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No one told you that part of having a planner would be the rapidly growing sticker collection. Sticker organization is not as easy as you would think.
Your brain just can’t wrap around all the different ways that you could organize your stickers.
- by color
- by theme
- by size
- by collection (the original way they came)
- mixed and matched by holiday
See what I mean? That is just the tip of the iceberg. The issue starts to be the overlap in themes. Where does the sticker go that is animal themed and mostly green? My brain explodes over the decision of adding it to the “animal” section or the “green section”.
Saving Time Searching for Stickers
Sticker organization isn’t just about how your categorize your stickers. It is also about how you store your stickers.
Ultimately, it is about how quickly you can find what you are looking for so you can finish that planner spread and actually…you know…get to planning.
When you only have a few sticker books, the choices are so much easier. But as your collection grows, the time you spend looking for that one specific sticker also grows.
How do you organize stickers?
There are a handful of ways to organize your stickers that you will find when you start researching.
- photo albums
- recipe or photo boxes with tab dividers
- envelopes
- labeled craft drawers
You might end up trying a few different variations. Just because it looks pretty, does not mean it is always a functional way that works for you. Try it on a small scale and tweak as you go.
I have done a few things with my stickers in the past, including a HUGE scrapbook binder. Ask me how often I hauled that thing out.
Category Lists for Stickers
There are a number of ways you can organize your stickers when it comes to themes. Mix and match based on some of the following. Add in categories that you seem to look for frequently (or that you have a bunch of).
- labels, frames, and borders: these are generic stickers that could be used for multiple seasons/themes
- Colors
- Mother’s Day, Father’s Day
- Boy/Girl
- Valentine’s
- Spring
- Summer
- Disney
- Animals (Cats, Dogs, Birds, etc.)
- Outdoors
- School
- Fall/Halloween/Thanksgiving
- Christmas
- Quotes and phrases
- Alphabets
- Birthday
- Sports
- Anniversary
- Friendship
- Travel
- Vacation
- Floral
- Hobbies
- Characters (princess, Mickey, etc.)
- Work
- Household
- Budget/Bills
- Weather
- Mood
- TV/Movies
- Shopping
- Books
- Planning
- Food/Meal Planning
How do I organize my happy planner stickers?
Happy Planner stickers are bound in their own sticker book format. This works great, until the pages start to fall out. Or you are down to just a few pages and they take up more space and energy than they are worth.
You will notice the tops tied through the hole on the top of HP sticker books. This can be used for categorizing (like all the red are Christmas) but it is also really handy for keeping those loose sticker pages inside the book.
NOTE: You can also cut off the elastic binder that holds the book closed and use this to tie through the hole at the top of your sticker book.
The Happy Planner company has created storage boxes to hold all your sticker books. Depending on how large your collections are…you might need a few.
I have mine stored in a rigid canvas tote that I grabbed at Lowe’s a few years ago. I’m sure this will change as my collection grows.
One sticker organization method a lot of Happy Planners use is to tear books apart and then put them back together on planner discs, in themes that make sense for them. Every day planning, colors, holidays, etc.
How do you store sticker collections?
Sticker collections storage is as unique as the stickers that you choose to use. They can also change. Especially as your collection grows and changes. Little stickers. Huge sticker pages. Alphabet stickers (why are these so hard to sort and organize?!).
Depending on the size of your sticker sheet, you may need to adjust the page to work in your organizing system. The other option is to mix and match. Have a variety of storage solutions.
Browse through these stickers organization ideas and see which one speaks to you. Pick a few that work in the space you have for keeping your planner supplies and accessories.
How long do unused stickers last?
The type of material a sticker was printed on and the ink used will determine the life of a sticker. The average “lifespan” of an unused sticker is about 5 years.
The older a sticker is, the more likely it will have started to lose it adhesive quality.
From experience, I know that Avery labels really don’t stick that well after 7 or so years. And that Xyron sticker maker refills should NOT be purchased in bulk and used after 10 years.
The moral of sticker life and storage: don’t hoard them. Use those babies up and get yourself some new fresh ones as needed.
In the past I used my Canon MG3522 to print bumper stickers but after changing brands of sticker paper, the printer no longer prints the sticker. It’ll print a recipe, but no sticker! I heard Canon was good for stickers but there are others. Do you know of good printers for these little gems? Thank you!!
I have used an HP with InstaInk for the past 6 years. Not sure about glossy sticker paper for bumper stickers. They are pretty reasonably priced so it might be a good option to try. I had issues with Canon printers and the ink being used up during the “cleaning” cycle.
I’m looking for a suggested list of categories to sort my stickers into a filing system.! Lao wouls like advice on how you separate stickers that are on same page but wouls be canopied differently. Like quotes and boxes
I am looking for a list of categories as well. Did you have any luck with that?
I have added a list of the most common categories to the blog post. Hopefully, that helps.
As for ones that are on the same page, if they are single pages, I might go with an envelope system and cut them apart. Then categorize them from there.