I was talking with a group of stampers the other day and the topic of punch storage came up. I thought I’d share with you all how I store my punches. For me it’s just so efficient.
First off, I do have a handy and sometimes creative husband. Russ. For years I have hung a clear plastic shoe storage ‘bag’ (?) on the back of a door and placed my punches where normally a shoe would go. When we moved permanently to our ‘cabin’ in 2003, Russ upgraded that shoe holder.
The three rings at the top of the holder have large screw through them, attaching them to studs in the door. It’s a cheapish hollow core door but it does have those stud strips for strength and support.
The addition to the shoe holder thing on this door is the strips of wood between the rows. They were measured, painted to match the door, and then secured to those same studs. That step keeps the holder from flapping out when the door is opened or closed. And those boards offer strength to each pouch. I’ve had this shoe holder on the door for 15 years now and before that I had it for at least five years in the home we left in San Jose CA. When it’s reinforced with those extra strips of wood it becomes very sturdy. Unfortunately I only have one door!
I do sell some of my retired punches and keep a few others in a box in a drawer. Current catalog punches I store in an Elfa drawer right behind where I sit at my work table. I keep those isolated so (1) I can find them quickly and (2) I remember to use them while they’re current!
If you’re interested, take a peak at my stampin’ space/studio that I revamped two years ago. It’s full of ‘history’ from my children’s diaper cabinet, to a Folsom Prison mail sorter (that’s outside in the entryway), to ‘found’ cabinets and open shelf unit, to Elfa storage that’s been through 3 homes and many incarnations….. And those cupboards that are built into the wall under 3 slanted windows: Russ and I built them into ‘dead wall space’ before we moved up to the cabin as full time residents. By the way……if you peeked into my stampin’ studio post…. we did finally get a work table top: a mega-heavy solid core 8′ x 4′ door which we painted a clean fresh white.
And that’s the story of how I store my punches. 🙂 I really welcome questions and comments.
Funny you should post this, Blythe. I store my punches the same way. However, just had to get a new one because the old one crashed! Heard such a noise, I thought someone had driven through the garage door or something. All my punches and the worn out holder on the floor in a heap! We decided since that one had lasted so long, may as well just get a new one. The way Russ reinforced yours in genius…and surely eases the load on the hangers over the door top. Thanks for the inspiration.
Russ is my brainchild, always finding a way to make inexpensive items more efficient and effective, as in those supports drilled into the door all the way down. At first, I thought it was overkill until I saw the brilliance of it all. And he just said (I was reading your comment to him) that he put the first one up to stop the banging of the whole holder against the door. Then the lightbulb went on that those supports were providing great extra support in addition to stopping the banging.