I’ve collected lots of craft supplies over the years. How about you?
Paints, brushes, yarns, craft paper, stamps, ink pads, ribbons, embellishments…. the list goes on and on.
I’m here to tell you that, when it comes to decluttering many years of stored craft supplies, taking baby steps may be the way to go.
I had so many craft supplies that I had them stored in many different areas of the house. In this video, I brought most of them together in one place to simplify and declutter.
As I began to declutter, I had to ask myself a couple of questions:
- How likely is it that I will get back to doing all of these crafts: Painting, crochet, stamping, etc.?
- Have I grown and changed in ways that making these crafts is not as high of a priority as it used to be?
My answers:
- I know that I will continue to use my stamps to make cards, and I still enjoy crocheting. So I decided to focus on downsizing all of my paper, ink pads, stamps, yarn scraps, etc.
- Yes – I have changed. I am in a different season of my life now, where other things are more important.
When decluttering, it is important to START, but you don’t have to completely declutter everything in order to make meaningful progress.
On this particular day, I was able to “celebrate the small stuff” by decluttering my stamps only. There is no need to wear yourself out spending more hours (than are comfortable) of decision-making and decluttering work. If you push yourself so hard that you are mentally exhausted, your brain will remember that! And naturally you won’t want to do it again. So baby steps can be a good way to go! You can always go back in the future and declutter further.
Make an initial pass through your supplies and keep the items that you KNOW you will be using again. One general rule that many people follow is: If I’m not using it, and it’s value is $20 or less, let it go. If I decide to get back into painting one day, I can buy new brushes then. There is no reason for old paint brushes to be taking up valuable space when they may never get used again.
The really great part of letting go of craft supplies, is getting them into the hands of someone who can use them NOW! I ended up with over 150 stamp supplies that I donated to a school for special needs children. Why would I keep supplies stored away, to not be used, when children could be using them right now?
Ask yourself: “What craft supplies am I holding onto just because I paid good money for them?” And “If I’m really honest with myself, do I see myself finding time to get involved in these craft projects in the foreseeable future?”
Take the first baby step – you’ll feel much lighter when you do!
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