So we are currently undergoing and finishing up our 8th move in 14 years. That's right, pretty much every other year we are packing up everything we own and either heading a few hundred miles away, across the country, or in this case - across the world to Japan. Although the packing and loading is done for us thanks to Uncle Sam, I have still become an expert on packing up those precious crafting supplies-all my scrapbook items. That way it makes it easier not just for the packers, but for me when I'm unpacking it all on the other side. I have to remind myself of the brad incident of 2008 when they were all found at the bottom of a box, in 1000 pieces (yikes!)
I was lucky enough to have our mailing address prior to moving here so I packed up some must have supplies in a 15 x 13 sized box and mailed it to myself to have on hand while I waited for the rest of it. So my scrap room currently looks like this:
You're jealous, right?!!
What I have found during this process is that although I do miss having a lot of things at my fingertips, having a limit on supplies and tools actually makes my scrapbooking easier and I get pages done more quickly. Because I don't have 15 punches, 38 flowers, 74 buttons/brads and 43 tags to choose from, the time it takes to making those crucial design decisions gets whittled down quickly!
As far as packing it up to move it, I have come to this conclusion: I should take out stock in Ziploc bags! That's my go to organization piece. I either separate by manufacturer (for design team items) or by embellishment. So buttons go in a plastic bag, tags go in a plastic bag, etc. For paper I keep my boxes that kits come in or I go to the post office for those nifty free priority boxes and start loading paper and cardstock in those. This makes the unpacking so much easier on the other end for sure!
Team member Vivian Masket hasn't moved, but does have this advice about scrapping on the go: I pack some things to scrap with when we take our annual summer trip to the east coast to stay with family for a week or so. I limit myself to what can fit in a 12 X12 box - the kind that product arrives in. I always take a couple of pens, a clear ruler, a paper trimmer, scissors, regular adhesive and pop dots, and then choose coordinating cardstock, paper, alphas, and other embellishments. When the box is full, I'm done and it goes in my suitcase.
Awesome advice to still have the opportunity to scrap while you're outside of your house, but without packing the kitchen sink!
Marnie Flores also has some great advice for unpacking part of moving your supplies while trying to control that overwhelming feeling: I have learned to not only pack a box for use when things are all packed up, but to also pack priority boxes for unloading my favorites early. Seems to help keep things moving.
As much as I've enjoyed this "light" scrapbooking, I am looking forward to having all my scrapbook children back under one roof! I have learned though that a good bit will also get donated or given to my children since I can obviously do it without so much stuff! Proof? My recent layouts with those few supplies:
So for those of you on the go and moving this summer hopefully you have some helpful hints to take along with you!
