Organization: Cricut Cartridges

I started "officially" crafting after watching a few Cricut videos on YouTube.  That was 4 years ago.  After watching many more videos in YouTube, buying a Cricut, cartridges, and other craft-related supplies, I realized that when I sit down to do a project, I spend more time trying to remember where things are, than actually creating.  Partly because I think I have too much stuff for my needs right now (gasp!!!), but also because I don't get to craft often, that I tend to forget what I do and don't have.

I noticed that most of my craft room "real estate" was taken up by my Cricut cartridges.  I have over 150 of them, and all of them are still in their original boxes.  And some are even unopened.  Here, take a look:

I searched the Internet for Cricut cartridge organization ideas, and stumbled upon this method.  She created little cardboard containers for each cartridge, then organized them on boxes.  You can check out her blog post and video here.  

It was genius.  I cut the SVG file of the cartridge "containers" (also on her blog) on white cardstock using my Silhouette Cameo.  It wasn't too bad -- it took me probably a whole night to finish cutting and assembling all of the "containers."  I also made labels using my label maker (font is "Small").  And I stocked up on refills, although I think I ended up using a little less than 2 label refills for this project.

The hardest part for me was throwing away the original cartridge boxes (seriously, but please don't judge).  I got over that initial hesitation, however, and the results were well worth it.  I was able to fit 84 cartridges in a box, which I got here.  From occupying a nearly a full shelf in my craft room to this:

I kept the handbooks and overlays in these boxes, which I got here.  I triedd to fit the same number of handbooks and overlays in each box (84 each).  It was great that I had a mix of different cartridges, with Lite handbooks.

And then for my active project (I am currently working on r's baby book), I'm keeping all the cartridges, handbooks, and overlays in this box.

I'm so happy that I found this method of storing cartridges.  Now I know exactly what I have, and can easily reach for what I need.

Give this method a try, and let me know what you think.

Thanks for looking, and have a great day!