One very important element of scrapbooking is getting it all organized. This includes, but is not limited to:

* storing all of your supplies in an organized fashion so they can be found instantly when you need them.

* remembering what supplies to pick up at the store, and eliminating duplicate purchases.

* finding time to research new and creative ways to spruce up your scrapbooks.

* finding enough time to enjoy the art of scrapbooking in your busy life.

1. TELL A STORY. Plan your photos, before you shoot. Instead of taking random shots of someone standing here, or someone else sitting there, tell a story. For example, let's say it's Halloween. You may plan on taking four photos of your child:

a. on the hayride taking him/her to the pumpkin field. b. looking for a pumpkin. c. finding a pumpkin. d. with the carved pumpkin later.

2. GREAT PHOTOS. Photos for your scrapbooks can be extra nice if you take a little bit of time to learn some basic photography. Visit www.kodak.com for a quick photography tutorial. Getting organized has a lot to do with preparation and this site is filled with helpful tips and ideas.

3. WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN. Organized documentation is important for the serious scrapbooker. The main goal is to eliminate future questions such as "Who or what is that?", "Where and when was this photo taken?", and so on. Document photos as you're taking them, so you'll know exactly what is on each roll of film. That way you'll be prepared when you're ready to organize the photos in your scrapbooks.

4. TAKE CARE OF THAT UNDEVELOPED FILM. If you find rolls of film around your house that are ready to go to the developer, bring them today. You may consider mailing all of your film to a supplier such as www.mysticcolorlab.com so you don't have to spend time dropping off film or picking up photos. Simply mail your film out, and you'll get your photos back in the mail a week later. From now on, always get your film developed as soon as you take the used rolls out of your camera.

5. STORING PHOTOGRAPHS. Once your photos are developed, you need a place to store them until you're ready to put them in your scrapbook. Keep them separated by year or event, in Ziplock bags. Label each bag with a number, and put a corresponding number on your Documentation Form. Then, store them in a photo box. Keep the box in a dry, cool place to protect your photos until you're ready to put the photos into your scrapbook.

6. ORGANIZING BOXES OF PHOTOS. If you have boxes of photos that span from the beginning of the 1900's to now, it's time to start getting them organized. Schedule a day and time to begin sorting through them and stick with your appointment when the day rolls around. Get your kids, or friends, to help out. Begin by making piles, categorized by event or year. If you don't know the exact year, at least sort them by decade. This may take a little while, but once everything is separated, scrapbooking your photos will be much easier and more pleasant. Once they're all sorted, store your photographs as mentioned above.

7. WORK BACKWARDS. If you're planning to scrapbook lots of photos from way back, start with the most recent photos you have, and work backwards. Chances are, you have a journal describing recent photos, and even if you don't, you can probably recall the details more easily. Older photos--the ones that you don't have a journal for--will take a little more thinking.

8. BABY STEPS. If your scrapbooking hobby seems like a colossal job to you, it's not going to be fun. Don't feel like you have to put ALL of your photos into scrapbooks. You can always put the majority of your photos in acid-free photo albums or photo boxes where they will be safe. Choose a small set of photos to begin scrapbooking. Once you're done with this small set, you can then decide whether you want to dig into your photo albums or photo boxes and continue scrapbooking them, or leave those photos where they are, and simply scrapbook any new photos in the future.

9. DOUBLE PRINTS. Double prints will do you no good if they're just sitting in your photo box taking up space. Do something with them. Perhaps send them to someone who is in the photograph. It's a great way to keep in touch. Or, pass the doubles onto your young children who may like to create their own scrapbooks. It's a great way for them to learn your beloved hobby and decide if they would like it to be a hobby of their own.

10. RELATED STUFF. Sometimes, for the purpose of creatively decorating your scrapbook, you may wish to keep tickets, brochures, maps, postcards, and so on, that are related to a particular trip or event. Use manila file folders or catalog envelopes for this purpose. Label the folder/envelope so that you know which photos/Documentation Form it corresponds to. File these until they're ready to be used.

11. KEEPING IT ALL TOGETHER. Already have a pretty good idea of stickers, diecuts, etc. that you're planning to use with a particular set of photographs? Keep them in the same Ziplock bag with the photos until you're ready to put them into your scrapbook. This way, everything will be in one place and ready to use.

12. STICKERS AND SHAPES. Stickers and punched shapes can be kept in acid-free sheet protectors, plastic baseball card sheets, business card sheets, or even Ziplock bags that are 3-hole punched. Each sheet should be categorized and labeled by theme: birthday, Christmas, Halloween, wedding, springtime, etc. Insert these sheets into a 3-ring binder. If you have a large number of stickers and shapes, you may want to use index dividers labeled with general categories. For example, a general HOLIDAY category, may hold Easter, Christmas/Hanukkah, Halloween, etc., a general SEASONS category, may hold Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring, and so on.

13. TINY STUFF. For very tiny diecuts and other small items, consider storing then in empty film canisters. The clear ones are best, but if you only have opaque ones, simply stick a label--or the actual diecut attached with a piece of tape--on the canister indicating what is inside. Baby food jars serve the same purpose well.

14. PAPER. Where do you keep all of that cool paper until you're ready to use it? You can get a plastic, portable filing container--research its composition to assure archival safety--that holds hanging file folders. Label the hanging files by theme or color. You may want to place a manila file folder into each hanging file folder, to keep your papers from curling. Or, you may buy file folder pockets or sheet protectors that fit into a 3-ring binder and store your papers inside each pocket, categorized and labeled. By the way, be very careful not to store acid-free paper with other paper.

15. STORAGE CONTAINERS. Do a little bit of research and purchase a scrapbooking organizer, which will hold papers, supplies, etc. There are many products on the market that can help you keep it all together. Many office supply stores carry six-drawer organization stations. They're vertical and have 6 see- through drawers of equal size. Each drawer can be designated for a different purpose--papers, templates/diecuts, stickers, etc. Plus, they have wheels, which makes them very easy to transport from one room to another. Or, if you often bring your scrapbooking supplies outside of your home, such as to a friend's house, use a portable system that isn't too heavy or cumbersome, and comes with a handle.

16. STENCILS. Put your stencils/templates into sheet protectors that can be purchased at any office supplies store. Then insert them into a 3-ring binder for easy access. By the way, you can store two templates in one sheet protector with a piece of paper in between each--white or colored depending on the color of your template. This will make it easier to see the designs and eliminate them from catching onto each other.

17. SUPPLY CADDY. If you always scrapbook at home, use a kitchen utensil caddy with a number of divided compartments, like those you normally keep tall kitchen spoons, ladles, and spatulas in. The ones that spin will keep everything you need at your fingertips.

18. HANG IT UP. If you're lucky enough to have a room specifically designated for your scrapbooking hobby, hang a large pegboard above your work area. You can then attach scissors, templates, crimpers, rulers, stencils and more, all within easy sight and reach. In addition, you might hang a small ledge or shelf nearby, to store all of your corner rounders, photo corners, and so on. If you prefer everything out in the open, this system will work like a charm.

19. RUBBER STAMPS. Store rubber stamps in shallow, plastic containers, a rubber stamping organizer, or a plastic organizer with shallow drawers. Don't stack stamps. They should be stored in a single layer, so that you can always see the top of the stamp showing the design.

20. OTHER STORAGE IDEAS. Fishing tackle boxes--with compartments and levels that expand and collapse--are wonderful for storing scrapbooking supplies and tools. Plastic tool boxes, with many see-through drawers are also great for this purpose.

21. SCRAPBOOKING MAGAZINES. Is your closet full of scrapbooking magazines? There are a few things to do about this dilemma. 1) You can go through your magazines, find the articles you wish to keep and organize them into file folders by category. In other words, keep the article, toss the magazine. 2) Or you can keep the magazines in cardboard magazine boxes. If you do this, you should always keep a list of the title/issue of the magazine, the pages that interest you, and a few words describing why they interested you. This way, you can just scan your list, instead of going through the entire magazine to find what you're looking for. You can even use your computer and create the list in a word processing file. Then using the Find feature, you can simply search for key words in your document.

22. HOLD THAT THOUGHT. Rather than keeping all those great scrapbooking ideas and tips in your head--you know, the ones you pick up from magazines, web sites, etc.-- keep a 3-ring binder with some notepaper inside for all your thoughts and ideas. Plus, when you see something in a magazine, you can simply tear the page out of the magazine, 3-hold punch it, and place it in your binder. The same goes if you see something on a web site that you wish to refer to later; just print it out and insert it into your binder. You can even separate the binder into a few different sections, such as page layout ideas, organizing ideas, neat tools/supplies, etc.

23. CHOOSE A DESIGNATED WORK AREA. Scrapbooking is more fun and less of a chore, when everything is in one place and in close, accessible proximity to your working area. Designate a room, or a portion of a room, in your home for this activity. You should be able to retrieve your supplies, photos, etc. in seconds, without having to walk into another room, or rummage through a closet.

24. SHOPPING. Use an organized shopping system so you remember what you want to pick up for your hobby --scissors, crimpers, papers, etc. This will also eliminate purchasing items that you already have. When you think of something you need, immediately put it on a SCRAPBOOKING PICK UP list, and bring this list with you when you go shopping. Using 3 inch x 5 inch index cards, make examples of your cuts and punches on them. Label and keep them in your day timer, or a tiny 3-ring binder. Bring these cards with you when shopping for scrapbooking items, and you'll never buy duplicates. This also works great for remembering what color pens/pencils you have. Just draw a line on your index cards and label them.

25. USE WHAT YOU HAVE FIRST. Resist the urge to buy a million new papers, punches, and so on, until you've used some of the craft supplies you already have. Unless you're planning on opening a scrapbooking warehouse, it's best to be choosy before emptying your wallet on new items, when you already have items you could use in your current supply.

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