Best ways to organize recyclables for craft supplies

Recycling is not just great because it can save work and money on the products that we buy. It can also be a free source of things that you can use to make craft projects out of. Figuring out a way to organize all of those recyclables can, however, be a difficult task for the person whp has little experience in this area. There are an almost unlimited number of ways. Here are just a few of them.

1) Organizing things according to their material type
One way of keeping your recyclables together is according to the physical materials out of which they are made. Keep tin and other metal cans in one place, cardboard boxes in another, newspapers and other papers in another, and so on. Such a method of arranging items has its advantages. Different crafts projects often require different materials. You could not, for instance, use metallic objects for something that calls for cardboard or paper or other substance that you can paint on; paint will not stick easily to a metal surface. You might also feel that you need or just prefer to work with a particular type of material.

2) Organizing things according to their shape or color
The shapes and colors of objects are two other ways of categorizing and organizing them. Sometimes a particular shape is the best or only possibility for ylour project. If you are making a kaleidoscope or a small telescope, for instance, then your only choice will naturally be something cylindrical, such as a paper towel roll. Shape and color are not as important as material, however, as you can cut things to the desired shape or paint them in the desired color.

3) Organizing things according to what you would like to do with them
You may find that you personally prefer to use certain types of things for certain projects. You might for instance prefer plastic containers to tin cans even though they both are cylindrical.

4) Organizing things according to their size
Size is another big category for organizing purposes. Some projects call for small items like beads, while others call for larger ones like cans or cardboard pieces. Try and form a definite size range for the purposes of grouping. An example would be things less than an inch across; things from one to five inches across; and things six inches or bigger across. As with shape and color, there are things that you can cut and so reduce to the size which you desire.

5) Organizing things according to more than one category
Things can be organized by two or more groups. As an example you could put round things made of plastic in one place, round things made of metal in another and cubical things made of metal in another. When grouping things in this manner it is best to have a system that enables you to find things easily. That is, after all, the very purpose of having an organizational system. In the above example, it would be a good idea to have round things made of metal next to both round things made of plastic and cubical things made of metal.

6) Subcategorizing
An even better way of organizing is having things within the same group classified even further according to their peculiar characteristics. This means that within the space that you have set aside for plastic things, you will have separate places for metallic, plastic and wooden things or for objects of different sizes or shapes.

7) Things that can help you stay organized
There are many ways in which you can systematize the way you keep your recyclables together. You can buy yourself plastic bins, cardboard boxes, trash cans, cabinets or shelves, putting labels onto each of them so that you can tell at a glance what goes where. Keep those containers so that you can easily get to them—e.g. do not stack bins on top of each other.
In the end it does not really matter which method of organizing you choose. What is really important is that you use a system that makes sense to you so you can things when you want to use them.
Author Bio
Becky Harris writes for U-Pack portable storage containers, of the ABF Family of Companies helping families stay organized and run smoothly!