On Tuesday, I wrote about the art of sending hand-written cards in the mail.
Today, I want to share how I store and organize my cards to assist in sending those special notes to people in my life.
I am a card crafter, although, I will occasionally purchase a card (from the Dollar Tree) if I find one I like or need a very specific card quickly.
As I create cards, I like to have them organized by type or occasion.
For many years, I've been using a very sturdy box and some hand made dividers.
This box held 3 rows of A2 (4.25 x 5.5) cards, and I could also snuggle larger cards in the very back.
It's worked perfectly and has allowed me to easily grab a card a go.
It has also allowed me to peruse my "herd" and see where it was thinning a bit. This way I could make some cards for those specific occasions if need be.
However, in my efforts to downsize and pack for our eventual move, I realized that there was no way to cover the box or protect the cards in the move.
So, I had to find another option.
Thank Goodness for The Container Store!
I studied the option available on their website and landed on this particular style.
This is the Iris Clear Card Keeper.
(There are a variety of other options, I just particularly liked this specific one!)
I picked this particular one because it was wide enough to hold regular sized store-bought cards as well as my A2 cards.
I purchased 2 boxes as I knew that 1 would not be enough for my inventory.
PLUS... It came with dividers that fit neatly into side grooves of the main bin, making adjustable storage sections.
Not only did the tabs of dividers fit on the sides, but a think "track" in the bottom of the bin held the divider in place there as well.
Be still my over-excited, loves to organize, heart!
Now, these bins are $15.99 each. Not cheap.
BUT, they are heavy-duty plastic, stackable, and will last a lifetime if I take care of them; a good solid investment for my needs.
So, next, I began the process of going through each and every card in my stash.
I made sure that they were all organized by occasions first.
Sections like Sympathy, Guy Birthday, Gal Birthday, Get Well, & Thank You.
I even have a divider for "Blank" cards.
These are cards that have no identifying occasion on them which allows me to make them into a variety of cards as I have need.
It's a great way to always have something for that particular someone available in my stash.
I played around with the dividers and 2 bins, deciding how I wanted to organize each section and each bin.
My Get Well cards just needed a narrower section than say my Birthday cards.
My Anniversary and Wedding cards also needed a narrow section.
Other cards could be combined into a Celebrate section - things like graduation cards and job promotion cards can occupy the same space.
I had one box filled and proceeded to work on the other box.
Some cards didn't fall into a very specific category, so I labeled them as "Seasonal" and placed them all together.
My Blank cards were organized together, and since those are the largest amount that I have, they got a nice wide area in the box.
I am pretty flush with my Thank You cards as well.
They too take up a bit more room than other categories.
My Sympathy cards got a double space since I've made sure to have plenty of these on hand.
I needed to label the dividers and the boxes, so I used my trusty Cricut and a bouncy font to cut out the words I wanted to adhere to each one.
Using the picker tool to get out all the little pieces can be a lesson in patience, but I forged ahead because I knew the outcome would be exactly what I wanted.
I used a nice italics fonts to label each divider then returned it to the appropriate box.
When I was done I was very pleased with my efforts and these boxes.
I placed the outside labels on each box and wrapped this mini-organizing project up for the day.
The stacked boxes fit into the cupboard where I kept the other boxes so that was a win-win as well.
Now, before you think "Man, she has way too many cards..."
I agree, BUT, there are times that I will comb through my stash and create small bags of handmade cards to gift for birthdays or other occasions.
I am also trying to be more diligent in sending cards to people as well, so this stash will dwindle at times.
I also make handmade cards once a month with a group of talented ladies where we each leave with 15 or more cards - so I'm always flush with cards.
You can create your own card keeper by buying a variety of cards at the Dollar Tree and using one of their larger plastic dividers to organize them.
There are no rules when I comes to creating organized ways to help you be on top of your game!
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