Now that there are a bunch of new and returning sewists thanks to the covid-19 pandemic, due to either mask making or downtime due to the shelter in place, people have lots of questions about sewing. This takes me back to the late 2000’s when I really got into sewing and even went to earn a dressmaking and costume making certificate at Cañada College (still in progress, I got distracted by a new horse!). Back then we had so many amazing sewing blogs, and we had google reader to manage and read them all. (RIP google reader, I’m still heartbroken. But newsblur is a good replacement.)
Anyway, I’m going to start linking to some of the best old and new blogs I can remember and find when appropriate, but I’m going to answer today’s question “what are your must-have storage and organization items.”
What you are going to need is some sort of toolbox. For going back and forth to school I used several literal toolboxes, which I wrote about here (I haven’t decided how to integrate the old content with this site yet) but at home, almost ten years later, this is still my favorite tool organizer:
Most sewing cabinets have a nice set of drawers built in, but the are small and deep. I like this cabinet because the drawers are wide and shallow, which mostly keeps me from burying things.
second drawer: needles, pins, pressure feet, and random things 
third drawer: sewing thread 
fourth drawer: serger thread 
top drawer: small tools and cutting tools.
Other things I’m liking for organization these days are the ziplock storage containers to collect small items together, like the threads I’m currently using for mask making. I made myself a tote to hang on the door knob for large rulers and straight edges, and I keep my fabric in 12 gallon ikea samla boxes on an ivar shelving system, as seen in the background above.
There are lots of different types of rolling carts out there, and a few from the container store that have tempted me over the years. I’m not sure what I would use to replace my cart if I had to. I hope that sharing what I use helps you find the perfect system for your own use!