Organizing embellishments is always a challenge. I have three ways of organizing my embellishments. For small embellishments (like brads) which I use on most layouts, I love using bead towers because they are stackable and don’t take up much room. This means that I can store them right next to my work space, and they are within easy reach whenever I need them.
Other small embellishments get stored in a floss box, just like my ribbon. I have a box for alphabets, and one for flowers, etc. You could also sort these by theme if you wanted. I love floss boxes for these things, because they are translucent (so I can easily see what is in the box), and each item gets its own compartment. I simply label each box as to its general contents and they get stacked on the shelf next to my scrap desk, so I can easily pull them out when I need them.
With letter (alpha) embellishments, I always used to keep each different type in its own compartment. However, this meant that everytime I needed a letter I had to got through the entire compartment to find that one letter. I’ve begun dividing up these accents alphabetically, so all the As are in one compartment, all the Bs the next, and so on. This way I know what styles I have in each letter, and they are easier to find. This is also useful if I like to mix and match letter styles, as well as indicating what letters you are running low on.
Large embellishments, such a chipboard stuff and other generally bulky accents get stored in little drawer units (you can usually get inexpensive drawer units at most DIY shops). I’ve thought about putting all my embellishments into this system, but I don’t find it’s as easy to find small stuff in them. Besides, if you are using drawers with those little plastic dividers, I find that a lot of thin embellishments try to slide under the dividers and get mixed up with their neighbours.
The main thing to remember when organizing your lumpies is to make sure you keep the stuff you use all the time close at hand, and to keep everything in a system that makes sense to YOU.