Storing & Organizing Your Seed Collection

How many of you are finding yourself swimming in seed catalogues right now?

It’s that time of year. The holidays are past, things are calming down, seed companies are sending crisp catalogues to our mailboxes. The true weakness of any home gardener.

This is also the time of year that people find themselves organizing.

Spring cleaning, anyone?

So not only are we collectively ordering dozens I mean, a few seeds from the catalogues we’re receiving, we’re looking for ways to neatly categorize them all and not lose our minds in the process.

Today I’d like to talk you through my own process of storing, organizing and cataloging my seed collection.

(Want to flick through my seed collection with me and see what varieties I have? Check out our YouTube video by clicking HERE.)

This post contains affiliate links, which, at no extra cost to you, help support me & keep this blog running. Thank you in advance for using my links if you choose to shop my recommendations!

Before you click the purchase button…

“What do you really need?”

Not to be your mother, but…do you really need those seeds you’ve been circling? I know, it isn’t totally about being reasonable and realistic – I get it. I am obsessed with owning every variety of carrot or winter squash I can find. But when it comes to the moment of placing the order, make sure you aren’t ordering excessive or duplicate varieties that you don’t actually have room to grow. Seed companies have had such a surge in orders the past year with everything going on, so let’s be good stewards of our resources and not hog anything we don’t truly need.

Plant Happiness

Long story short: plant only what you will actually eat and use! It’s all too easy to get caught up with keeping up with the Jones’ online, but be honest – will you actually be able to eat or use 50 cabbages this spring? Or could that space be used by something else? I’m a big supporter of planting things that bring me happiness and joy, which, even if their job is to just be admired for their beauty, I consider it a job well done. Bonus points if it is a pollinator friendly plant.

Create a Spreadsheet

Now, I cannot take credit for this section – my husband is the spreadsheet and Excel master. I remember a couple of Christmases ago, he offered to organize and categorize my seed stash for me and I about fainted with happiness! Acts of service is one of my love languages. He created this magnificent spreadsheet that he and I sit down and organize every spring and fall, and it’s a great place I can input notes on what I liked or didn’t like about specific varieties. Maybe if you guys ask nicely, he’ll create a template for you to download here…

“So now that I have my seeds all ordered, how should I store them?”

There are a few different methods for seed storage, and none of them are “the one” that you must do, you know? Each method has its own benefits over the others, so just choose what works best for you and your situation! I’ll outline them below and share my thoughts and experience with each one.

Photo Boxes

This is arguably the most aesthetically pleasing way to store your seed collection. Something about having one portable container with multiple mini containers to separate them into categories…It makes this organization lover very very happy.

This is the seed storage method that I personally use, after trying the others I’ll list below. It came down to ease of access as well as looks, honestly. I just loved how they looked, so therefore it made me want to actually plant stuff! I love when organization + productivity meet up and have a grand time.

Shoe Boxes

I think we all start at this level when we begin to explore the world of seed starting. Am I right or am I right? I probably still have a shoebox or two of seeds hiding somewhere after our move from Colorado to Washington. I like that shoeboxes are a fairly uniform shape, so you can easily stack these boxes and spruce them up to fit your space. the downside that I found, especially as my collection grew, is it was getting difficult to access the seeds. As fun as it was to flick through each packet one by one, it became a tedious task when I just wanted to grab some radishes and go do a quick succession sowing. But this is a great FREE option for storing your seed collection!

Binders

If you are a visual person and love looking through your seed collection often (who doesn’t?), then this may be the best method for you. You know those clear binder inserts that you can slip photos or baseball cards into? Well, they’re a great way to store and display your seeds as well! They generally fit most standard sized seed packets, but of course, there are exceptions to everything. You can make this storage method work best for you and make it your very own – there are countless ways to categorize and sort them. My very good friend Jenna uses this method, and has a binder for every planting season. When it comes time to winter sow, she just grabs that binder. When it comes to planting for a fall garden, she grabs that one. It is what you make it!

“What if I want to store my own saved seeds?”

Not only is seed saving a great way to be a steward of the environment, it’s a great way to save some serious cash! Read all about how to properly save your own seeds HERE.

Honestly, after you know how to properly save your own seeds, the storage methods aren’t that different. You’ll of course want to make sure the seeds are properly dried before putting them in any sort of packaging, but other than that, just choose your favorite method above! I use a seed envelope template to make my own envelopes if I’ve run out of these perfect seed saving envelopes, and they fit well inside my photo boxes.

Which method do you use to store your seed stash? How big is your seed stash? I personally have two of these photo storage boxes and they are both perfectly and completely FULL. I think once we find ourselves on a larger piece of property, I might just have to expand my seed collection and get another container…;)