Quilters! Today is the best day of the year to think about storage!

Before you throw all that gift wrap, ribbon, bows and boxes away from yesterday's Christmas chaos, take a few minutes to think about what you can use in your sewing room.

Boxes - always needed for storage of one kind or another. Flat boxes make great quilt block storage. If you ordered gifts online, chances are you received large shipping boxes, which can be used for storage in a closet. Small boxes are great for sorting and storing threads or notions.

Ribbons and bows - Think embellishments! Some of the ribbons I received on packages were beautiful fabric ribbons that I can use to embellish many craft and sewing projects, especially the mug rugs and fabric post cards I am currently having fun with. Even polyester and paper ribbons can be used on cards and postcards.

Cardboard wrapping paper tubes - I've saved all the empty tubes from Christmas wrapping paper, with a plan to use them to store stabilizers, adhesive papers, etc. I will use a black marker to LABEL the tube with the contents and brief instructions. I'm excited about this one because I can't tell you how many times I've spent way too much time trying to figure out which fusible is two sided and which is has adhesive on only one side!

Vinyl zippered bags - Blankets, linens and even bathrobes often come in large vinyl bags with zippers which make excellent "current project" storage, or storage for finished quilts to be mailed.

More Vinyl - Watch for clear plastic vinyl bags and wrappers. So many items come in clear plastic vinyl. Expensive by the yard at the fabric store, you can use small pieces of vinyl to create ID windows in wallets, clear pockets in purses, luggage tags, etc. 

Tissue paper - especially plain white - can be used for everything from tracing quilt patterns to wrapping finished quilts for storage.

Gift bags - I love receiving presents in large gift bags. Hang a string of hooks on a wall, and use these large gift bags to keep fabric/pattern/threads together for future projects. You can write the name of the project on the outside of the bag to remind yourself of what projects you have planned. Plus these colorful gift bags are a pretty decoration for your sewing room!

Fat Quarter storage!

Did you get an new umbrella for Christmas? Recycle your old one! Remove the fabric, turn the wire form upside down (handle at the top), hang from the ceiling, and you have instant strip storage when you're working on a strip or bargello quilt.

And while you're catching up on laundry today, save those used dryer sheets! You can use them as an alternative to expensive stabilizer.

You may also want to take advantage of the 75% and more Christmas sales, and purchase boxes specifically for ornament storage. These make great storage small scraps and fat quarters. They are usually just a few inches high and can be easily stacked, or slid under the guest bed for additional storage space.

If you have recycling/storage ideas, I'd love to hear them!