Ribbon Mayhem No More

For at least ten years I’ve had scraps of ribbon hanging around. I’ve gotten ribbon grab bags at places like Hobby Lobby or Gardenridge or Big Lots. I love to look at them, play with them, tie up lovely packages, use them for random tasks like tethering the kid-proof cabinet lock key near the related cabinet. But I have always had a problem figuring out what to do with them. They jumbled up and made a mess and tangled and it was hard to tell how much I had of a color and keep them all together. I tried rolling them up and pinning them a la Martha, but the pins don’t stay easily, it leaves a pinhole, and you can’t tell how much of it you have. I tried hanging them on a tie hanger, a standard coat hanger, winding them around wrapping paper spools, rolling them about jumbo embroidery thread-type holders and finally just rolled them up and squished them into a shoebox because I was just annoyed with my inability to think of a reasonable solution.

And finally, it came to me. I can organize by color, pull just one out when I want it, and move them all easily from room to room and from place to place within a craft area. Easy to replace one if I decide not to use it. Lots of room for plenty of new ones. Aaaah, so satisfied to have solved the problem with a simple pant hanger. Make a simple loop, once around the hanger, through the loop, pull the length through. Stand back and admire. Have a little chocolate treat to congratulate yourself on solving a long-term problem. Shake your head at yourself for not coming up with it sooner. Say, 9.5 years ago.

Susan