Organizational {Friday} Dies, Dies, & More Dies!

If you haven't noticed, it seems most companies are making die cuts now. Organizing them can take a while and cost a lot. I have had a pile of Paper Trey Ink (PTI) dies in a drawer for some time because I didn't know how I was going to organize them. I didn't want to buy MORE Quickutz folders. I use those for my Spellbinders dies. You can see that post here. Anyway, that can get expensive especially since I was going to have to buy many more folders for the new dies from other companies.  For the time being, I kept the PTI dies in their ziploc bags in a drawer with the die name on the bag. Worked for a while until Our Daily Bread Designs and now Memory Box Co. have also come out with their own dies! Now I was asking myself how do I control the die cut madness. :) I LOVE dies but what should I do with them all?

Well, I ended up using the 3-ring binder method that I am sure you have seen zillions of people use. I think I am really, really going to like this for dies other than Spellbinders. If I like this and I find it holds more than the Quickutz folders, I may convert my Spellbinders to this also. Not sure yet. :)  Anyway, let's look at what I did which I am sure it is close to most other 3-ring binder methods out there. :)

Supplies
Here is what I used:

**Keep Filing ring binders (letter size, 8 1/2" x 11")
**Roll of 1/2" magnets
**Sturdy black cardstock
**Page protectors (heavy weight)
**Labeler

I really like the black cardstock because you don't see the magnets. I think a lot of other people use white cardstock, and I personally like the magnet to be "hidden." :)

Putting it Together
First, I separated my dies by manufacturer then category. The categories I am currently using are:

**Animals
**Banners
**Borders
**Circles
**Labels and Pockets
**Garden

Next I put two magnet strips on each piece of black cardstock and placed the dies for each category on a separate sheet. Then I put a label with the die name next to the die on the black cardstock.  Once the sheet was done, I put it down in the page protector. Notice how the magnets are hard to see on the black cardstock. Love that!

I also used the new Memory Box Double Ticket die to create my category tags at the top of each page.  I used the smallest ticket on the die and scored it at 3/4". Works perfectly!

I also typed up a die inventory in Excel since I know the names of a lot of the dies. It will be easier to look at the inventory and look up the page number where the die is so that I can quickly find what I am looking for. This inventory can be sorted by die name, manufacturer, category, or page. I printed it on white cardstock and placed in the front of my binder.

In creating this new binder, I have noticed that 5 pages in the binder take up a LOT LESS room than 5 Quickutz binders. I think I may be making a major switch this summer! Oh my!

Well, enjoy your Friday, and I pray this is helpful!  And for those of you interested, you can see all of the newest Memory Box dies just released by looking here. To see all of the Our Daily Bread Designs dies, look here. Blessings to each of you!