Dawbis is a self-taught artist with an obsession with paper. She currently resides in Texas with her husband and kitty and is working toward a degree in environmental science so that she can one day help to save the world! While she struggles to continue making art due to her studies, she manages to get creative with decorating her new home and growing flowers in her garden. You can find her work and thoughts online at lovelypaper.blogspot.com.

Trying to organize paper is like trying to organize your life. There is just no easy way to go about it. Typically there’s more of it than you have room for and attempting to square away all the patterns, textures, and colors of paper can be frustrating as hell, to say the least. Seriously, if you’re not careful you may find yourself buried in a monstrous chaotic pile with a paper cut or eight.

Then again, having a paper collection provides you the opportunity to be creative. How you decide to organize and display it ultimately comes down to what you’re comfortable with and while there are numerous ways you can organize your paper collection, allow me to make a small suggestion: keep it all out in the open.

I know that you’re probably thinking I am little crazy, but trust me, this way you’re forced to maintain it all. Rather than hiding all of your lovely paper away in drawers or closets, use open shelving, cubbies, baskets, glass jars and/or corkboards. For that extra bit of character and charm, purchase these items at second hand and vintage shops whenever possible. The key is to choose two attributes of the paper that you like best, such as color and size, and then go crazy with placement. You’ll be surprised how much color and depth this method can add to your office or studio space. Just remember to have fun; there are no rules! Before you know it you won’t mind sharing your clutter with the whole world and keeping things neat and tidy won’t feel like a chore.