Wood for miniature projects has a tendancy to be fragile. Some pieces of wood more so than others. Also if wood is longer - like sheets or molding these can bend over time and that will cause warping.
Long Wood and Molding
One storage solution for wood particularly long pieces like molding is to use tubes. I did this using cardboard tubes like from the inside of wrapping paper. Add paper to one end and adhere to the sides. Then allow them to stand upright in a wastepaper basket or box. When ready to use them, I picked up the tube emptying it out onto my table and picked the piece or pieces I needed. I know that some use this idea only they cut the tubes shorter so the wood sticks out a bit. Also they choose to lay on their side (to help with the warping).
Later on I purchased a batch of wood to make kits with. The wood just so happen to come in a really nice size box for laying longer pieces of wood inside. That is what I use today for any longer pieces that will fit. So far I haven't outgrown this box.
For other wider pieces I also have a long narrow plastic bag. I got the bag full of various types and thickness of wood at an estate sale of a miniaturist. This has worked quite well to avoid warping as some of the wood in the bag is really thick and the combination of them together is keeping them from bending. But I don't necessarily recommend this. If warping is a problem, then laying wood flat in on a shelf is a good idea.
Wood bits
I used to have a drawer in my drawer cabinet full of various pieces leftover from my projects. This drawer over time morphed into a second drawer. One day I realized I had another solution available that would save me time sorting through the drawer. I am all about saving time.
My solution was to use a divided plastic box. This one was a leftover from my work and it didn't have a lid. Actually have two of them. I sorted all my smaller pieces by shape and similar in size and used the dividers that you add in to have sections as needed.
In the second box, I added my longer scale lumber but still fit into these boxes. These were in special packs that were sold in a hobby shop. This was a case of using what I have on hand to fit the need that I currently have.
Now when I need a wood bit not only am I saving time not looking through a jumble in a drawer or two, I am also saving money because I don't cut more from a longer piece that I actually had a short leftover. The shorter leftover previously would have been over looked until later and I realized I had cut a longer piece un-necessarily.
I will say though I have gotten lazy and during a clean up I added a bunch of wood bits to a box and just set that in with the other trays. This could use some sorting one day when I think about doing it.
Come
back tomorrow for another organizing idea during my 31 days of organizing.
Happy
Miniature Organizing!
Preble
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