13 Tips for a Tidy Craft Space

We scoured the web, asked our Delphi artists, questioned our fans on Facebook, and finally came up with 13 easy-to-implement tips for keeping things clutter-free! Feel free to share your own in our "comments" section below.

1. Choose an area with good lighting. If you have a window, keep the area clear, so light can flow in nicely.

2. Partition off the craft area (contain the craft creep) with a screen or furniture.

3. If you haven't used something in 2 years, consider donating it to a school or senior center, selling to a buy-back program or tossing it.

4. Label everything.

5. Consider what tools and supplies you need the most. These should be easily accessible. Store the rest in clear bins.

6. If your space is limited, go vertical! Install a slat wall for easy shelving.

From our Facebook fans:

7. Scrapbooking paper shelves are also great for small scrap glass. - Amy Davis

8. I bought a $15 shoe rack/cabinet from Target to store my glass. 4" 6" x 12" cubbies and I think there are 20 spaces. - Deby Hutt Romaniw

9. My husband and I run a vinyl decal business and I use the leftover cardboard tubes that the vinyl comes on for my zinc, lead and wire. - Angela Weber

10. I use those large, clear boxes with movable dividers that are for beads and small parts to store my dichro and scrap glass. That lets me divide it all up by color, and see at a glance what I have on hand. - Debra Doty Dickson

11. I bought the scrapbooking cubes from Michaels to make a system along one wall. The bottom three rows are mostly drawers and some open shelves. The top row has paper storage cubes turned on their sides. They also have one cube that holds the plastic jars with pull outs to insert them into. They work nicely for little components.- Shelley Stuller Huberty

12. Baby food jars hold my smallest bits. Clear plastic Beany Babies containers next in size. Shelves and roller bin my husband built to hold sheets. - Elizabeth Essenburg

13. I have clear plastic shoebox-sized bins for findings, cabs and bags of frit, bottle of frit and confetti live in the window sill, a couple of rack pack crates to hold sheets under a foot, Morton glass caddy across two shelves to hold interestingly shaped pieces, some cookie trays for pieces in process, big flat sheets sit against the wall in a safe corner. And most recently cardboard trays for glued items to dry on. - Courdon Glass

Have a mess on your hands? Don't feel bad, check out messy art glass studio entries from our Messiest Studio Contest

Or view Favorite Organizational Supplies

margaret G. • June 11, 2011

I buy apples at Costco and recycle the plastic divided containers they come in for my scraps and bits. I use a wooden cutlery tray for tools, brushes, pens, etc. didn't have much room for a cutting table so have aa small kitchen table that I put on bed risers to make it close to counter height. I built a strip cutter from Paul Tarlow (Helios Glass) directions right on the table and it works great!

Laurie S. • June 11, 2011

I had gotten an old baby change table with a lift top(fisher price cherry wood) l gotten on kijiji, makes a perfect light table with drawers for patterns. The best part it is just the right height for me to cut on.

Connie B. • June 11, 2011

If you can get an empty wood crate that they ship glass in, and add a wood top, it makes a great table to set up your grinder, ring saw, wet belt sander or any of your glass power tools. It makes the work surfaces countertop height, but isn't too deep, and with a power strip added to the back all the power cords can be kept organized. Connie Buyens

Connie B. • June 11, 2011

I use a multi-compartment utensil carousel on my work table to store cutting tools, markers, x-acto knives, q-tips, etc. It keeps them at hand and organized. Connie Buyens

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Delphi

Meet the Delphi Bloggers - Experienced, Knowledgeable Associates who Love the Glass Art The people who write Delphi's blog, work in our store or answer our Project Helpline are artists in their own right. When you shop from Delphi you get experienced staff can help you select glass for projects, find the tools that are right for your budget and help you get started in a new art. That's why we're here, and why Delphi has been able to successfully help people around the world be creative since 1972. That's the Delphi difference! Delphi was founded in 1972 on the belief that making art glass projects should be enjoyable and rewarding for everyone, from beginner crafters to professional artists. We pride ourselves on customer service and expert knowledge about the crafts our customers enjoy. With 40 years of experience and retail, wholesale and educational divisions, Delphi is dedicated to our customer's satisfaction. Delphi is located in Lansing, MI. Photo: Leslie Sunderlin, Customer Service Lead, Glass Fuser

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