Which do you sort/organize them by? Problems/issues? What do you use to store your tubes/boxes/bags of beads?

Right now, I have them separated by size first. Then within a size, I separate them by shape (round, triangle, hex). For the round ones, I then separate them by finish (all colorlined will be in one group, all silverlined in another, etc.) I am starting to do some projects where I want the same color/finish in multiple sizes. I have to dig through the different boxes to get them.

I am also using the small paper boxes that I found at work for small electronics parts to store them. Unfortunately, they are all different sizes/shapes. I am looking for suggestions on something that can 'grow' with my collection but allow me to easily see my tubes of beads. Of course, cheap is always good.

Anita R.

 

 

I'm not sure if there is a good way to sort your seed beads, because there will always be a time when the ones you want are in different boxes! 

But for storage I use these clear plastic cases with little flip top lid containers in them - like a tictac container.  The tictac type container come in three different sizes.  Everything is clear so colours are easily seen.  I stick a small sticker to the bottom of the tictac type container so I know what colour is in it (I have delicas - so they all have numbers), then I keep similar colours together in the cases.

I bought the cases and containers from my local bead store but I noticed they had them on fusionbeads.com.  Have a look at them - they might have them at your local bead store too.

http://www.fusionbeads.com/shop/productchart/638/

Good luck!

Beccie

I love the fliptop containers. FoxDen Designs ships their bead orders in these, and lists a source on their website if you want to buy the empty fliptops and the accompanying storage boxes (they used to offer them on the FoxDen site). I ordered some empty flip top containers and storage boxes from Out on a Whim in November or December, but haven't had a chance to transfer things yet.

I reorganized my bead stash a few weeks ago, and have all the 15/o's together, all the 11/o's and all the Delicas. I use zip lock bags to keep things organized by size/color and store these in a standing postion in plastic sweater boxes, but I really like the flip top containers. They take up less room, plus you can see what you have at a glance. I was a little disappointed that the beads that I ordered from Out on a Whim came in tubes and not in the flip top containers. Had I known, I'd have ordered the beads from FoxDen, just to get the containers!

The majority of my Delicas came from ArtBeads. I don't like the plastic bags they use (and will end up transferring these to the fliptop containers), but the price of the beads is very reasonable when you need a small amount of beads, in a LOT of colors (shipping is free). Rhonda

I'm also trying to reorganize my yarn stash and get rid of some things that are just taking up space at this point.

I also keep mine in flip-tops, and then in those 4"x6" plastic boxes.  I try to sort them by color, but then when I'm choosing colors for a project I have 20 containers out so they all end up back in the wrong place anyway, LOL.

One thing that I do with my seed beads is I tape a label on each flip-top with the bead color AND the name of the place where I bought it.  I've found that the same name can be a completely different color if you buy it from another place (and even sometimes from the same place, but that's another story...)

Cat

Am I supposed to organize them??  Oh my.

I've tried several ways over the years, and am at the moment using 1 inch deep stackable jewelers trays, which hold the long tubes side by side, perfectly, with a small amount of space at the top or bottom for irregular size tube shapes.  I have them stacked in color/shade order.   This along with my rolling 5 drawer cart of beads and findings seems to be working well for me - keeping my personal stash separate from the beads in my shop.  Although somedays, the shop beads like to visit the personal beads - then we have havoc!

 

I have my seed beads organized by country first, then by size or type.

For example my czechs are by size then color, I separate out bugles or hex shapes.

The Japanese beads are by normal seed then delica. 

I like flip tops, but tubes work better for larger numbers of grams.

I also suggest looking at coin collector supplies for coin tubes. Much easier to stack, hold more beads and are more hearty than flip tops.

I like the screw on tops, too.

 

My entire stash of beads is sorted by color.  This is the easiest way to find what I am looking for. 

My solution for storing seed beads is a bit crude, but effective.  I use any kind of small clear plastic container I can get my hands on.  Keeping the colors, sizes, & cuts separate is very important to me.

I did win a Bead Pavillion a while back and its good for small amounts of seeds or delica tubes from Fire Mountain.  With the delicas, I always record the DB # on the package.  However, Bead Pavillions are expensive and I would have never bought one for myself.  The little tubes used with this only hold about 10g of seeds, max.

I buy alot of dynamites (matsunos) and keep them in the small plastic boxes they come in.  For other seed finds, like hanks, I use the smallest (snack-sized) ziploc baggies.  I store all these little boxes and bags in larger resealble plastic boxes (shoebox size) .  If anything spills (and it has!) its confined to the container and not all over the room.  In this emergency, I can easily pour my spillage into a small baggie with ease. 

BTW, I really like the plastic coin tube suggestion! 
 

  I use the "Craft Mates" totes that have 6 trays with 14 locking (like pill reminders)spaces in each tray. I order my delicas from FMG and they come in the tubes which I empty, into the totes.That makes 84 places in one tote for my 11/o Delicas (Each section holds approx. 35-40 or more grams of 11/0's).  I have 4 of these totes almost full, I used a silver Sharpie to number the tote and I used a Dymo Labelmaker to put the Delica number on each section. I have them sorted numerically by Delica numbers. That way I easily find what I need for a project. I was surprised I learned some of the colors by their numbers and can pick what tote they're in easily. Hubby bought me a large Scrapbookers tote for my beads. It has 6 sectioned drawers, rolls on wheels, and holds a ton of beads, findings, whatever I need.

  For my findings, I have 2 metal boxes that have the little round containersmwith clear tops, that I can store in a side pocket of the totes. For my bigger beads, I use a basic lidded plastic box with sections, same for my buttons, separated by colors.

  For the 15/o, 10/o and 8/o Delicas, that I get from Foxden, I keep them in the flip-tops, but store in wooden cigar boxes. They lay neatly on their sides and I can quickly find what I need.

For crystals and fire-polished, I have the "Need a Bead Now" totes from Fire mountain. I store a lot of different beads in the bigger "Need a Bead Now", and a little in the smaller. I keep the smaller tote more or less empty, so I can take it if I am out to Dr. Appts, and such.

I have a smaller toolbox for my wire and my tools. I use a fishing tackle box with lots of drawers and sections to store other beads I have. The top of this was perfect for more findings, glues, needles, spools of Power Pro(fishing line, hello...) etc. I have seen the exact same box advertised online at certain bead stores for twice what I paid at Walmart. (Plano is the brand). Check out the fishing and tackle sections of your hardware store or local discount stores. Lot's of cool stuff in fishing section to organize with, create with and of course, beading thread options.

I don't buy a lot of hanks of beads, so I don't need to hang them. I store them in little Ziplocs with beads of similar colors or by planned projects.

I do have a storage box that is almost full of empty tubes that my Delicas came in. I use a few for odd and end pieces, but still have a ton that I have to figure out how to use or sell or some other way get rid of them. At least they aren't taking up a lot of room.

I just realized how chaotic it may seem, but I can usually find what I need n a short amount of time. I know what's where and  I go from there. I keep most of these storage pieces near me and when it get's out of control, I straighten it up and start all over again.

I like the fliptop containers for 11s.  I have an old art box that I keep them in-upside down(make sure the lid is tight) so I can see the color.  I made rows in the box from foam core board so they stay nicely lined up then I can sort by color. For bugles, 8s, and drops I have seperate craftmate trays that have the snap tight lids on each section.  For larger beads and findings I have the  divided trays

I have a tackle box with removable dividers and I put my seed beads together by size. One of my little sections has mixed seed beads in it. The seed beads in that section I bought were from Craft Warehouse. Then in my other sections I keep blues, reds, greens, yellows and many other colors in the same dividers. To get beads out for a project I have a little scoop that I scoop out beads with and I put them in a old plastic lid that I found in my kitchen. I use a needle and a old piece of thread to pick out the beads. When I'm done with the beads, or if I have extra I just take the needle off the string, stick the string in the divided section and take the beads off that aren't needed.

Just thought I would say what I do.

Thanks for reading my reply.!
-Keitra

Hi Keitra :)

I'm a plastic lid user too! 

When working with multiple colors of seeds, I like using the little plastic lids that come with yogurt for each color.  Its so easy to pick up the seeds with your needle -- as you know, its just a shallow tray with a raised lip to prevent wandering beads.

When you're done, they're bendable enough to pour the remainder back into the container or if there are just a few seeds, still easy enuf to return into a tube or box.

I've recently started using rectangular shoebox lids to keep individual projects separate.  Because of my retail day job, I have a nearly inexhaustable supply of these, and its working out very well :)

Kim 

CoolMoon,

Your stackable jeweler's trays appeal to me.  I tried to find some on-line, but everything I see is divided for earrings, bracelets, rings, etc.  Can you help me find the trays you're describing?

Thanks!

I organize my beads by color only i dont care about size because i use many diffrent sizes at once   I have all my beads in the plano boxes as they fit my room and my husband and are avid fisher people and the plano tackle boxes just worked i have an empty plano box for my resent project and put all my beads there till i am done with project this way i am not digging for beads but i know that there are times that an idea just pops and you have to go digging but that is really the fun of beading 

I'm starting to think I have too many beads.

No way could I afford that many tackle boxes!

ack! 

I used a mixed approach.  Since I bought a lot of seed beads at a closeout (hundreds of tiny boxes), I bought snapware and have them sorted by color groups (blues, greens, purples, reds/pinks, metallic, etc.).  I have the 11s and 6s together.  I keep all the 8s in one box - I find I use them differently.

 My cylinder beads, Delicas and Toho Treasures are in a 2 quart container.  I expect that collection to grow the fastest.

 I use the Plano boxes to sort accent beads (glass beads, etc) by colors.  I have some plano large boxes for the gemstones (no real method of sorting there), the Swarovski has its own box (going to have to buy one more.)  And seperate boxes for findings - clasps, end tubes, jump rings, etc.

 I do have project boxes - small craft lunchboxes with tools and stringing material (a seperate one for bead weaving threads and needles).  Then I put what I need for my next projects in an empty one.  I try to put my toys away - but I'm never really done playing with them.

 

Louise

I bought those 3 drawer storage containers with rollers and I keep my beeds together by color.  That's all.  If it's white it's in the white drawer, purple...you get the idea.  This works best for me, as color seems to be the driving force in my beading and anything more is just to organized for me.

Mary

I had to share this idea that has worked the best for me. I got it from Robin Atkins website, robinatkins.com. You can find it there, along with many other helpful ideas, listed under "free tips". Basically, I put each color seed bead in 2x3.5", 4 mil bags (those are twice as thick as the normal 2mil bags we generally use). As Robin states and I have found to be true, these heavier bags don't crack at the seams with constant use and movement. I sort them by size and shape (delicas, 11's, bugles, etc.) and further sort them by color. I put a "comfortable" number of the 2x3.5 bags into ziploc sandwich bags for easy access and store the ziploc bags in plastic shoe boxes that stack on my shelves. I created labels for the boxes to let me know what size and shape I have in that particular box. As my seed bead collection grew, I tried various methods of sorting and storage. This is by far the best one for me and has served me for years as my collection continues to grow. I have found it to be the easiest method for locating and returning beads. Of course, as with all things bead related, different strokes for different folks. mary

 Since we mostly sell patterns and kits, we need access to our beads all the time for different kits. We hunted high and low for CLEAR plastic containers to contain them in. Purchased several different types of containers from Ziploc to Tupperware, and never found anything that was clear enough to see the actual color of the beads that were in it without having to take the lid off.

We have a "wall of seed beads" that takes-up one whole wall in our office, but is very pretty to look at.

We live on 40 acres in the mountains, and only get to town about once a week to go grocery shopping. We shop at Safeway because they have a nice deli there that serves hot food, and we always have the munchies by the time we get there. (An hour from home). They always give us our food in these CLEAR PLASTIC CONTAINERS WITH LIDS! We had never thought of it before, but these are perfect. So...........we asked the lady behind the deli counter if she would sell us some, and she said "sure." They come in 3 different sizes, and the same lids fit all the sizes, so we purchased 25 of each size for about $10.00. TOO COOL!

Here are a couple of pictures of them. (Just a small viewing of the selection we carry on-hand). 

To the person that mentioned the yogurt lids.......GREAT IDEA! We mostly use pretty saucers that we find in 2nd hand stores and have found them to work well. When we travel, our designer carries a little metal tin with her that has some of her beading projects in it to keep her occupied while we are driving. The lid works-out great as her "table", and when she needs to put it away, it's quick and simple to clean-up.

Anyway........the best of luck to you in sorting these little buggers out.

Happy Beading!

*~*BeadShark*~* 

 

Wow i could only wish to have that many beads. Such pretty colors.