Hello Guiders! The second month of the New Year is upon us! Time to get organized! Well, this isn't really the ideal time to get your unit organized but let's just pretend that we are on top of things and getting a head start for the new Guiding season!
I've read on various blogs and facebook that Guiders are always looking for an easy way to organize and store the Unit badges. I have tried storing badges in those plastic coin collector type page protectors that go in binders but the badges would usually fall out of the top. I've also had badges stored in ziploc baggies but they would get mixed up and tend to run away when I was looking for them.
Here is what works best for me...
I've used this embroidery floss container to store the Guide Badges for about 15 years. So far, I find this to be the best container for the job. The badges are contained in a secure plastic case and easily accessible. It's the right size to slip into my Guiding bag. The lid is perfect for displaying a contact sheet of the Patrol Emblems. The inside is divided into adjustable compartments for sorting badges and pins.
The badges are arranged alphabetically with labelled cardboard dividers. I made a contact sheet of all the badges and taped it to the lid as well.
The page lifts up to show a second contact sheet of badges. This was made 15 years ago and some of the badges have changed but I left it as is to show the girls how the badges used to look.{There are quite a few badge names to remember which can be frustrating especially for new Guiders. This made it easy to quickly identify what I was looking for. I have no idea what happened to my badge contact sheet file...it was a lot of work!}
Over the years I had switched from leading Guides to Brownies to Sparks and back again. I had left this case in the care of many new Guide Guiders...it has survived many hands. It is still intact after all those years and is still in use today. That is proof that this is a nifty little organizational system. I had a second case just like this one for the older style GGC Guide Program challenge pathway badges but now the new Program Area challenge badges are so tiny. I store those in tiny baggies inside a clear plastic 4x6 photo case which seems to work well.
If you are wondering why there are so many badges in this inventory it is because a few years ago a neighbouring town had closed it's Guide Unit and as a result our Guide Unit inherited a good supply of badges.
Since the Provincial Girl Guide shops have closed and everything is done online I find that it is wise to have some extra badges on hand. Instead of paying the shipping on several small orders I find it is more economical to have a supply of the popular badges on hand. These little guys can add up to mucho $ so I wouldn't advise getting a huge supply of extra badges.
When the Provincial Girl Guide stores first closed their doors some of us Guiders were not accustomed to ordering online and paying shipping. At that time I had started a "Badge Exchange" with the Units in my Area. That worked out well for a while...but now it seems that Guiders are more prepared and have adjusted their orders so that they do not run out of the popular badges as frequently.
That's it for today's post! Happy World Thinking Day! I hope that your WTD event is a blast!
