I started sorting through all of the boxes of notions I have between my mother and myself last night. Since I grew up sewing with the same stuff that is in the boxes from her house, I think commingling is fine - it is all still usable, and will simply span generations, not separate them. I still have my great aunt's sewing kits separate because they're almost artifacts at this point. I think I'm going to have to look for some kind of dividers and stop with the odd-sized cardboard and plastic boxes - they don't fit efficiently in the drawer and I want to have a tray of zippers, a box of papers of buttons, a tray of the trim and elastic (I wonder if the elastic still is elastic, or all dried out?), etc. all in one place.

I suppose if there is enough of one thing (buttons) I could put it in a small bin instead of a drawer. Decisions, decisions. The idea is to make all of this visible and usable rather than another tangled mess tucked away in a bin in a cupboard. Useful if my daughter the costume designer comes looking for something, or if I as I create something, go looking for it. Logical to both of us.

SRS