass jars for very little. What would go in your first jar?

You will need: Clear glass jars with lids, a long floating shelf, wall anchors and screws, a drill (adult help).

How to make it: 1. Mount the shelf at eye level. 2. Sort small supplies into jars, one kind per jar. 3. Line up the jars by color or by type.

A Ribbon Dowel Rack Inside a Cabinet

Ribbon spools roll everywhere and tangle in drawers. Mount two or three wooden dowels across the inside of a cabinet and slide the spools onto them. Let the ends hang down so you can pull exactly what you need, and the ribbon stays smooth. Sort by color for a rainbow every time you open the door. Store gift wrap rolls standing up in bins underneath. It is perfect for Christmas wrapping. How many spools of ribbon do you have hiding?

You will need: Wooden dowels, cup hooks or dowel brackets, a small saw and drill (adult help), ribbon spools.

How to make it: 1. Measure the inside width of the cabinet and cut dowels to fit. 2. Screw cup hooks or brackets to the sides of the cabinet. 3. Slide the spools onto the dowels and set the dowels in place.

Craft Room Organization for Scrapbook Paper

Scrapbook paper bends and curls when it lies in a stack. Stand it up instead in clear vertical file holders, sorted by color like a rainbow. You can flip through the sheets like books in a library. This is exactly what searchers want right now, since scrapbook organization ideas just hit breakout level on Google Trends. Keep patterned paper in front and solid card stock behind it. Which color do you always run out of?

You will need: Clear acrylic vertical file holders or magazine boxes for 12 by 12 paper, a shelf.

How to make it: 1. Sort your paper into color families. 2. Stand each family in its own file holder. 3. Line the holders up on a shelf in rainbow order.

An Over the Door Shoe Organizer for Paint

Small bottles of craft paint fit perfectly in the pockets of a clear over the door shoe organizer. Hang it on the back of the craft room door and sort the bottles by color. You can see every shade at once, and the bottles stay upright, so they do not leak. Brushes can go in the top row. It costs a few dollars, frees up a whole shelf and is one of the cheapest craft room organization wins. Where would you hang yours?

You will need: A clear over the door shoe organizer, craft paint bottles, brushes.

How to make it: 1. Hang the organizer over the door. 2. Place paint bottles in the pockets, sorted by color. 3. Put brushes and sponges in the top row.

A Rolling Cart Mobile Craft Station

A three tier rolling cart is a small space hero. Load it with the supplies you use most, then roll it to the kitchen table, the living room or the porch, and roll it back when you are done. The top tier can hold markers and scissors, the middle tier paints, and the bottom tier paper and yarn. It is the craft room organization trick for people who do not have a craft room at all. Where would you park yours?

You will need: A three tier rolling utility cart, small cups or bins, your most used supplies.

How to make it: 1. Put the supplies you use most on the top tier. 2. Use small cups and bins to keep each tier tidy. 3. Roll it out when you craft and park it in a corner when you are done.

A Spice Rack for Glitter and Sequins

Glitter is fun to use and a nightmare to store. A wall spice rack with small shaker jars keeps it tidy and easy to sprinkle. Fill each jar with one color of glitter, sequins, seed beads or confetti, and sort them in rainbow rows. The shaker tops mean less mess on the table too. It is sparkly, cheerful and takes up almost no space, which makes it great craft room organization for tiny rooms. Which glitter color do you use the most?

You will need: A wall spice rack with small shaker jars, a funnel, glitter, sequins and beads.

How to make it: 1. Mount the spice rack on the wall. 2. Use a funnel to fill each jar with one color or type. 3. Arrange the jars in rows by color.

Hanging Yarn Project Bags on a Curtain Rod

When you have several projects going at once, keep each one in its own clear zip bag with its yarn, hook and pattern. Hang the bags from a curtain rod with clip rings, and you can grab your next project in a second. It keeps the yarn clean, stops cats from playing with it and looks cute on the wall. This simple fix is perfect for the holiday gift rush. How many projects do you have going right now?

You will need: A curtain rod and brackets, clip rings, clear zip project bags.

How to make it: 1. Mount the curtain rod on the wall. 2. Slide on clip rings. 3. Put each project in its own bag and clip it to a ring.

Craft Room Organization for Thread Spools

Thread spools are small and easy to lose, and loose ends tangle quickly. Keep them in sight on a spool board, a row of short nails or dowels on a painted board, or in a shallow drawer sorted by color. Tuck the loose end into the notch on each spool so it never unravels. It makes sewing quicker because you can match your fabric at a glance. Do you keep your thread by color or by type?

You will need: A wooden board, short finishing nails or dowels, a hammer (adult help), paint, thread spools.

How to make it: 1. Paint the board and let it dry. 2. Mark a grid and tap in short nails at a slight upward angle. 3. Slide a spool onto each nail, sorted by color.

Fabric Folded Like File Cards

Stacks of fabric fall over and hide what is underneath. Fold each piece around a ruler or a piece of card so they are all the same size, then stand them up on their edges in a drawer, like file cards. Now you can see every print at once and pull one out without wrecking the pile. Sorted by color, a drawer like this is so satisfying to open, and it is the kind of craft room organization quilters swear by. Which fabric would you use first?

You will need: A drawer or shallow bin, a ruler or a piece of stiff card for folding, your fabric.

How to make it: 1. Fold each piece of fabric around the ruler to the same width. 2. Fold it again to fit the depth of the drawer. 3. Stand the pieces up on edge, sorted by color.

A Tackle Box for Sewing Notions

A clear tackle box with little compartments is perfect for buttons, snaps, safety pins, bobbins and elastic. Each tiny thing gets its own section, and the lid keeps it all in place. You can carry it to the sewing machine or a class, and nothing spills. Many crafters say this one small box saves them more time than anything else. For more clever storage ideas around the house, see our brilliant organizing ideas. What would you put in yours?

You will need: A clear plastic tackle box or bead organizer with dividers, your sewing notions.

How to make it: 1. Sort your notions into small piles by type. 2. Set the dividers to fit each pile. 3. Fill each section and close the lid tightly.

Washi Tape on a Paper Towel Holder

Washi tape rolls are colorful but they scatter fast. Slide them onto an upright paper towel holder, or a dowel on the wall, and you get a tidy tower you can spin. Sort them by color so they look like stacked candy. You will always find the roll you want, and they make your desk look cheerful too. It is a two minute craft room organization project with a big payoff. How many rolls of washi tape do you own?

You will need: An upright paper towel holder or a wooden dowel with brackets, washi tape rolls.

How to make it: 1. Set the paper towel holder on your desk or mount a dowel on the wall. 2. Slide the washi rolls on, sorted by color. 3. Keep the ones you use most at the top.

Craft Room Organization With Color Code Labels

To finish our list, give your craft room a simple color code. Use one dot sticker color for each type of craft, like pink for paper, blue for sewing, green for painting and yellow for kids crafts. Put a dot on every bin, basket and drawer. Now anyone in the family can put things back in the right place, even little ones who cannot read yet. Good craft room organization is easy to keep up, and this makes it easy. Which colors would you choose?

You will need: Matching bins and baskets, colored dot stickers, blank tags or a label maker.

How to make it: 1. Pick one color for each type of craft. 2. Put a dot sticker on every bin in that group. 3. Add a written tag or label if you like and keep a little color key on the wall.