How to Cheaply Organize a Small Craft Room

Here is a tour of my current craft space with some fun ideas on how to cheaply organize a small craft room.

How do you cheaply organize a craft room when your space is tiny and you have a lot of supplies? Also your small room also serves other purposes. How can you be inspired while also preventing overwhelm?

My craft room holds all my supplies and fits into a 5 ft x 3 ft table / corner of my room. I have a ladybug style of organizing, so I prefer mostly closed storage with a few visual decorations. (Learn your organizing style here.) Though I prefer closed storage, I had to be strategic when I got a new table without drawers. Thus I “created” some. My mom came up with the great idea of “seasonal bins” to reduce overwhelm. This way everything would fit/have an easy-to-find home.

My desk/table cost $20 off of craigslist. ( I purchased this table because it had a big surface to craft on. It also weighs less than a similar size desk with drawers. Much easier to move again in the future.) The filing cabinet, i picked up off the curb for free. I love my small craft space but had to be creative money-wise and then prayed a lot for inspiration too.  Don’t be afraid to try random things and think outside the box. 

I needed to DIY a small craft room/space with lots of storage and organization while also allowing space to create?”

Looking at Pinterest, some design layouts like the Dreambox caught my eye. I loved that it had a very workable place to craft in a small space. An amazing concept, but beyond my budget. Also, I’d have a harder time moving it to other homes. I decided to list out my requirements and current problem areas.

How can I organize and access everything easily? It also needs to be portable for moving and attending crafting retreats and going on coffee/art dates?

My needs were:

1. Everything to be easily accessible. Sometimes I get into a “flow” crafting and don’t want to deep-search an item that springs to mind.
2. Too many choices and options at once. It was overwhelming to comb through everything in stuffed drawers. Since I buy used sometimes. I don’t always have the same number of inventory. It ebbs and flows if I find a great deal. I needed to find ways to helpfully limit what to use daily. Project 333 inspired me and I decided to try bringing the idea of “capsule crafts” or “kits” into play.
3. Not feeling “boxed in” and limited. I liked the idea of a smaller capsule of craft supplies. It’s helpful to create with and spark ideas. But I also love mixed media, and that means using multiple items in multiple ways like collaging. I didn’t want to be strict, but instead be liberal with what ever ideas came my way.
4. My space is small and I live in a studio with another person. My priority was crafting while simultaneously having my desk clean and inviting? Less cluttered and the solutions easy and cheap to implement.
5. I see myself moving often in the near future. Everything needs to be portable and ready for moving, craft dates, and retreats.

Solutions I implemented to cheaply organize and maximize space, making it more efficient:

• Vertical storage in a filing cabinet. I found one free in my neighborhood. (Freecycle and Facebook Giving Groups are great places to find these items.) Printables, patterned paper, stencils, mixed media packaging, and swatches ect. easily fit in file folders in my top drawer. Easy to pull out and rifle through. The bottom drawer holds my current Journaling bible, journal, and crafty club playbook. A sketch book, and old sermon notes for Bible journaling also live down there.
• Seasonal craft supply bins via The Reset Girl. I only store the current season’s supplies in my file cabinet and desk. Other seasons are packed in bins under my desk. They are easily accessible.
• A rolling Ikea cart holds items like my current season’s stamps, paint brushes and gouache etc. on the top shelf. Mixed media supplies and acrylic paints on the second. A drying tool and lesser used items such as embossing powder/really big stamp blocks live in the bottom shelf.

On my desk lives:

• Refrigerator storage drawers. They stack easily and hold my coloring mediums, current project drawer, washi tape, stamp inks, and commonly used tools.
• A soft grip tote from Target holds zippered pouches of smaller patterned paper. Another pouch holds alpha letter stickers.
• My gold fruit basket from Target contains another of my current projects.
• The container on the right side of my desk holds my ephemera books. (This idea originally is from RTS Scrapbooking), Here is a flip-through of my current fall/winter ephemera book.) Also my drawing how-to books and bigger Unity stamp kits are stored in this bin.

Under my desk lives:

• My paper cutter and lightbox fit on top of my seasonal bins beneath my desk. A gelli plate set fits in the thin space on top of my filing cabinet.
• Lastly, I attached an extension cord to the side of my filing cabinet for easy access via Command Strips.

This post contains affiliate links, from which I make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Shop this post links or similar links:

The top 4 links are the supplies I used to put together my sticker/ephemera storage notebooks.

Moretoes Fridge Organizer Bins, 3 Pack https://amzn.to/3AqTa1m

Sorbus Fridge Drawers – Clear Stackable Pull Out Organizer Bins Large – https://amzn.to/4dqNQcb

MINI MISTI Stamp Positioner (2020 Version) – https://amzn.to/3ZGKdM7 (Cheaper, not as sturdy version listed below)

PH PandaHall Acrylic Stamp Block 5.9×6.1 Perfect Positioning Stamping Clear Stamps Scrapbook Craft Stamping Tool with Grid Lines – https://amzn.to/3zFfBQq

Amazon Basics Hanging Organizer File Folder, Letter Size, Green – Pack of 25 –https://amzn.to/4ekmQwj

Amazon Basics 1/3-Cut Tab, Assorted Positions File Folders, Letter Size, Manila – Pack of 100 – https://amzn.to/3ZHMGG0

Full Sheet Clear Matte Printable Labels – https://amzn.to/3Y1sJZC

madesmart Large Soft Grip Tote, Under Sink Bathroom Storage, Multi-Purpose Home Organization, EPA Certified, Premium Antimicrobial Carbon – https://amzn.to/3Y3xT7f

Lorell 14341 18 Deep 2-Drawer File Cabinet, Black – https://amzn.to/4eBDeII

6Ft Power Strip Surge Protector – Yintar Extension Cord with 6 AC Outlets and 3 USB Ports for for Home, Office, Dorm Essentials, – https://amzn.to/47P5WU7

SONGMICS 3-Tier Metal Rolling Cart, Utility Cart, Kitchen Cart with Adjustable Shelves, – https://amzn.to/3XOXNdO

White Plastic Storage Bins Baskets for Organizing Durable 2-Pack, Plastic Storage – https://amzn.to/3BphLEx