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Do you love coloring but your markers, pens, and pencils are just all over the place?
Maybe it’s you, or your kids, or all of you love coloring! But the place is always a mess.
No worries! There are lots of ways to organize pens, pencils and markers. So smile…
But before we go to all that, let’s first tackle the most important one.
Categorize and give each a home.
First and foremost, categorize your coloring goodies. Then have a designated place for each of them.
Like.. this place is for pencils. Then this one here is for pens. And this is for markers.
This way, your coloring supplies are not jumbled.
So when you need a pen, you know where to grab one. And there’s only one place you will be looking for it. You’re not going to look all over the place.
So step one. Don’t leave them all combined. Please don’t leave them all in just one bin! Looking for a particular pen will drive you nuts!
Categorize them. And give each category its own place.
Actually, that’s pretty much it! All of the tips to organize pens, pencils and markers that follow hang on this simple technique.
I will show you different organizing tools. You can choose how you want to arrange your coloring goodies, but the concept is still as simple as categorize and give each a home.
That being said, we are now ready to dive deep into the different arrangements you can do with your coloring supplies.
Let’s do this!
1. Get some mason jars and hang them on a peg board.
You might like this one, using a rope to hang the mason jars. It’s just like a basket. When you need a pen, take the jar from the peg board and get what you need.
Then just put it back up there when you’re done.
Browse for mason jars at Amazon.
2. Plastic cups on peg board is also a great option.
If you don’t like mason jars. Maybe you’re scared they might fall off? Plastic cups is an alternative.
Drill two holes on each of the cups. Then use a zip tie to hold them in the peg board.
3. Recycle tin cans.
Why buy a new organizer when you can make use of what you already have? Like tin cans!
If you have some at home, you can use that to organize pens, pencils and markers. And they’re really handy.
Just give them a little decor. A gift wrapper would suffice. And add some love of course!
Browse for gift wrapping papers at Amazon.
Here’s another one, with a dainty paint decor!
Place those tin cans on your desk, and easily grab a pen, pencil or marker!
Or maybe keep them off the desk! Put in a two-tiered shelf just like this. It’s really up to you.
4. Use an over the door shoe organizer.
I love an over the door shoe organizer! Not because I have lots of shoes to store in it, but because you can put a lot in it other than just shoes!
And one of that is your collection of pens, pencils and markers. This is a really budget-friendly way to organize those coloring goodies!
I would suggest you choose a transparent over-the-door shoe organizer like that one above, so you can easily see your stuff.
Browse for a transparent shoe organizer from Amazon.
5. Buy a cube organizer with cross dividers
Keep your pens lying down but store them vertically with a cross-divider cube organizer!
I like the fact that you can separate your pens even further in these containers.
You can get one like this at Amazon.
6. Keep them in glass jars and arrange in a shelf.
You’ve already seen how hanging mason jars can be really cool in organizing pens, pencils and markers.
But you don’t always have to hang those jars.
You can simply place them in a shelf like this. Use big and small glass jars as appropriate.
You can also use painted mason jars like these!
Believe me… it does add to the inspiration when your mason jars are smiling, and even winking at you!
Browse for glass jars at Amazon.
7. Pen racks and holders are also cool!
Aside from glass jars, you can also use pen racks and holders. It removes the need of having to open the jar. And it’s pretty too!
8. Use simple plastic containers.
Okay this one is so simple. Just get some plastic containers, and use that to organize your pens, pencils and markers!
Using plastic containers is a very practical idea especially when you bring your coloring supplies outside the home.
Like when your kids go to school, you can simply tuck those containers inside their bags.
Or when you travel and you want to color. You can bring your pens, pencils, and markers with you – neatly kept in those containers!
Browse for plastic containers at Amazon.
9. Use mugs or glasses.
Yup! Go to the kitchen and fill those mugs and glasses with pens, pencils and markers.
Okay… just kidding!
But really… why not?
I mean, you can do that if you want, and there’s nothing wrong with that, especially when you are just keeping those mugs and glasses in your cupboard and not really using them.
As long as you still have some left for drinking water and a nice cup of tea (or coffee), you’ll be fine!
Or… you can grab some fun mugs like these and use that instead to organize pens, pencils and markers.
Browse for fun mugs at Amazon.
10. Hang plastic cups on rails.
Here is another way to keep those coloring supplies off your desk. You know… more desk space right?
Install rails on your wall, then hang plastic cups or containers there.
You can hang that just over your desk.
Or straight up on the wall and really maximize that space!
Here’s something like those cups from Amazon.
11. Use a rolling cart.
If you’re bringing your art works all over your house – in the kitchen, dining room, living room, craft room, and even in your bedroom, you’ll need something to make carrying all your craft supplies easy.
That’s where you’ll find a rolling cart handy!
Organize your craft supplies in the cart. Of course that includes your pens, pencils and markers. Put them in cups.
Then roll that cart anywhere you want to craft a masterpiece!
Here’s one like it from Amazon.
Browse for more carts at Amazon.
12. Keep the markers in a suitcase.
Yay! Suitcase.
I never really thought about it. But yes, you can use a suitcase to keep your markers! Just use a grid to hold your markers inside.
13. You can also use a wooden crate.
Same concept with the suitcase – just in a wooden crate this time.
Then display it in a corner – your coloring corner, and you’re all set!
14. Repurpose an old CD organizer, with old CDs too!
If you still have an old CD organizer, along with a few CDs that you’re not using anymore, that is a practical combination for a marker organizer!
Place a CD in every other slot of the CD organizer. Then tuck your markers in between the CDs! Simple!
15. Use a tote or bin.
Don’t buy a tote or bin just yet. You might want to make something like it first.
This one here uses an empty bucket of warehouse club potato salad. So if you have that, or something similar, you can make a tote like this!
Nice room for all those markers!
But of course, if you prefer not to DIY, and if it’s within your budget, you can always buy!
Browse for marker storage bins and totes at Amazon.
16. Keep them all in a drawer, but with dividers.
Dividers help in categorizing your pens, pencils and markers. So don’t keep all of them in a single drawer without those dividers.
Believe me… it will drive you crazy looking for just one pen!
Browse for drawer dividers at Amazon.
17. Invest in a handful of acrylic pen organizers.
You can stack acrylic pen organizers so it’s a great storage solution. The only downside is that it can be expensive.
So check your budget first. Organizing should fit in your budget, not you stretching out your budget just so you can buy the organizer that you want.
Remember that you still have plenty of choices!
Browse for acrylic pen organizers at Amazon.
18. Make a cube shelf.
This shelf was made out of foam boards from the dollar store. So if you think this is expensive, nah… it’s not!
And you can make something like this too!
Here’s another, also made from foam board.
19. Attach under the shelf
Oh this is really cool!
Instead of using the shelf to organize pens, pencils and markers, you take the space underneath!
Attach a wine rack under a shelf. Insert glass or plastic cylinders in the racks. Then fill it up with your coloring goodies!
20. Create a wall organizer.
Maximizing your wall space is a clever move, especially when you lack floor space.
But even if you’ve got lots, using those walls as storage area frees up lots of floor space that you can use for creating art works. Not just for you, but for your kids too!
Color together in that wide space – wider if you take the time to make good use of your walls.
You’ve already seen one or two samples above. but here are a few more samples of using the walls.
And yes, you can do it even without using a peg board!
Look at this!
And this one here uses a wall-mounted pot holder transformed into a pencil container holder.
And this uses a scrap piece of wood to hang the buckets where you organize pens and scissors.
Select the one that best suits your needs and space.
Your organizing needs depend on how many pens, pencils and markers you use for coloring. And it also depends on your space.
Choose the organizing idea that fits both.
If you find that you have too much coloring supplies on hand, then you might want to trim those numbers down first before finally deciding which organization idea to apply.
Looking for more ways to organize craft supplies? You might find these articles useful!
- 20 Creative Ideas to Organize Your Craft Room
- 12 Easy and Brilliant Dollar Store Hacks for Organizing Your Craft Supplies
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