Being organized as an Etsy Seller becomes one of those things you wished you would have done sooner rather than later. You’ll find yourself saying, “why didn’t I do this before, it’s so much easier now.” Sometimes all it takes is small changes to make massive changes in efficiencies. Today we are going to walk through four ways to stay organized as an Etsy Seller. 

Utilizing the Custom Tabs on the Orders & Shipping Screen

When you are trying to manage your current orders, Etsy has given sellers the option to create custom tabs ton the Orders Page. I use these tabs to see my order workflow, it shows me what stage all my orders are in. The orders start out on the new tab and then they get separated out by “Lauren to Print,” or “in-progress – sent to lab” and then finally “completed.” The new tab consists of items currently being designing, once designing is complete the order moves to production and shipping. In my Etsy shop I print sizes of 11×14 and smaller on my large format printer at home, for anything larger I use a printing shop. It’s so important for me to divide these out so I don’t waste time scrolling through all the orders when it’s time to print. 

Think about ways you could divide up your orders into categories according to your workflow and customize your tabs.

Smart Storage

How does your dining table look? Do you use it for working and storage? Quite often as Etsy Sellers we use the space we have to store our Etsy Shop supplies. I like to tell my husband that sometimes, “creativity is messy.” Well after years of saying that and marrying a neat and tidy person I was forced to get smart with my storage systems. Look at the size of your actual product and think about how you can easily store and most importantly identify the product when it’s time to find it. Do things like alphabetize your product by name for quick reference and easier order packing. This is my favorite organizer for small items https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/raskog-utility-cart-gray-green-90443135/ you can put jars or tubs in to each section and customize it to fit your small items or papers. It’s mobile so you can bring your small supplies or product with you if you want to navigate to different work spaces.

Optimize Your Workspace

Optimizing your workspace can be a huge time saver. Having a dedicated work space is ideal. You may be bringing your workspace out each time you are ready to to work. Think about creating a more permanent workspace. When you sit down to work think about the motions you do to complete your tasks. Are you always leaning over a certain basket and shuffling through items to find what you need? Arrange your items for ease. Dedicate certain drawers and purchase dividers to optimize the space you have. Put up a calendar and pin board to have visual queues to the tasks you need to complete.  

Hire a Person to Help and/or Partner with a Production Company

As you grow as an Etsy seller you learn that you can’t do it all. You may come to a point where you are spending so much time on your shop and giving up precious time with your friends and family. Frustrations really set in when you make a profit but it’s not worth the time you are putting in. This is when it’s time to think about hiring a person to help or partnering with a production company. Think about the tasks that take you the most time. It may seem like it’s necessary for you to do all the tasks; however, when you really break them down you could teach another person how to perform the functions. Handing a few things over may regain your sanity. It will also allow you to focus on items that will grow your business like marketing and developing new products ideas. 

Production partners also serve as a great way to free you of time intensive production tasks. Ask around to other business owners within your industry and see who they use. Most production partners offer samples of their products so try some out. Quality is key in this area, if you partner, work with a company and product that exceeds your expectations… then charge for it. This will benefit you in the long run! Etsy shoppers pay for quality and often see value in a higher price item, go for it friend! 

Now you are ready to go implement these strategizes to keep yourself organized as an Etsy seller and put you on the path to grow your shop. Don’t wait another minute, your time and sanity is too important. Want to dig in further and gain more efficiencies? Check out this blog post on batch working, this has saved me thousands of hours and brought peace to being ahead and not behind within my etsy shop. Happy creating friends, let’s stay organized together!