Where Do You Store All Your Tools?

Decorating By meri1028 Updated 6 May 2009 , 11:24am by Kay_NL

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meri1028 Posted 5 May 2009 , 5:22pm
post #1 of 17

Those of you who bake from home, what do you store all your tools in? I've only been decorating for a few months now and I am accumulating so many little gadgets & tips & colors & luster dusts, etc. and I'm running out of room. Do any of you have a special secret to organizing all this stuff?
Thanks!

16 replies
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saycheese Posted 5 May 2009 , 5:31pm
post #2 of 17

everywhere! icon_biggrin.gif

I have some chrome shelves (we got them at linens & things when they closed thumbs_up.gif ) and i have stuff on those at the base of the stairs.

i got a tool box from walmart - it's green and white...made for crafts or tools...it's a lot like the wilton one, but 1/3 the price for my colors and small things.

sugarshack's blog talks some about this...
some people get the stacked plastic drawer storage units to keep stuff in.

some ideas, HTH.

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tiggerjo Posted 5 May 2009 , 5:33pm
post #3 of 17

I am in the same boat. Took classes at Michael's. 12 weeks plus 40% off coupons was a bad combo. My supplies are all over the house in every nook and crannie. Even under my bed! Wish I could add a room on for just caking.

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Curtsmin24 Posted 5 May 2009 , 5:33pm
post #4 of 17

plastic drawer bins stacked, tool boxes, coat hooks. I have different sizes 1 of each. The largest has all of my styrofoams for miniature dummies, scissors, and all of my cutters in large plastic bags labeled. The medium one has all of my supports, wires, and gumpaste stuff. The smaller one has all of my colors in one drawer, the dusts in another drawer, tips in another and brushes. I also have a wooden cabinet with all of my pans and other cake stuff. I wish I had pictures but I hope this gives you some ideas to start off with.

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cakes22 Posted 5 May 2009 , 5:33pm
post #5 of 17

I have the Wilton Ultimate Caddy. My icing colours I keep in a plastic salad container so its easy to clean. Just starting to collect luster dusts, and they are kept in the caddy. I used to have one shelf devoted to cake stuff, now it has spread to 3 full cupboards!!! I need a bigger kitchen! lol!

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mommabear Posted 5 May 2009 , 5:34pm
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I started out with a four drawer rolling cart. As for the dusts and stuff I purchased a bunch of those school supply pencil case boxes on clearance and they work great. Eventually I became so hooked I ended up taking over a hall closet!! LOL

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G_Cakes Posted 5 May 2009 , 5:35pm
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I recently started baking seriously and have amassed so many tips and gel colors my husband says our kitchen is starting to look like the cake decorators isle at Michael's.

I have been using a make up case (never used for makeup) that I had to store all my cameras and cables etc...

It flips open in the middle of the lid and has 2 cascading levels on each side and a huge space in the bottom for everything else.

I picked this up at Walmart on sale a few years back for $25.00 so I am not sure what it would go for these days.

My sister went to home depot and bout a tool box with many compartments and plenty of storage space for $20.00.

What ever you decide it's up to you, but the one thing I would have to recommend is to make sure that what ever you get has plenty of space because your gonna wind up filling it up in no time.

Cheer's

Miss Lizzy

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pipe-dreams Posted 5 May 2009 , 5:42pm
post #8 of 17

I bake from home, and I think those caddy's from Michael's are ridonkulous in price. So I went to Walmart and bought some plastic bead boxes from the craft section. I will try to attach a pic. The compartments are perfect size for wilton colors. I also bought a bin with a lid for storage under my cabinet. I keep all of my cut-outs and fondant tools,exacto knife,smoother,etc in there, separated into plastic bags when needed. I have a handheld mixer icon_cry.gif which broke, so we bought another one. Now I use the old mixer box(plastic) to hold my left over fondant,when I color too much and don't use it all. I wrap them in ziplocks and throw in the box. I have a bin at the bottom of my pantry for cake mix, another for unopened powered sugar, and 1/2 a shelf for shortening, fillings, dream whip, fanci foil, ect. I keep my boards in the cabinet with my pans and storage bin.


Edited to say: These craft bins in the pic are stackable, too. They click together.
LL

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oneyracing Posted 5 May 2009 , 5:57pm
post #9 of 17

i bought a box at walmart that was on clearance from christmas...it was for bows i think but it had a tray on top to hold the little things...and in the bottom it holds the bigger tools...my kitchen has stuff everywhere...in the cabinets..on the shelves...on top of the frig...we are getting ready to remodel the kitchen so i have requested ALOT of storage icon_wink.gif

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imamommy1205 Posted 5 May 2009 , 6:02pm
post #10 of 17

Mine are just all piled into a cabinet right now. I really need to find a better way to get them organized.

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ladybug76 Posted 5 May 2009 , 6:13pm
post #11 of 17

I bought several rolling tool boxes at Walmart for $24.00 last year, which I love since I can 'hide' in the closet when not in use but also push up the handle and take with me to shows, etc. A cake decorator on the move!!!
For my cutters and colors, etc., I use clear plactic boxes and label with my nifty labeler my hubby bought me for Christmas. Sounds kinda silly to label, but saves TON of time when looking for something specific. I even separate all my cutters by design now... all the shapes in one, floral in another and 'fun decorative' cutters in a third.
~ ~ Jaime

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babybundt Posted 5 May 2009 , 6:13pm
post #12 of 17

i love the bead box,never thought to use one but will get some. i use the plastic containers that the mesclune salad comes in. they are about the size of a shoe box and can hold lots of things,and are see thru. i group things by season or occaision. christmas,easter,halloween,birthday,baby showers ect. i have the tip holder cases also. hope this helps...... icon_smile.gif

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Mme_K Posted 5 May 2009 , 6:16pm
post #13 of 17

I have stuff everywhere, too! I've been trying to get better organised, but so far, the best thing I've done in that area, is to buy a set of small drawers for my tips & small things, at WalMart. I found it in the hardware department; it has about 40 small drawers, that are perfect for tips, couplers, etc. I think it's supposed to hold nuts & bolts, & screws, but it works for me!

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meri1028 Posted 5 May 2009 , 7:17pm
post #14 of 17

Thanks everyone! It sounds like I need to get creative! I have one of the Wilton's tool boxes but that doesnt hold much at all! I thought about getting the Ultimate Storage Caddy but I don't know if its worth the money - even with a Michael's 40% off coupon. I could just use the money to buy a bunch of boxes at Walmart. Plus I need to re-organize my kitchen anyways. I have no room on my counters for my new KA mixer! Time to do some spring cleaning! Thanks for all your help!

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chanielisalevy Posted 6 May 2009 , 11:04am
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I bake from home so when I moved to a new house, I actually built a cake decorating kitchen, meaning, it's a huge 11 foot wide "closet" behind double wide double doors that lock (I have 7 kids!) Inside is a 10 foot unintrerupted countertop, small sink, and tons of cabinets above and drawers below. Each drawer is divided by trays and dividers and inside the cabinets above are those minature drawers (8" high or so) from target and walmart. Each drawer is labeled with an avery label. On the counter sits things I use most often in upright large containers like coffee cans. and my pasta roller and dedicated printer for edible images. Up above I store all my cake books, binders with cake ideas and pictures printed from the internet and this site. Inside the doors I have mounted pegs (from the container store) to store all my chocolate and fondant molds and impression mats and on the opposite door I mounted a cork board with large headed nails where I indidivually mounted each cookie cutter so I can see what I have!) This "craft area" was a dream come true for me as in my previous house my supplies were taking over my main kitchen and were falling out on my head and into the sink everytime I wanted to do something in there! For those of you who don't have a dedicated area, I think the best part of my organization are the many sets of mini drawrs. Drawers are small so small items don't get lost and you can see what you have. Large drawers are reserved for rolling pins, extra fondant, etc. This work area was built off of my play room not far from my main kitchen It's a dry environment meaning I bake, torte and crumbcoat in the main kitchen and only bring ready to cover cakes into the decorating kitchen. Hope this gives you some ideas.

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cylstrial Posted 6 May 2009 , 11:19am
post #16 of 17

I bought a giant tupperware bin. It's about 4 feet tall and 2 feet wide. It holds lots of stuff!!

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Kay_NL Posted 6 May 2009 , 11:24am
post #17 of 17

I use the Wilton case for my colors, piping bags and tips. All of my fondant/gum paste gear is in a separate plastic container with a lid.

I took over a closet, the closet already had many shelves in there so I gutted it and now it is home to everything cake! icon_smile.gif I have room in there for my bulk flour, sugar and shortening, plus all my pans, books and decorating supplies!! I have hooks on the bottom of the top shelf for hanging some things (like my wire cooling rack).

Conveniently this closet is in a side porch so now I direct business customers to that entrance so that they are not coming into the main entrance and living space of our family! I have a shelf in there between the door to the porch and the door to the outside where I lay my finished products....

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