Scrapbooking is a paper crafting hobby where crafters create pages, or layouts, to display photos and journaling in a scrapbook or album. Due to the large variety of scrapbooking supplies most crafters have, a scrapbooking organizer is essential to keeping the supplies under control. When choosing the best scrapbooking organizer, crafters should consider cost, scrapbooking style and amount of room available to scrapbook.
There are several types of organizers available, and the costs range from under $20 US Dollars (USD) to well over $1,000 USD. Before deciding which is the best, crafters should review their budget to determine what they can afford. For crafters just starting out or with a modest budget, opt for clear plastic shoe boxes and decorated copy paper boxes. Most dollar stores or discount retailers sell the plastic shoe boxes for less than $2 USD each and many businesses simply throw away empty copy paper boxes. Stop by a local office-based business and request their empty copy paper boxes.
For crafters with a larger budget, there are products designed specifically as a scrapbooking organizer. Portable organizers resemble luggage and have expandable handles and casters for easy transport. These types of portable organizers are typically constructed of canvas with multiple zippered compartments to allow scrapbook paper to lie flat and prevent wrinkling. There may also be smaller plastic boxes for embellishments such as brads, eyelets, and buttons. A portable scrapbooking organizer is best for crafters who often scrapbook away from home such as at a friend's home or local scrapbook shop.
Scrapbooking style is something to consider when choosing the best scrapbooking organizer. If most of the scrapbooking layouts created include memorabilia and a significant number of embellishments, then the scrapbooking organizer needs to be able to hold lots of small items. If, however, the majority of the scrapbooking layouts focus primarily on photos or journaling with minimal extras other than the paper, the scrapbooking organizer should be able to clearly separate different styles or colors of paper.
Another thing to consider is size. If there is an entire room available to devote to scrapbooking, then furniture pieces such as a desk and bookshelves are appropriate. If the available area is small, then a portable scrapbooking organizer, accordion file folder, or hanging files in a desk drawer may be suitable. Hanging shoe racks are also a popular item many crafters use to keep punches, rubber stamps, or tools organized. These racks simply hang on the back of a door and the clear pockets originally intended for shoes are instead used to store scrapbooking supplies.