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I don't know if anyone out there has practical advice, but I thought I would ask.
We are moving soon. (See Signature) and although I have been blessed with a dedicated stamp room here in VA, there will be no special room in GA. I don't want to give up stamping all together, I love making homemade cards, and the little one on the way needs a scrapbook, so I want to simply slim my stuff down.
Has anyone gone through this process? Does anyone have suggestions on how to compile a room full of stuff into a "wall worth" of stuff? I would also like it to be a bit out of view, so I am thinking maybe an armoire or something?
Just thought I would put it out there and see what you think. Thanks.
__________________ Kristina Wife, Mommy, Stamper, Nurse Laura 6yo Jack 5yo, James 4/20/08 Megan arrived 3/16/09
FLY Spot Alert! No whining allowed! I bet there is not a SHE among us who does not have a craft drawer, shelf, or closet in their home. Me, I used to have an entire craft room! Today, take a look in your craft supplies. Set your timer for 15 minutes and declutter anything you do not use, love, or need. I know the sweater I started knitting for my baby 10 years ago is just not going to fit anymore! Out it goes. Tackle this one shelf at a time. You did not accumulate all your craft supplies in one day, you are not going to declutter it in one day either! You will be amazed at how much more creative you will be when you only have the things you know you are going to use in your supplies.
i know, it's not much. but maybe a typical organizing/purging outlook would help?
Ah now I have been purging- we are applying for adoption and I want the nice social workers to see 2 things
1) Our four bedroom house really will have room in it for 1 or more children
2) I am not so obsessed by a hobby that I wont have time for anyone/anything else!
This is what I did
Firstly gather up the papers-you know the Designer ones on special you were always so sure you were going to need them. Donate them to a pre-school or children's centre. Do the same with card stock. Not the essentials but the ones desperate to be used. The scraps we all save-purge them be ruthless!
Secondly STAMPS
Gather up your core sets-thank-you, birth, sympathy birthday congrats- these are your core-put them somewhere
Then gather up your favourites-be ruthless-this isn't the final stage
Then go through what's left and be honest about what you like and don't like. What you like in Pile A-don't really like in pile B.
Go through pile A and pick out your favourites again, add the rest to Pile B.
Take Pile B and before your nerve fails you list it on Ebay-either as a job lot or smaller lots.
One thing I really found reduced space was re-assessing my storage solutions. I was amazed at how much space was saved after the purge simply by re-assessing my storage and how I organised everything. With the purge do the containers need to be so big- do you need to keep stuff in it's original packaging? The smaller containers will fit into a wardrobe-look at IKEA shelving and cupboards solutions you can mix and match for a wall storage solution that may include a craft desk. Drawes work better for me than shelves for storage as shelves give freedom for a lot of sprawl.
Oh yes and whatever you have two of ditch or donate one.
You should still have everything you want and have less stuff.
My other advice is this- you will find once you have been through your stuff once or after the first sitting you will feel better about throwing more stuff stuff away.
I guess part of it is common sense, but when you put it into steps like that it truly helps. I can envision a stamp spot with my basic supplies and my tried and true favorites . . . then perhaps a pantry closet or ikea storage area with those ones that I dare not part with, but aren't used everyday/seasonal stamps and supplies.
I may do most of my sorting/prioritizing when I actually get there, since I don't want to think that I have less space than I really do have and get rid of stuff that I would rather keep.
Good luck on your adoption! My SIL is in the process of foster adoption and she is excited.
Off to search the IKEA website. We have one here, and I know there is one in Atlanta when we get to GA.
__________________ Kristina Wife, Mommy, Stamper, Nurse Laura 6yo Jack 5yo, James 4/20/08 Megan arrived 3/16/09
I may rock the boat here, but I would advise to NOT purge before moving. Pack it all up and move it with you. If you purge now, you will surely regret trashing things that at the moment in the urge to purge, you will want and have a need for. The only exception to this I would say is if something is broken, damaged, torn, or you aren't sure enen what it is, trash that, but neatly pack everything else and take it with you. You will have regrets if you trash now.
Advise purging kitchen gadgets and items you don't use before trashing craft items. Do you really use that salad shooter.......just how many measuring spoons do you really need.....do you really use those old bent cookie sheets....think about it??
This is based on my experience of moving from small condos, to mobile homes to apartments.
Also trying to donate things to a pre-school or such place, may not be as easy as it sounds. Some places are rather picky with what items they will take, even with paper. Also if you give them an item and someone gets hurt with it, you could be held responsible.
I read this hint in regards to clothes closets, but I think it could apply to stamp supplies too.
3 piles/boxes
1. Things you ABSOLUTELY must keep. You'll know these easy enough. They are your basic supplies like ink pads, cardstock, and the stamp sets you turn to time and time again.
2. Those things you know you NEVER use or have duplicates of. Do you have certain ink colors you just never use? Or two different brands of essentially interchangable ink colors? How about the DP you bought on sale but just don't love as much as you thought?
3. This is the hard part. Here you put the things that you THINK you might want to use one day. Things like stamp sets that you still like but just never seem to have a reason to use them. Or the DP you still love but can't figure out how to use it on a project.
Put all those *iffy* items in a box and mark with the date. Set yourself a time limit, say 3 months after you get moved in and have had time to start paper-crafting again. If during that time frame, you haven't *missed* anything from that box, you know you can get rid of it, either donation or E-bay.
Thinning the supplies
