I started volunteering at a second hand craft shop, and I'm finding an inordinate amount of joy in sorting through the random buttons that aren't put out as part of a set. In the back room where we sort yarn and buttons, there are some plastic drawers from which to build "color jars" with plastic buttons of all colors in two drawers, and metal buttons in the bottom drawer. (Special buttons made from materials like wood, mother of pearl, celluloid, or bone are priced and sold separately.) I was advised to sort according to the color of the jar lid when possible, but any color I want to sort will do fine. I could never find enough time to sort them to the degree that I wanted to, so I started taking buttons home to sort on my own time. I've found this process feels similar to hunting for sea glass on the beach. As an alternative that doesn't require traveling to the coast, in a way, this is actually a time saver! Every week when I return for my shift, the last b...
