Scrap Sew Along - Storage Tips

First things first - I tried so many different tips & tricks for scrap storage from different blogs the first two years of my creative journey.  
So. Many.
Everything below is what works for me!  I highly suggest you play around with multiple ideas & find what works for you. These are your scraps, so my storage tips might not be best for you.  But I do hope some of them help! 

With that in mind, I have a semi-small space.  My sewing room used to be the formal dining room, so it is 7x10'. 
I try to cram as much in the space as I can while using it wisely.  I mean, I do have to be able to turn around & walk from one part to another. 😉

I also split my scraps up into sections to help with the spacing.
I break them up into the following 
- solids
- rouge fat quarters 
- large scraps
- small scraps
- backing cuts

Solids are folded, stacked & arranged in rainbow order.  This stack is everything from 6"x18" and up.  It is roughly 22" tall.  I've got "solid quilts" on the list of things to tackle this year to help make it a bit shorter.

The smaller solid scraps .... are literally on the floor at the moment.
They used to be in two project boxes stacked on a shelf, but I needed the boxes for projects... so my 5 year old sorted them by colour & arranged them by my design wall. 

They'll be off the floor soon, but I've actually been grabbing them for various projects over the last month or so that they've been chilling there.

(See why I said play around & use what works for you?? I don't want you to throw things on the floor & blame me 😂)

I also keep my rouge fat quarters separate on a shelf, similar to the solids. Folded, stacked & arranged by colour.

The majority of my scraps are stored in two different buckets (the same size, but located on opposite sides of the room).  I used to cut down the scraps to strips & squares, 2 1/2" and up in one bucket, 1-2" in the other.
But I've found that if I precut them, I can't use them for whatever pattern comes my way & requires a different size.
So now, whatever size it is when I'm done with the project is the size it gets tossed in.
I still keep them separated by 2 1/2" & up vs 1-2 1/4" though. 

This has proved to be my most useful way of sorting.  All fat eighths or smaller go in the buckets, and whenever the lids don't fit anymore, I make a quilt featuring that set of colours.

My "big" scraps are stored under my ironing station.

The "small" scraps are stored under a hall table tucked away in a corner, just outside of my sewing room.  My husband only sometimes rolls his eyes at them living there.

There is one other set of scraps I have & this is probably the least organized of them all.  Mostly because I end up going through them about once a week to pull out something or another.

Meet........ the backings bucket.

This houses every thing from half yard cuts (and up) to loooong skinny cuts.  Anything that is cut off or left over from a backing goes in this bucket.  
Folded, loosely sorted by colour.

There's wide back cutoffs, remnant purchases that I haven't found the right quilt for, left overs from when I purchased too much, and those loooooooooooong bits from the sides of the quilts.  (That shark fabric is 7" x 85") 
All of these typically get reincorporated back into quilt backs - but I'll be talking more about them in a few weeks when we tackle pieced backings.

Most importantly, when I get overwhelmed with scraps I sift through them & get them out of the house. 
A bunch go to my sister, who makes headbands with them. 
Others get put up for grabs on Instagram. 
Hard to find, old prints & specific designers get bundled together & put up for sale in my destash.
Others go as stuffing for dog beds, small pillows & pin cushions.  
It helps to get rid of stuff sometimes!! And it feels good to see if used by others. 

I bought all my little scrap buckets at Target - Sterilite 6qt Clear View Storage Bin.

There's tons of other quilters out there who talk about how they store things, too.  Some with even more scraps than me! 
A few to check out are
Erika (she's got highlights on Instagram regarding hers) 
Amy - Diary of a Quilter 
Jeni - In Color Order
Caroline - She Can Sew
Andrea - Quilting for 4