Evernote: Or How NOT to Buy the Same Supples Again

My good friend, Cyndi, and I are always giving each other duplicate crafty stuff.  It's sad.  We buy...and buy again...and then realize we have just spent our money buying the same thing twice.  Sad.  Not really...because we both benefit from each other's boo-boos.  But sometimes it is a bit aggravating! You'd think we'd remember but when you have 363 stamp sets, 281 ink pads, 84 Copic pens, etc. (Ok, slight exaggeration...but not by much), etc...it happens.  You see something cute or you must have without realizing it's already in your stash. Then as you are putting your cute new item away you find the same item!  It happens...

A while back I had seen a post about how another blogger was using Evernote to keep an inventory of her files. I read about it HERE on the A Vegas Girl at Heart blog.  I loved the idea of setting something up I could access on my laptop, my iPad or my iPhone.  So despite where I am I should be able to see what all I have!

I thought I had posted about this system here on my blog at one time but I have searched and searched and can't find it so I'm starting anew.  This may be of absolutely NON interest to many of you...so just skip this post if you're not. ;)

Evernote is a great free organizational tool program which you can download HERE.  You can store documents, lists, recipes...etc...and can sync it across your appliances so that you can see the info anywhere. I do have some recipes loaded in...generally new ones I want to try...I just plop them in Evernote and then when I'm at the grocery store I can pull up the recipe to see what ingredients I might need.

(Note: Evernote is basically free but there is a limit to the amount of data that can be uploaded monthly and if you exceed this you can buy an upgrade.  I've never exceeded the limit so have been able to utilize this FREE resource.) 

But really...for this post I'm going to talk about storing an inventory of my scrapbooking/crafting things.  My system is similar to A Vegas Girl's.

After installing Evernote on your computer you will need to set up an account.  And of course you will need to have a password.  LOL...now I have a password program that keeps track of all my passwords because I can't remember nothin'!  But that's a whole 'nother story!

I have the Evernote icon on my start tray at the bottom of my computer so I just click on that to open my program.  It will open to something like this:

Oh, and see the little elephant head icon in the system tray at the bottom? That's just a quick way to open Evernote.

As you can see "notebooks" can be created to store your lists, inventories, recipes, etc. in.  I have notebooks for several things as you can see but today we will focus on my ever growing list of paper crafting supplies.  To create a notebook is simple...go to File>New Notebook.  A pop up window will appear and you will name your notebook.  If you want to be able to sync it across appliances click on "Synchronized Notebook".  If you want it only on your computer then click "local notebook".  If you are handy with keyboard shortcuts you can also right click in the area where notebooks are to get the pop up window to create a new notebook. 
If I click on my paper crafting notebook I will see the following screen:

This gives you an idea of how I have my supplies organized on Evernote.

If you click on "Stamps" you will then get into the "meat" of the notebook...where are my goodies are stored!
And then you will see something like this:

And above you can see the information I include with my stamps sets...namely, manufacturer, name of set, the style (clear or cling or wood) and roughly the number of stamps included in the set.
I always include a photo of the stamp set which I snag from the web...most images can just be dragged and dropped in.  Easy Peasy.  Another feature that is just oh so great is that you can tag the item for later searches.  Above the photo you can see my tags...they are birthday, floral, get well, rose and thank you.  THIS IS SO HELPFUL! Once tagged I can then search for the sets that say "thank you", for example and pull up those sets without having to look through all my boxes of stamps! This is a great feature! Of course, it's only as good as the tags you create.

If I wanted to add in a new set I would go to "New Note" near the top of the screen.  Once I have a blank page I would create a name (I always start with the manufacturer name) and then the name of the set.
I drag and drop the photo and then list in the other specifics about the set I like to include...and lastly set up my tags.
It's so easy.
It did take a good bit of time when I first set it up because I had a ton of sets to enter but once I got them in I, now, just have to add in newly acquired sets.

I also have notebooks for dies that I have set up in a similar manner.

I have a list for my Distress Inks which is in the form of a list:

You can create lists or notebooks for anything you want to keep track of.

Once you have your info loaded in you can click on "Sync" on the top left and this will sync your information between your appliances.  Very handy for when you are out shopping and can't remember anything! LOL!

This is what the screen for stamps looks like on my iPhone:

And if I click on a stamp set (in this case "Simon Says Stamp Congrat..." I would see this:

And of course, even on my iPhone or iPad I can use the search function.

I even have a 324 page document in pdf with the rules of tennis. You just never know when someone might try to unknowingly try to cheat you!...LOL...I can whip out my phone...got to Evernote and pull up the document as a resource!

Because, of course, my brain can't remember every single rule... It also keeps me in check from unknowingly cheating others!

Evernote is also available to Droid users.

I know I have not covered this awesome program and its capabilities but maybe this is a start for you!

And thanks to Melissa at A Vegas Girl at Heart for sharing this info with me!

Happy Crafting and Happy Inventorying!