Organization of Tools and BOS

[loona wynd]

So this is something I am curious about. How many of us have really organized boxes/supply holding areas that work well for us? Do you also have an organized BOS by topic date and the like?

[AnaisStar]

My old BOS was super organized. I had tabs by subject that were alphabetized. In each section I had all the entries in plastic sleeves.

I decided to scrap that and am using a bound book. Im just making entries as I go along. So everytime I have something to do (spell, entry, etc) than I enter it. So no more order/sections.

And with my altar, I just kind of put stuff anywhere that I feel drawn to place it. Im not as regimented or orderly as I used to be with my practice.

[loona wynd]

I've seen some beautiful ones on display in a store in Salem where they aren't really organized but have leaves and anything they want on any given page for that pages work. As a work of art and journal I dont have a problem with it. As something to use for reference material I'm not quite so sure.

I just went through my supply box and took an inventory of what was in those boxes. I have an idea of my herb and incense inventory. I'm hoping that I can get a few more steralite 3 style bins for storage. Then I can make things a little more orgaized and specific. Having more containers also means that I have more space for shrines for different spirits and possibly Gods.

[Echo_of_shadows]

My stuffed is organized....enough. It might seem like a bit of a mess, but that's me. I can organize the heck out of anything for anyone but myself.
The tools I use most often are in a wooden box that I currently keep under my altar. The other tools are in their own storage bin, kept with a bin that has most of my Wiccan books. The books that aren't in the bins are the one that I'm currently re-reading and the one I keep out as a reference.
My main Book of Shadows is a three ring binder that's divider into a few different sections. The sections aren't alphabetized, but the materials within each section are alphabetized. My second three ring binder holds the primary correspondence section of my BOS. I like having it separate so that I don't have to haul out my entire BOS whenever I need correspondences. My third three ring binder holds what I have left of the pages my former High Priestess had printed for me from the coven's BOS, and some pages of things I had copied from books before I started copying them into spiral notebooks.
I have four spiral notebooks that I consider to be an extension of my Book of Shadows. Two of the notebooks have spells and things that I've copied from books and the internet. My third notebook has my interpretations of the tarot cards and a short section that I had started on Deities, but never finished. The last notebook has my notes from tarot readings.
I've made sure that the materials in my BOS are labeled with the title, author name and page numbers of the books they came from, or labeled with the website's URL if the information came from internet. It's kind of a pet peeve of mine, since I have no idea where anything came from that was in my former coven's BOS. I label everything I write myself with the date I started writing it. Most of the time, I do forget occasionally.

[YanaKhan]

My BoS is quite organized. I have sections for the different things (rituals, spells, sigils and talismans, alphabets, gems, herbs potions ), so when I need something, I find it quick. It's not like a journal, it's purely BoS I have a book of mirrors for the unorganized stuff where I write my experiments.
I don't keep a permanent altar, so all my tools are in 2 drawers in my bedroom. When I need an altar, I set it up for the spell I work on. This way I don't have many things on my altar or on my way. And I always get the right correspondences. I sometimes wish I did have a permanent altar, though.

[Klia]

I do not have a permanent altar but I keep everything in photo boxes. Usually the buy one get one free kind at Michaels or Hobby Lobby. I just take it out when I need it and set it up.

My BOS is extremely organized. It's also more of a reference book and not a journal. Dividers, page protectors, heavy duty binder, cover pages. It starts with the most important things to me (Creation Story, Pagan Pride Poem, The Wiccan Rede). Then it goes into Gods and Goddesses, tools, holidays, magick, herbs, crystals, moon cycles, etc. The last part of it is spells. With page protectors I can switch pages around, move them around, make it my own. Plus everything is printed so it's easy to read.

[loona wynd]

My old BOS was super organized. I had tabs by subject that were alphabetized. In each section I had all the entries in plastic sleeves.

Did the sleeves ever make it feel artificial?

I decided to scrap that and am using a bound book.

What are you doing with the old information and the previous book?

Im just making entries as I go along. So everytime I have something to do (spell, entry, etc) than I enter it. So no more order/sections.

How does that work for you when you want to look up a previous working or reference materials?

And with my altar, I just kind of put stuff anywhere that I feel drawn to place it. Im not as regimented or orderly as I used to be with my practice.

Do you have a permenant altar? My altar is set up basically how I feel it should be at any given time. That can change regularly. What I have on there for tools for a ritual can change at any time. It all depends on what I am doing or what I feel like having on the altar at times.

I have a thread in the altar section that shows a few of my different altars and shrines and how some of them have changed over the years and times. Change is good. The altars should represent your relationships with the beings that they are for. Its personal between you and them.

[PhoenixFlight]

My BoS is probably the most organized book I've seen in a while, at least among my "real life" friends. It's all loose leaf, therefore I can move the pages around as I see fit. I also use pages of similar information, to write down any new information, rather than writing it in, in the first open, blank spot. I actually keep several sheets of blank, pre-prepared paper on hand just in case I need more space (refer to my other post about my own BoS if you're curious what mine is like) Because of the way it's designed, whenever I need to cut something in, I simply move the page I need to, into the spot it should go in. However, there's certainly a few more things I could do to organize it more; one such thing I plan to do is to take a blank sheet for each section, and make "label" pages for the different section. So I might have a setup with "curses and hexes", "potions, tinctures, etc.", "gems and crystals", etc. etc.

[loona wynd]

Right now I am reworking my binders to be honest. I have a lot of BOS's in my ritual room. I also have several notebooks that are full of notes about sabbats and rituals and the like that need to get copied into my book. These are all things I am working on now as I start and create a more effective daily practice.

As it stands I have one book for my Temple work. One for my own witchcraft stuff that also contains Temple material. I have a book for Norse and Germanic rituals. I have one for Dragon work and one for Greek rituals. I even had one for Egyptian rituals and work set up as I had planned to study Egyptian paganism as well. Now I am changing things around. I'm going to create a spell book, a prayer book, a book for my Germanic and Norse rituals, my Temple book, and my general workings book. I am also keeping my Dragon book. I may add a Greek and Egyptian books later on if I ever go back to studying those paths and traditions.

[Isis3Anubis]

Most of my BOS is on my computer and index cards. I type everything up then cut and past onto the cards. Leaves more space on the altar if I use cards instead of a book. Also good tools for memorizing spells.

[Isis3Anubis]

Right now Iam working on the Elder Futark of runes.

[SpiritTalker]

Over the years I have filled up a couple bound books - roughly 1 book every 10 years. My current book is 3/4 filled & has sections for rituals, spells, correspondences & misc. I update about once a year from scratch note books.

When I retired I did a household downsize - 2 truck loads of why-am-I-saving-this are now at GoodWill. I've returned to basics in my ritual needs with my athame, wand, a 1-quart cauldron (a size I've found suits me best), my favorite books - down to 4 shelves & a rotating to-be-read stack Candles are contained & can't get out but rocks are another issue ; herbs & oils are now in the kitchen where I actually use them. My present altar set-up fits on a tray that I can move to where ever I'm working (why didn't I think of that sooner?). There's a box along side where I store spell candles, snuffer, holy water, matches & incense at-hand. Having had a dedicated room in the past, I am just as happy with this simpler, low maintenance way.

[manicpixidream]

My BOS is loose-leaf with a leather strand holding everything together. I'll post a picture sometime. So far I have the title page followed by the Wiccan Rede and "Council Rules" I got from a Wicca 101 book that I consider to be highly important. After that is what I call "Liturgy" which includes the Invocation of the Goddess as well as Opening and Closing Sacred Space, so basically the stuff I do every ritual. After that is "Spells and Rituals." I define spells as spoken things that don't need anything more than my typical ritual candle and my voice, while rituals include more intricate instructions. After that is a section I just started developing called "My Pantheon" which has notes on my deities and their histories and may someday include their specific prayers.
My tools are all in an ottoman type thing with my altar being the lid. It's very efficient considering I don't have much stuff yet. I'm still trying to figure out how to set up my altar each time. Right now I have incense at the back, candle in the middle, glass bottle of water from Lake Superior on the left, and my inherited amethyst on the right with my wand at the bottom for use as-needed.