A Little Before & After Shots!

I never really organized my paper when we moved in and got all our stuff. It was getting hard to FIND the papers I had and needed....so....it was time for some organization! Ugh! And that means, make a bigger mess than you started out with!!! I started with my paper stacks and went through ALL of them. Many I had purchased when I was brand new to stamping, so I've had them a long time. It's funny how your tastes and style changes over time, because many of the things I had I no longer wanted. After separating two HUGE laundry baskets full of paper, (Right, Cat? LOL!), this is the mess I had left:

See the empty drawers on the table? I had five of them, and everything that was in those five got narrowed down to just half of ONE drawer! No point keeping anything I wasn't going to use, and I was brutal!

Paper, paper everywhere!

Every flat surface - total chaos! See the magazine holders on the right? I had three of those filled with scraps to go through as well. I threw out the rinky-dinky stuff that I couldn't BELIEVE I had kept, and organized all the colors and put them with the larger sheets of the same color.

When SU had their color renovation and discontinued most of their colors, I bought a bunch of multi-packs to have on hand. After I finished with all the paper stacks, I organized the card stock and separated all of them into individual colors, and into current and retired ones. I put the loose sheets into labeled sheet protectors to keep them nice.

Discontinued colors on the left, all in "rainbow" order. (These three originally just held scraps!) Then I had to do the same thing with the current colors, some in the box on the right. I have them in separate spots, so it's easier to find the color I need.

Card stock completed and my desk is clear....

...but I still have my designer papers yet to do! Ugh!

I separated those by holiday papers, summer & spring colors, and fall colors. Again I was brutal in my decisions on what to keep, what to give away and what to sell. It's hard letting go of stuff, even if you KNOW you aren't going to use it!!!! I guess I have some hoarding tendencies, lol!

And then....(cue cherubs singing!)...

I was finished!!! Wooo Hooo!!!

Look! I have a floor! And a clear chair, and table, and desk!!

Current card stock colors, in rainbow order.

I have the retired card stock colors on the shelf with some older designer papers, and my most used Big Shot dies. The rest of the dies I have underneath my desk. Both bottom shelves were completely re-done and are much more convenient now.

These five drawers have my most current designer papers in them and are organized - finally!

My ribbon, my beloved ribbon! And flowers!

Doesn't it look fabby??? I've gone through every single piece of paper in this room, AND wound up going through all my ribbon as well. I hadn't planned on doing that too, but I went to look for something and wound up making a huge mess doing so and there ya go! MORE organization completed, lol! I have three large boxes of miscellaneous stuff to sell on eBay, and when that's all done, I will be going through my stamp sets. There are some I have that I just don't use or need, and...gulp!...I'm going to have to be brutal with those too! But not just yet! For now...

...I will just enjoy my gloriously cleaned and organized stamp room!!!