DIY Planner Paperclip Storage Organization Ideas

Looking for ways to store your beautiful collection of decorative planner paperclips? Check out the three methods I’ve used over the years to organize these planner accessories. Plus one of those storage organization ideas worked the best…find out which one!

It’s one of those things I love to do……organize. Getting things organized throughout Behind the Designs Home makes me giddy with happiness. To some it might seem like cleaning and to be fair in some sense it is. But to me it’s more. It’s a chance to organize like items, filter and clean. When I organize I go into a very focused mindset that is very soothing almost like meditation. Let’s just call it yoga for the mind. I block out everything that is not the task at hand and I always come out victorious. Which gives me a great sense of satisfaction.

One area in my home office / craft room that desperately needed attention was my decorative planner paperclips. I had begun to grow quite a collection of beautiful decorative paperclips and they were in various places throughout my craft room. While I knew exactly where each on was, it just didn’t make sense to have them in 3-4 different locations.

Once I decided on how I wanted to display and store them, the process was pretty simple. This last attempt (3rd times a charm, right?!) at organizing my paperclip collection has worked wonderfully and it is still the same system today.

This current organization system consists of just two supplies: a white plastic bin and pieces of scrapbook paper. That’s it!

Benefits of Paperclip Storage Basket

• As I collect more decorative paperclips this system is expandable. Currently this basket is holding 43 pieces of scrapbook paper with at least 3-4 paperclips per card and I still have room to add more.
• It’s easy to see and flip through my full decorative paperclip collection.
• I got to use up all those extra pieces of scrapbook paper I’ve had laying around.
• The basket has handles so it can easily be carried around my craft room or the house.

At some point I will filter through my current collection as I’ve always done and probably replace with new paperclips that fit with what I’m currently crushing on. When that time comes I’ll have, I’m sure, a bunch of paperclips that will need a new home.

The good news is that I don’t expect to have to change my paperclip organization system again since this basket organization method is so expandable. Now if I want to change it to be more creative, that’s a different story. But I think I’ll always be using this basket to hold or archive my decorative paperclips.

Supplies Needed for Paperclip Storage Basket

• Y-weave small decorative storage basket (Brand: Room Essentials from Target) -or-
• Small Weave Storage Basket, 6 pack -or-
• White Plastic Storage Basket, 6 pack
• Several pieces of 4-1/2″ x 6″ scrapbook paper
• Decorative paperclips

Just to show you how far my paperclip organization has grown and changed over the years, let’s take a look at two different methods I used previously to organize my decorative paperclips.

Memorydex Tray

This was my very first planner paperclip organization system. It’s a Heidi Swapp Memorydex Tray. Although I bought this tray to create beautiful memorydex cards for it to hold, at the time I needed it for my paperclips.

While it worked for my paperclip collection…after a while it got to be too crowded and became difficult to flip through the cards. Now that I’ve moved my ever-expanding planner paperclips to their new storage solution I can start using the memorydex for its’ intended purpose.

Craft Storage Drawer

My second paperclip storage solution was to use one of my craft room storage drawers. I simply measured the drawer and cut a polyethylene foam sheet board to fit. Then it was just a matter of organizing the paperclips into the drawer which I did by similarity and/or color. Since it would’ve been difficult to see the paperclips, I simply put the decorative paperclips in at an angle backwards. This allowed me to easily see the paperclips when I opened the drawer (which was below standing height).

This paperclip collection organization system was actually a really nice one because when I wanted to hide them away…all I just had to do was close the drawer. The biggest downfall to this drawer system was that as my collection grew, I out-grew the one drawer; or I would’ve had to clean out another drawer (which then displaces the items that were in that drawer).

As I wrote this post it got me thinking about other ways you could store your decorative paperclips. The ideas are really endless but I’ll list a few below as they may work for you.

Other Methods to Store Decorative Paperclips

• 3-ring binder. Use scrapbook paper with three lines cut across the paper (don’t cut past 1/2″-1″ from each edge), hole punch and start adding your paperclips.
• Plastic drawer storage bins on top of your desk. You can easily find these at most stores and craft stores. Don’t forget to check out makeup drawers too. They can be used for more than just makeup.
• Frames. This will require a little more creativity but you can do it! You can use paper or cloth material. Depending on the height of the frame you will want to create 3-4 rows of folded paper, layering each one on top of the next. Each “fold” area is where you will put your paperclips onto. The idea is to create a “stadium” seating kind of graduation with the paper. You can either glue it or staple it to the back board that came with the frame. Then just put the frame back together without the glass in it. Then add your paperclips and viola!

If you are inspired to create a DIY paperclip storage solution don’t forget to share by tagging me on Instagram and using #btdinspired, I’d love to see your work (and I just might repost your photo)!

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