How do I organise my seeds?

[Jessiebean]

I have a rapidly growing collection of seeds and I am brainstorming the best way of organising them.
I would like something that reuses something so I don't have to buy something new(buying something second hand is fine!),pest and moisture resistant. that makes it easy to find which seeds should be planted when...
I am sure you loverly folks have many great ideas but my brain has been turned firmly to mush by a headache and a three year old who -won't-stop-talking-ever (graaaaaaarrrrrgrhhhhhllll arrrrrrrghhh make him stop! I don't care about Percy- I cannot tell you how much I don't care about trains at all today-) so any ideas to save my seeds would be great.

[Rosendula]

My 4 year old has lots of imaginery friends and they are all steam engines. Gordon talks to me often (I know it's Gordon because he uses a particular voice) and he calls me 'Katie's Mum'. He is the last one to speak on a night, our final bedtime conversation going like this
Me: Na'night gorgeous girl. Love you
Katie: Love you too Mammy. Sleep tight.
Me: Don't let the bed bugs bite
Gordon: You can say that again. Huhuhuhu

She even has a baby engine who she pushes on the swing at the park for ages. And when her ballet teacher told her off (very gently, I must add) for running around, Katie blamed her engines for telling her to do it. You are not alone!

Now, about them seeds. I keep mine in a big biscuit tin. However, if you do that, don't keep them in the greenhouse because it gets red hot inside the tin and you don't want to cook the seeds. So mine goes in the cool, dark shed.

I have 12 bags inside my tin, each labelled with a different month. When I get new seeds, they are put in the bag which represents the first month they can be sown. At the beginning of each month, I go through any seeds left over from last month and move them to the bag that represents the month they can next be sown on. So now it's May (already!!), I'll be going through seeds left over from April and moving them to whichever month's bag they can be sown in next. Does that make sense?

[prison break fan]

Rosendula, I wish I had thought of that! I have the biscuit tin, in the cool shed, but the monthly thing is inspired! Thankyou. I am always learning something here! pbf.

[Keaniebean]

I have the same sort of system as Rosendula but not as organised. I have kids shoe boxes which I have covered in sticky back plastic. I think I watched too much Blue peter as a kid.
I just arrange into flowers, Veg, Herbs and make the rest up as I go along. I had good intentions of doing it month by month, but that New years resoloution only lasted until mid january.

[Jessiebean]

Gawd! I am glad I am not the only one with Steam engine Induced madness...we walked to the vegie shop today which happens to go past the tram museum and the museum with the railway display and the old railway station and the restoration sheds.... Oh my! The trains the @#$%#$ trains!
Anyway.. seeds yes.. I think understand your system Rosendula...if you had a seed in your April bag wwhich could be planted in May it goes into the May one and if April was the last month you could plant it it goes back to say February (or whenever you can start planting that particular veg or herb...) is that right?
I like the simplicity of that system especially as it involves no spreadsheets or other "simple" computer or ledger based approach!
Keaniebean- I think if I tried your way the system would dissolve in a matter of weeks...
I am super disorganised and without some boundaries chaos rules supreme! I do like the shoe box idea though!

[Rosendula]

You've got it Jessiebean. I really enjoy getting the tin out at the beginning of each month and having a sort through. Sad innit?

[Jessiebean]

Sad is ironing underwear or dancing with your cat after sharing a glass of wine (and a cigarette) with him- sorting through seeds sounds like very wholesome past time to me!

[hippymaid]

I like it here you are all as equally bonkers as me ... I am finally HOME lol

[Pennylane]

I keep my seeds in a flat backed wicker basket on the wall in my porch...anything left outside goes rusty as it is so damp around here, that sets my teeth on edge and I simply cannot handle that...I am not organised with them at all but love going through them, the ones that need planting usually travel everywhere with me in my jacket pocket until I finally get them in the ground..

[Jessiebean]

I had a clutter keeper(a bit like a small hall stand you keep on the bench for keys etc) and was just sort of shoving the seeds in the place to keep your bills etc... then I popped this in a styrofoam box with a lid with some coir blocks and unopened bottles of seaweed fertiliser in the shed near a window with no glass in it.. then I discovered that hubby o'mine had comandeered the box for some of his stuff because it was better and had a lid (I know that- that's why it was mine!- but I musn't complain because he is a superwonderful soul mate for me really!) ....I discovered this when I found the children gaily flinging the seed packets around the shed....hence my need for a better approach.
I have now divided a teapot box I didn't have the heart to throw away with cardboard dividers for every month (well not March or April- I ran out of cardboard) so far so good...this has gone back into the styrofoam box which I have covered with some plywood on account of it not having a lid...