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Ever wanted to chuck out ALL your paper scraps cos you're sick of looking at them??
I have all of my smaller (but not too small -- those get tossed) cardstock and patterned paper scraps carefully and functionally organised in this *totally* awesome accordion file I got at Hobby Lobby. For the past several months, I've been making most/all of my cards exclusively from these scraps. On one hand, I feel all, "Yay for me! I'm not being wasteful, and I'm soo organised!" On the other hand, I have spent A LOT of time with these scraps; I know for a fact most of them are over five years old, and ~65% of them are crappy cardstock from Mikes or the dollar store. Do you know how much awesome Bazzill and Basic Grey I've picked up over the past five years???
So, tonight I was working on a card for my nephew and as I was digging through the neutral coloured scraps in my awesome little organiser, I was filled with the urge to dump the whole shebang in the trash!! Even though with those scraps, I had achieved the nirvana of paper crafting: I had them all well-organised and easily accessible in a really space-efficient organiser! Anyone else ever feel like this??? Or is something just massively wrong with me???
Honestly I would chuck them!! :mrgreen: I just did the same thing not too long ago - I realized I'd been looking at the same ol' patterned paper from 5 years ago (all 'cause I didn't want to be "wasteful".) You'll feel SOO much better, I promise, besides you have used & enjoyed them so I say go for it!!
(& then you need to get more!! .. Can you tell I'm pure bad influence!! lol..)
Yep, and I do it every now and then. too many scrap really stress me out and plus I've probably used the same piece several times so I do get sick of looking at it!
Yep. Just chucked a whole batch as I was cleaning/painting/reorganizing my stamping space. It is old, cheap paper that I bought when I first started stamping, but I was done with it. Clear out the old; you'll feel so much better!
Really??!!?? I could just throw them away? The scrap police won't come and get me? That would be so liberating! I already feel better knowing I'm not the only one with 5 year old scraps.
Yep - go green with em... or - I have a friend that I give them to. I just dump them all in a sack and drop them off. She sorts, takes what she likes and recycles the rest..... now, if I could just do that with the other 97% of my house...:rolleyes:
haha I just had a thought that if I did feel "tosser's remorse" and started missing the scraps, I could visit them in my scrapbooks if the angst got too much to bear.
There isn't any household paper recycling pickup (or drop off as far as I know) in my neck of the woods. But, we recycle the he!! out of everything else, so I can comfort myself with that if I start feeling guilty about not keeping craft paper that I kinda despise just cos I can't recycle it.
Or do you have kids? If you know of any kids who like to do crafts, then your gift of paper scraps could be like Christmas!
That's what I do. I let my boys use my punches on the old cheapo cardstock and yucky DP. They love it, and I don't have to buy paper for them to play with!
I tossed most of mine a couple of months ago. I too am organized and have easy access but I find that I seem to never quite have the size I need in the exact color I need. When I tossed them I kept only the larger (at least 3x3") pieces of colors/DP that I liked. The rest went into the recycle bin.
Every now and then I challenge myself to make cards using just scraps and that feel good, but I still don't use them up.
Or do you have kids? If you know of any kids who like to do crafts, then your gift of paper scraps could be like Christmas!
That is a great idea! I cannot bring myself to throw away my box of scraps, but I would feel just fine bringing them to my Sunday School class for craft projects! I am so excited. I can get rid of all those scraps and feel good about it too! TFS!!!
__________________ Wendy Lord great wonders workest Thou, to Thy sway all creatures bow.
Write Thou deeply on my heart, who I am and who Thou art. Scrappractical - The Blog
I have a huge box packed away. I think in about a year it might look good. I also combine a scrap box with some other stuff and offer it as blog candy. I got rid of 4 boxes of stuff that way and folks were happy to get it.
__________________ Dear Paperlicious is my blog...with a series on how I'm learning to improve my cardmaking by studying others.
I just went throught them all a couple of weeks ago and sent them off to the local pre-school summer class! The kids love paper, any shape, color or size!
__________________ Karen
...My life is like a stroll on the beach...As near to the edge as I can go...Thoreau...
I just went throught them all a couple of weeks ago and sent them off to the local pre-school summer class! The kids love paper, any shape, color or size!
Great idea! I think I'll start putting a box together tonight. Thanks!
I go through mine whenever the box I put them in starts to overflow and I sit with my different punches and punch out shapes and put them into zip lock bags so that when I want a punch out I am not using up a small spot on a large sheet of Cardstock. Another place that you could donate your scraps to is to some senior homes for there craft projects, I give some of my scraps to my SU Demo and she uses them for her monthly craft class at the local senior home.
The thrift store here takes ziploc baggies of scrap paper, they either sell them or they give them to local things for kids. The ymca could use them too.
Before you decide to toss out your scraps you might consider bundling them together and listing them for sale. I have done this twice in the past and listed a "paper salad" on ebay. I took a photo of the scraps, weighed them and was shocked at how much money I got for my leftovers. It proved once again that "one man's trash is another man's treasure!"
Along the same lines, I am surprised at how fickle I can be in regard to my designer papers. A paper I HAD to have last year, I am so bored of today! I have been known to donate my old supplies to our church Vacation Bible School for their craft time.
Anything less than 1/4 sheet I toss. It just takes up too much room and creates clutter to have all of that - and in most cases it's just a few cents worth.
I am sure there are preschool or kdg. teachers that would love to have the scraps for their craft tables. Little ones just like to cut shapes and paste collages. They don't really care about boring or out of style.
I feel your pain. I, too, am a "saver" (of everything, not just paper scraps.) I get tired of looking at the same old stuff, too.
My niece finally got old enough to really enjoy making things so I'm thrilled to have someone to pass my scraps along to. I got her a Cuttlekids for her birthday and gave her a plastic box FULL of scraps and even "gasp" some rubber stamps I hadn't used in ages.
She was so happy to get all of it. Now I have a built-in recycle spot for all that stuff.
Now if I can just get rid of my other paper problem: Christmas paper from too many years, wrinkled, on crushed rolls waiting in my closet.:mrgreen:
__________________ Bugga in OK
"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible." Dalai Lama
Guess I am an anomaly. I keep 'em and have been known to pick up other people's free scraps at garage sales. (If you saw my hobby room, you would know I save everything!) I have a cart on wheels with two rows of hanging files on top. Over three quarter of the files scraps filed by color group. Once I have a large sheet for the card itself, the folders are where I check next for layering, punching, etc. This cart is so handy for me; it rolls under my work table when I don't need it. If the scraps were in an accordian folder, I doubt I would take the trouble to check there. The only scraps I think I should chuck are long one inch wide strips of white cardstock; they accumulate faster than I can come up for uses for them.
[QUOTE=GypsyRoseStamper;10196135]Guess I am an anomaly.
I keep them too and use them. I always look there first! I have a huge stash of scraps that I really need to pare down, but I'm working on it! Using them up more working on cards than working on layouts.
If you are going to get rid of them, so think of donating them to daycares, church groups, schools, even other cardmakers may want them that make cards for the troops!
I want to toss mine too! I have not thought of donating them, that is what I will do. I spend more time digging to find one to use that I am wasting my craft time! I need to either use the scraps right away or just save the solid colored card stock, I rarely re-use the patterned paper.
__________________ Pia 2024 Scrapbook goals MAY 6/10 layouts YTD 113/120 Check out my gallery
Ever wanted to chuck out ALL your paper scraps cos you're sick of looking at them??
