Reorganizing My Puzzle Studio (Expert-level tips on keeping puzzles organized) 

How do all of you keep your puzzles organized? Make sure to head over to Patreon for my exclusive Q&A video. Annual memberships are now available!

I live in a senior building where our 75+ jigsaw puzzles are jammed randomly into numerous cupboards in our library. This video gave me some ideas on how to make them a collection instead. THX!

Not sure if John will see this or be able to puzzle with you but personally I think it would be so fun to have a puzzle along during the P4A! You would be such a fun host! Might be a chance to get one or two more puzzles from your collection done. DFTBA!

Hi, I don't do puzzles and I don't even remember how I came across your channel but I wanted to let you know that I watch your videos because you exude so much positivity and it really makes a difference.

I told my boyfriend my puzzle collection had to look like this in the future. He said I couldn't have it unless his Lego collection was equally big. Guess we're getting a lot of Lego now!

RIP red benches. Those of us who loved the kooky pop of color will miss you 💔 Also, shout out to the gradient ball, I was relieved that it wasn’t disassembled lol. It is genuinely amazing to see how quickly your collection has grown since I started subscribing lol. Your organizational skills are astounding!

Looks so nice! If you have any acid-free foamboard or matboard lying around from your crafting days you might want to use that instead of the cardboard between your vintage puzzle boxes. The cardboard is definitely not acid free and over time could damage the surface of the boxes.

Puzzles AND organizing stuff? I've found my people 😁Thanks for the great video. I hope I get a collection like this one day!

Oh man, if it's possible, we need to make the John Green puzzling the pizza john puzzle with Karen puzzles happen! But I also agree with the other person who mentioned it would be fun to have you as a P4A host where we puzzle with you!

I recently whittled the puzzle collection down from two whole bookcases to just one--but now there is a stack of new puzzles growing next to the bookcase. Do you ever feel like puzzles know where you live, and they just sort of sneak in while you are not looking?

I too have a puzzle room( my corner of heaven) thanks very much to ikea. So looking forward to your next giant puzzle video. Keep up my Sunday entertainment. I love it!!

This was so satisfying. I just reorganized my sewing room. It's awesome how a room makeover can be so reinvigorating. I love how you can now see your whole collection and can admire and appreciate them.

My house is currently full to bursting with puzzles! When my mum passed away, at the end of last year, and I took on her lifetimes collection of puzzles, I hadn't really registered just how many there were!!! So my current 'organization' is a wardrobe full, a bookcase full, two large boxes in the kitchen, and two stacks under the dining table. And I've already sent several boxes full to the charity shop! I'm having to be really picky about which I keep, but I'm determined to do them all before letting them go😊 On another note - I'm delighted at what your next 9000 piece puzzle is going to be!!! I really want to see how much faster you can do it now!!

It must be so satisfying now that all of the puzzles are organised by category! I really appreciate that while Karen has a huge collection of puzzles, they all have a specific purpose for videos and that she donates a ton too. Now, do I use this video as inspiration for some home organisation, or do I watch more youtube videos?! Also that spare piece reminds me of a leprechaun/Lucky Charms puzzle?

I just got the LEGO delorian. I had to put a jigsaw puzzle aside. I didn’t realize how similar these hobbies are.

Love your collection so much!! I only have about 60 puzzles and my toddler has about 40 so they all fit on one tall shelving unit...for now--the collection grows almost daily. I noticed a fair few smaller puzzles on your to-do shelf in the 100 to 300 range. I would love to see a video featuring smaller puzzles and maybe just doing a bunch of different ones...maybe talk about why you bother with smaller puzzles at all and which brands are good for that size.

I my process is a but different. I have about the same amount of keep puzzles as you do. However I'm working on renovating a short bus into my home this year so I have very limited room. Boxes aren't that big of a deal for me so I've transfered all my keep puzzles into bags and written the name, brand and amount of pieces on each one to reduce the amount of space taken up. I know it's not ideal for everyone but it works really well for me.

I have maybe half as many puzzles as you, and they are all over the place. You have inspired me to think about organising my "collection" and also donating those I don't want to do again. Thanks! and I'll be joining your Patreon soon, the more Karen content the better!

I use the verb "to puzzle" to describe organizing things to more efficiently and effectively use the available space. For example, "In order to fit everything into my suitcase for the trip, I had to spend some time puzzling it." So while you weren't actually constructing a puzzle, it ended up being an enjoyable video of you puzzling your puzzle boxes.

This is making me want to go and reorganize my closet, which is a complete disaster full of clothes, stuff, and junk.

Wonderful work. Going back to see the red benches. I’ve watched so many videos and never did they catch my eye.

You are BRILLIANT to add cardboard/foam core in between the collection of fragile puzzle boxes!!

Fun to see how you organized your collection. I try to keep my collection to about 100 puzzles. I have them recorded on an Excel sheet. I lend them to my Mom and sister and keep track of who has already done each puzzle. We also sign and date the lids.

This is SO satisfying. I don't have enough puzzles even a whole shelf on a bookcase as I only recently started getting back into puzzles for the first time since I was a teen (because of you) so I only have a handful of new ones that have been gifts and a few special puzzles from my youth that I've kept but I love organizational videos, specifically ones where people are organizing their hobbies. I do however have an extensive yarn & fabric collection; a hobby-related tools collection (much of it them being vintage/antique items I've inherited and display more than use or things like complete sets of fine-liners or colored pencils); a sizable book collection including journals, coloring books, and pleasure reading; an uncomfortably sizable makeup, nail polish, & perfume collection; so many stuffed toys because they bring me joy; my beloved board games, and I'm looking to grow my puzzle collection even more so I am always a keen bean to see how people store their items. I think I'll definitely be using your cardboard trick for the puzzles and board games that I have from my childhood... some of which were already 30 years old when I was a kid in the 90s. Since my puzzle and game storage is open storage, I'm thinking I might paint the cardboard or glue construction paper to it, just so it feels more polished and finished. Ya know, if you ever wanted to do some more puzzle themed crafts I'd be so down as well. I thought your puzzle Barbie costume was so fun and I've used your tutorial on how to make a piece to replace a lost piece a few times for my friend's kiddos. With 2 kids, 2 cats, and 3 dogs... puzzle pieces are always being lost and by lost, I mean chewed beyond recognition or outright eaten.

Great video! I don’t think I’d have known where to start with all of those puzzles. My collection isn’t extensive enough for an all out organisation overhaul as yet, but my one shelf is getting full now, mostly because I keep buying big puzzles! I just finished the Disney Museum 9k (I mixed the bags), I am looking forward to seeing you tackle it - I really enjoyed it 😍

I always enjoy a good organizing video, especially with puzzles! I have three ginormous bookshelves packed with puzzles and I need to go through and reorganize myself. But I'm afraid when I do, then I won't have room for them all, and that's another issue alone! Always love your videos Karen!

I have been so excited for this video ever since you mentioned it last year! The organization is so satisfying. I currently only have four puzzles in my collection here in Arizona but all of the ones I did as a kid are at my moms house in Maryland where I grew up

This makes my librarian heart so happy 💜

I would love to see an in-depth tour where you show us each puzzle!!

I am so jealous. been trying to buy off puzzles here but some are just so expensive here! dreaming someday that I may have a collection like yours!

Love your collection. Just reorganized my shelf in the living room to display some of the more beautiful boxes. Eeboo and Buffalo have some of the prettiest boxes. They are like having art on the shelf. Thank you for the video!

Thanks so much for sharing, it was fun to get to see your re-organizing process. I have a much smaller collection, but am lucky enough to have a built-in cabinet with enough space to store them.

So satisfying to see such an organized collection! Also yes to making that puzzle with John! If the chance ever comes that would be such a cool collab!

I am impressed with how much dedication and passion you reorganize your studio.

This is so amazing!! I wish i had a puzzle studio 😍 great organizing!

Nice job with the reorganization. I love the new paint and I have those shelves in my garage. Super versatile.

It turned out amazing!! What a dream room!

The Collection sure has grown and it's wonderful to see it all put away nicely!

What a great video to see your puzzle collection! I have 3 areas in the house dedicated to my puzzles - completed puzzles I’m keeping go on top shelves in the master bedroom closet, new puzzles to do are on a bookshelf in the lanai, and another cabinet holds puzzles I’ve completed and am giving away. I see you have the Blue Kazoo vintage travel series and I think you will enjoy them - I loved them and will keep them for a re-build in the future. Thanks for sharing!

My “collection” is no where the size of yours since I’m only doing them for myself and any visitors who want to join in. And let’s just say it: I’m slow. And I have particular taste: no unicorns, no badly drawn humans, no cartoon characters. But the collection is growing. And growing. Right now I’m storing them in some upper closet shelves. Your studio looks terrific.

holy wow that's a lot of puzzles and a lot of aesthetics in one place! I don't have much of a puzzle collection myself, I have like... 6 puzzles that aren't tucked away in our games-and-puzzles cabinet in the living room. the boxes for my puzzles are all very aesthetically pleasing to me, though, so I keep them on top of my Ikea bookshelves as a sort of display. I might move them around a bit once I've done all of them, but for now I'm happy with where I have them. I keep a lot of things on top of the bookshelves, including a few plushies and a big figurine that didn't fit in my display shelf, so they blend right in! once I eventually get my own place, I think I'll still keep them out on a shelf, though I might arrange them differently to save on space if they have to be in an easier place to reach.

I'm just getting back to building puzzles after many many many years so I don't have a very big collection and honestly I'm hoping to keep my collection small because we live in an RV with our three cats. But I probably have over 50 so far. It looks like you have some really awesome puzzles.

Damn it, Karen, as if I didn't already feel guilty about the mess my game collection is in. But that cardboard-between-the-boxes idea is _genius_ and I may well borrow that when I do finally sort my shelves. (Fun fact: I typed that out before I finished watching.)

So enjoyed seeing your collection organization progress!

Such a wonderful collection! I love your 'office'

So nice to see stored puzzles and remember those videos. Like seeing the Barbie, I remember when I watched that video!

Looks great! I have a little puzzle cupboard and room for 20 puzzles. I haven't puzzled in ages, so I am looking forward to getting back to it.

Love seeing Springbok's Black Diamond in your collection -- one of my favorite puzzles!

Karen, you did a beautiful job for your Collection of your puzzles, shelving and you really gave me an idea of saving cardboard. Thanks for all you wonderful ideas Thanks Till next time Kathy E.

So many puzzles!! I love the organization, so satisfying! I would love to see more mini puzzles with higher piece counts featured. Im not sure how common they are, but I think it'd be great to see 😊

This was like The Home Edit meets Karen Puzzles.....two of my favs.....great video 😁😁

Room looks great! I hate to admit it but many in my COLLECTION are stacked on the floor of my second bedroom. Karen, I encourage you to donate at least some of your puzzles to your local library. Not all accept puzzle donations so you may have to call a few branches in LA. During the pandemic I bought a lot of puzzles but I’m feeling a bit of a financial pinch right now (homeowner’s insurance and flood insurance Ugh!) and I’m so happy that my library has puzzles I can borrow. I’ve donated some of my puzzles there, too.

That’s an amazing collection!!

I’m in the process of organizing my puzzles and actually counting and putting them in a spreadsheet since I was making mistakes and repurchasing puzzles I already had. I just hit 200 puzzles and still have another shelf and half of puzzles to count. Yikes. Time for me to seriously sit down and think how to proceed going forward. Thanks for this satisfying video, everything came out so beautifully, can’t wait to finish mine up!

I keep about 30 puzzles at home in a wardrobe, plus 3 more large ones over 24000 pieces. But I had about 100 more in my classroom where I used to teach. I left them all there when I retired, so they may have gotten thrown out or given away. I figure I have gotten rid of at least 1000 puzzles over the years. I have the same wire shelf for large pots and such in my kitchen.

Collection. Good idea with the pieces of cardboard between the puzzles. I have a few that are crushed a bit. I like to stand them vertically to keep them from getting crushed.

I love this video so much. I don't have a COLLECTION of puzzles just as fantastic as you do but I do love puzzles.

Such an amazing collection! Hope to get there someday, too! Now that there's an annual option, I'm definitely will be a patreon! ❣️

Very impressive organizing Karen!

I love puzzling but I can't even imagine having a collection as large as yours. I really only do 1000+ piece puzzles because of the size constraints of my table and the level of challenge I like to enjoy puzzles. I have two Van Gogh puzzles framed in my room: the almond blossom and the peach tree. With other classic art puzzles stored on a shelf together. Then I have the more illustration looking puzzles together. These are usually from the same brand so that works out. I started getting puzzles from costco- the ones that are like informative posters that I enjoyed and those are also together. The periodic table one was permanently on my coffee table while I was going through university taking chemistry classes. I have a fe studio ghibli puzzles and wish to get more that I got from uwajimaya. These are with other miscellaneous movie puzzles on the same shelf. I also am a kpop fan and some artists release 1000 piece puzzle merchandise so I have a shelf for those but it's with my kpop stuff rather than on my puzzle bookcase. I have a few outliers with larger puzzles in a separate shelf in the guest room. There are some mosaic puzzles I'm looking at getting from etsy but haven't had the chance to get them yet. But I hope to get them and frame a few of them in the living room because they look so nice. Currently doing my first 2000 piece puzzle since the dimensions were just right for my coffee table but there's barely any room to lay out my puzzles 😭 it's taking me longer than it should.

I store my puzzle 'collection'😉 in a big built-in wardrobe which my apartment luckily features! I love the transformation of the room and damn those donation boxes are filled up really nice! Lovely greetings from Germany ☀️💕

Lovely puzzle room. I wish my yarn room looked that nice. My puzzles live on a closet shelf - one in the works is on a fold up table in the guest room. Collection!

I have a fairly big collection. I mainly use Ikea storage - Kallax (2 x 4 units) and the Sektion high kitchen cabinets that are 15" deep. I plan to reorganize in the fall as we are doing some work on the house. I want to redo one room we have that has very low ceilings to look like a puzzle warehouse store. 18 feet long shelves full of puzzles. I think that will be so fun.

What a beautiful looking, well organised space! My puzzle collection is (currently) small enough to keep on one shelf

For anyone who may have a smaller collection, and/or the ikea kallax shelf’s, the classic (fabric covered) inserts fit 5 typical sized and 1 500 piece (smaller boxes) ravensburger’s across and another box fits on top! They also fit tons more of smaller boxes puzzles. I love puzzling but cannot stand visual clutter (I will get far too distracted lol) so this has been so helpful for me!

I have the ones I “need to start” in a separate pile then put them in a couple shelving units in closets and then donate them as necessary

I don't have a puzzle room, unfortunately. My house is extremely small. I do have a big closet in my bedroom (a corner one but very big) where I have 1 or 2 shelves. But actually I want to clean up some mess in one of my living room closets (open like yours) so I can showcase the colourful/my favorite ones!! I would probably sort by colour&size not brand. Although most brands have the same sizes for each puzzle. I loveeeeeeee this video. It really makes me wanna clean up my own mess (mostly craft supplies and painted canvasses) so I can also have a more neat & nice puzzle showcase cabinet!

Great idea and great job. Looks fine. Looking forward to your next puzzle project. Larry

Your puzzle collection is amazing! And organizing it is a lot of fun! I don't have as many as you, but I use Ikea's Kallax units. For wire shelving, I use acrylic sheets just to keep items from falling through the wires while still letting light pass through. When you finished the Minions puzzle, I decided I'm going to try tackling a large puzzle and I settled on the Ravensburger 9000 pc Astrology one (if I can find it at a reasonable price!), so now I'm super excited to see your video on it!

I store as many puzzles as possible on their side (like books on a bookshelf) especially if they are fragile. Even with the cardboard or foam board I would not store them with weight on top for very long. Love the video. You’re the best.

I’m loving the categorisation of the puzzles. Monica Geller is QUAKING. She could never -

We loved watching you organize your puzzle room. I’ve been looking for a cabinet just like that but can’t find one that’s divided up that way. Collection

Great collection you have there 👏🏽

Collection! Well done!

This was so fun to watch!

collection! i love watching organize videos :)

My storage issue is boardgames, getting close to 500 base games plus expansions. I’m a fan of the IKEA Pax closets, their depth and flexibility fit a lot of boxes. Great to see how organized your collection is. For me it’s still playing Tetris to see where it fits whenever I get a new game.

Wonderful collection

Love your puzzle collection!

My collection is much smaller and fits in just one Ikea shelf. I'm always buying new puzzles so I'll probably need to expand in the future.

I don't have a huge puzzle collection -- I only own two puzzles of my own. Both are Cavallini Paper & Co puzzles, which come in very pretty cylindrical containers, so I keep them displayed on a shelf. Tbh I would love to see you do a Cavallini Paper & Co puzzle (they have a pretty color chart puzzle I think you might like), but seeing how many puzzles you haven't done yet I feel a bit odd asking you to add ANOTHER to your queue!

Great job!! I currently only have 47 puzzles in my Collection (my Amazon cart is calling me). I've completed 29. I'm slowing started to put the completed ones on my Dad's bookshelf. The ones that I haven't completed are in a pile in the corner. I keep track of all my puzzles in a spreadsheet. When you were talking about a cover for the wire shelves, it made me think of my frig shelves. I put clear flexible plastic 11x14-in chopping mats (from Dollar Tree when they were still $1.00) on the shelves. That way when something spills I don't have to clean multiple shelves. Don't know if you'd like that for your wire shelves.

i don’t have much storage bc i’m still with my parents before college so all my stuff goes in the cabinet/tv stand that also holds board games ! i keep my faves and donate the rest :)

So much fun to see your collection! LOL. I also have a random piece that showed up under the dining room table and I have no idea what puzzle it goes to. Keeps me from donating any more puzzles until I figure it out!

I just have 2 book cases filled with books and each have a shelf for puzzles. I have a room for my crafts, which include cross stitching, perfamano, tatting, origami, knitting, crochet, cricut, beading, sewing and serging. I also have my shop downstairs which has a table saw, drill press, bandsaw, 2 routers, milling machine, thickness planer, and a sliding compound saw.

What a great COLLECTION and you did an awesome job of organizing it! The closet in my home office is where my puzzle COLLECTION resides. I've removed the clothing rod and installed shelves. Puzzles are organized by brand, # of pieces, box size. I also created an Excel workbook to keep an inventory. The first sheet is the collection, the next sheet is a wish list. Everything I need to know about puzzles I own/want is included, date purchased, puzzle name, brand, artist, place of purchase, # pieces, cost, barcode, themes, release date, new or used, completed or pending, difficulty and enjoyment ratings, notes, keep or donate. The wish list has links to places it can be purchased at. I may be just a little OCD 🙄🤣

I don't have a puzzle collection to keep organized. I do enjoy your videos though. I really like watching you put puzzles together.

I don't have any puzzles, so I don't have to keep anything organized. (I don't do puzzles, yet I find this channel pleasing to watch!)

Thanks for sharing your collection amazing

Having a dedicated puzzle room is new to me having just bought my first place a few months ago, so I don't really have any organization for my collection! They're just stacked on top of each other in the closet. I really need to get some shelving like you have to keep things organized and in good condition. I do have a height adjustable desk just for puzzling, though, for the sake of my back! It's a game-changer. Your puzzle room looks great!

I have just under 200 puzzles that live in two 7' bookshelves. Three spots are still open, but I use those for cat supplies. My goal is to not outgrow this space. However I did realize I have room on top of the shelves to the ceiling! And I have those same wire shelves!!! They were not as clear cut to put together as I thought, but one lives in my pantry and the other in the coat closet. Don't really need one of those in FL! And agreed, it needs some kind of wood topper so things don't fall thruI love how you organized your puzzle collection and you even have space for more vintage ones. Wish I would have kept some of the puzzles I had growing up. They'd be considered vintage at this point!!! 🤣🤣🤣 Another great video!!!

I don't think my collection of puzzles is as big as yours, but I do have quite a few! For the most part, all my finished puzzles are stored in the den on top of a double long bookcase. Bigger ones on the bottom, smaller on top. I do have a small pile of puzzles I've not put together in my bedroom, but as soon as I finish one, they go on top of the bookcase. Your puzzle room is looking nice! Great job!

Reading everyone's comments makes me think there should be a Book Barn but for puzzles. Bring in puzzles with all their pieces that you don't want anymore, get store credit to get more puzzles... how brilliant would that be?

I currently have 9 puzzles and 2 that are glued together. 3 of them are little mermaid puzzles because she is my favorite character.

Collection. I also sit through all the credits in a movie theater.

The Sherlock Holmes puzzle is really fun. We have the Shakespeare one as well. Really loved building them.

For the shelf covers you could try foam board covered in your choice of contact paper, which does come in wood print of various colors/shades. I did that for wire shelves above our washer and dryer in the laundry area and they are surprisingly sturdy. I saw it as a Pinterest diy

Love your new room. They make shelf liners that’s expensive. They come in a roll like wallpaper. I got mine at IKEA. It’s a clear type vinyl. I have some shelves like you black ones and it works great. Looking forward to seeing your next challenge. 😊

I feel better on your behalf, having seen you organise your puzzle space, as if I'd organised it myself. I love the results of nice orderly sorting out... if only I was like that with my own stuff on the regular but its haphazard.

Hello Karen. Very nicely done! Enjoy all your video,s. Not a long time ago a was giving a puzzel. That,s when i started puzzeling. Have had some great tips from watching your video,s. Much love to you and your loved ones. Kind regards from the Netherlands. Cisca. 🌹🐞🦋