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I keep telling myself that I need to purge my craft studio.
Well, I bought a 10 drawer cart thinking I was going to use it for storing my 12 x 12 DSP. I ended up taking the things out of several 3-drawer Sterlite containers & putting them in the drawers. It felt good to re-organize and throw away some stuff as well as making my studio look much nicer.
But! I only filled one photo box of crafting supplies that need to find a new home. Mostly prima & prima-like flowers.
I'm trying to organize my stuff too! We are in a very small apartment so not much room. My table is where the kitchen table should be. ;)
We have a garage so going to store some of it out there and bring in as I need it. I've been battling health problems for several years so everything in my house has really gotten out of control!
At least I'm working on it right?! I hope you all are finding ways to help you be more creative and enjoy your space.
I haven't read all of this thread yet but will be watching for more ideas.
This has been a great thread to read and I agree with all of the comments, but the one that struck me the most was and this is not an exact quote "You can never truly purge until you are ready". We have been purging our house for almost 2 years and it is only slightly over 1000 square feet with a 250 foot shed! Over the last 5 years or so I have helped empty my grandparents house, 2 aunts houses and this last year the house my mother and sister shared to move my sister to my city. With all of this, I realized how much we can all acquire, especially if you have the approach that if one is good 3 or 12 is better. (Hoarding is in my genes, I now realize this!) We started with household things, extra ceiling fans, furniture, then moved on to items kept for sentimental reasons (cards, nick nacks, etc) and I have finally gotten to my papercrafts. First I tackled paper (4 packages of over 2 inches each) and purchased 8 of the 12 x 12 clear boxes, almost all of them are full by color even after the giveaway. I have donated over 60 individual stamps and sets and still have at least 400-500. I have gone through my ribbon (a whole shoe box gone) and paints and inks. I did have to let go of the money spent because as others have said it's gone, just like clothes, shoes, ect. It has been so freeing to get rid of things I thought I would use at some point. I am also trying to use the Simplicity blog challenge to use all of my stamps (have truly barely made a dent in this but am working on it) and have discovered through this so far that I could part with the stamps I did because I know I will not use them or can use others I have in new ways. I am 57 and don't want to leave my one and only son with the houses I spent months clearing because they simply gave up and didn't get rid of anything after a certain point in their lives! I know some of you are much younger but always something to think about! I still have plenty, dies, stamps, buttons, need to work on my stickers next (I used to scrapbook) but after I started, it has gotten easier. I do make a box or sack for donation and hold on to it for a couple of weeks to see if it is causing me anxiety to let go of something and have pulled 2 things back but the rest has gone. I don't see myself buying anything I have donated back, but if I do, it will be on sale or purchased with a coupon so I would be okay with that. Good luck to any of you going through the same process, it is not easy but once you start it does get better!
Sorry for the long post, I guess since I am just in the process, it really spoke to me.
Rachael
__________________ Family faces are like magic mirrors. When we look at those who belong to us we see the past, the present and the future.
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Originally Posted by Buried Treasures
If at all possible, I do not like to spend money on organizing tools. I have secondhand wire shelves in the closet and use whatever boxes I can find - shoe, Amazon, file etc. I put large, handwritten labels on the boxes so I know where everything is. Clear stamps are in binders that my office was going to throw away. My "splurge" was three $14 picture ledges from Ikea for the wood stamps. Sprays and liquid inks are on cheap spice racks. I have made my own stamp racks from dollar store foam board. It's not pretty, but my room is very functional. Besides, I can always shut the closet door .
Oh my gosh, this is so me! In fact I had to do a double take when I first started reading...I thought I'd posted it!
I love to re-purpose. Every storage item I have is a re-purpose. I have always wanted to spend my money on stamps, tools, paper embellishments, etc.
__________________ All I want is the chance to prove money won't make me happy!
Thought I add a little hint that I keep a garage sale box going all the time. As I work through seasonal projects I will find things that I know longer love, stamps that are no longer my style, etc. I just toss these things in the box as I find them.
I also have a place in the garage where for non-stamping related items so when I get a notice that goodwill is coming to the neighborhood I'm ready. It's a lot easier to do it a little bit at a time instead once you've finished the big purge.
I have a wonderful local stamping and scrapbooking store nearby. They hold two annual "garage" sales, one for used stamps, and one for all other supplies with the exception of adhesives and inks (because they dry out). I now keep a box in which I put any items I don't think I will ever use again. Shortly before each sale I go through all my supplies and purge anything else I don't think I'm likely to use. I haven't yet found myself regretting anything I've sold. I price everything low enough that it all sells and I don't have to bring it back home.
My father retired from his consulting business and sent me home with a ton of office supplies, markers, paper, cardstock, etc. Anybody want to come to Dallas and take it all away? (Okay, leave me a few markers.)
__________________ Debbie "Make it work, people." - Tim Gunn My Gallery
We became empty nesters and at the beginning of the year, DH moved my craft stuff into an extra bedroom. I was so thrilled to have a craft room! But I still have my stuff sitting around in Rubbermaid tubs; it's just all in the same room now instead of being stashed all over the house. It's an improvement to have it all in one place but it's obvious that I need some kind of organizational system, especially for my stamps and dies. A desk, a chair, bunch of plastic tubs and stacks of stuff - not a good system for me. I am currently researching craft room organization to figure out what will work best for me without breaking the bank.
I also need to purge some stuff. I don't have enough to qualify as a hoarder but I've been stamping a long time and need to let go of some older stuff I probably won't ever use. I plan to be especially ruthless when culling through my wood mounted stamps since they are a pain to store. I will probably unmount the ones I keep, once I decide on a stamp storage system.
I'm happy to finally have a craft room. But I'll be a lot happier when it is organized, functional and doesn't stress me out! Thanks for all the helpful info and suggestions.
I have enjoyed this thread and found several helpful thoughts on purging.
I also see I am not alone in needing to get rid of some of this stuff. I don't have a dedicated scrap room but I have designated containers or spaces for everything. I have reached a point where several of the containers are full or I have things that I no longer use so now I am culling things
I had too many MS punches to fit in the box under my bed so I gave 11 of them to the Good Will .It would cost to much to ship them to anyone.
I live in an apartment and we are not allowed to have yard sales
I tried putting a few things on B/S/T but I didn't have much luck. I don't have a Pay Pal account and I think most people are uncomfortable just sending money to a stranger and trusting they will get what they bought .
I know I could get a PayPal account but my CC has been hacked now 4 TIMES and I am not comfortable giving out my CC number to another company who was hacked in the past
So my only choices are donating to the Good Will or tossing things I no longer use in the garbage or the recycling dumpster that we have here .
The next things I am tackling are my dies and Justrite stamps . The boxes for those are also full .
I don't want my apartment to look like I live in a craft store .
I also culled some of my books, supplies for paper quilling and knitting . I no long have an interest in doing quilling nor knitting
Onward !!
__________________ "I have not failed . I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work" --Thomas A. Edison
I have enjoyed this thread and found several helpful thoughts on purging.
I also see I am not alone in needing to get rid of some of this stuff. I don't have a dedicated scrap room but I have designated containers or spaces for everything. I have reached a point where several of the containers are full or I have things that I no longer use so now I am culling things
I had too many MS punches to fit in the box under my bed so I gave 11 of them to the Good Will .It would cost to much to ship them to anyone.
I live in an apartment and we are not allowed to have yard sales
I tried putting a few things on B/S/T but I didn't have much luck. I don't have a Pay Pal account and I think most people are uncomfortable just sending money to a stranger and trusting they will get what they bought .
I know I could get a PayPal account but my CC has been hacked now 4 TIMES and I am not comfortable giving out my CC number to another company who was hacked in the past
So my only choices are donating to the Good Will or tossing things I no longer use in the garbage or the recycling dumpster that we have here .
The next things I am tackling are my dies and Justrite stamps . The boxes for those are also full .
I don't want my apartment to look like I live in a craft store .
I also culled some of my books, supplies for paper quilling and knitting . I no long have an interest in doing quilling nor knitting
Onward !!
I have sold many times on the buy/sell thread requesting money orders for payment. You don't have to have a paypal account to sell here.
Just a thought;)
__________________ The quickest way for a parent to get a child's attention is to sit down and look comfortable. Practice safe eating always use condiments
I had one time where some one paid more than I was asking for an item from a person who had a Paypal account so I stopped putting anything there
It was on the ISO thread . The other person answered the request with a message and the price wanted which was quite a bit higher than mine and that is the one that sold .
Previously I did sell a couple of things on the ISO thread and those people send me concealed cash but the amount was very small .
If I have anything I think some one may be interested in I will try the B/S/T again before I give them to the Good Will .
__________________ "I have not failed . I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work" --Thomas A. Edison
Have you checked to see if there is a crafting Meetup group in your area? I'll bet those members would love to have the opportunity to check out your stuff.
__________________ Debbie "Make it work, people." - Tim Gunn My Gallery
OK. I don't want to be unhelpful... but I feel like I just pulled up a chair on the porch and sat down to a lemonade. I'm among family. I feel much better knowing there are so many wonderful people in the world with this affliction besides me!
I had it purged/contained in a closet for 5 years (burnt out on it). Dug it out this year, spent a fortune retooling, now it's taken over my house. I don't want people to come to my house any more...
I'm getting close to hitting the wall. In the meantime, I will look into charities to make cards for, or donate the supplies to. It might even be a tax deduction.
Barbara Jay, before our local scrap store closed... once a year they had a "garage sale" inside the store.. if things you hauled in sold, you were given store credit rather than cash..
maybe check around your area in the mom and pop type craft stores to see if they do something like this??
Barbara Jay, before our local scrap store closed... once a year they had a "garage sale" inside the store.. if things you hauled in sold, you were given store credit rather than cash..
maybe check around your area in the mom and pop type craft stores to see if they do something like this??
We do not have any small craft stores within about 40 miles. Plus I don't want to bring in more stuff bought with a store credit. I want less not more
The idea of tossing anything I have not used in 6 months or a year doesn't work for me because I often go back to doing something years later
So, I am asking my self of each item " If it was gone in a disaster or stolen would I buy it again? " If not ---it goes out .
If I would not repurchase it if I lost it , there is not reason to keep it now .
Thanks anyway for the suggestions
Barbara
__________________ "I have not failed . I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work" --Thomas A. Edison
I'm currently digitizing my stamp catalog, and as I go, I'm taking a hard look at everything I own. If I wouldn't buy it now, it gets tagged "Sell". When I'm done, I'm going to have a huge listing on the B/S/T forum here and see if I can find new homes for stamps I'm neglecting.
I still can't bring myself to part with any of my paper. I just need to figure out where to store it all. I do check the ISO forum often to see if anyone is looking for a color I have, but haven't had luck with that.
__________________ aka Sue. Or Sue-odd.
No blog for me. My gallery chronicles my card-making successes and mishaps.
I still can't bring myself to part with any of my paper. I just need to figure out where to store it all. I do check the ISO forum often to see if anyone is looking for a color I have, but haven't had luck with that.
Paper is my hard spot also. I store mine upright (not flat) and I can flip through and see the colors well, and it takes up half the space it used to.
I also think using it as gift wrapping is a good idea.
Mine is all cardstock, so gift wrap isn't an option. I don't really like the 12x12 dsp, so I have very little of it. I'm just a big fan of having access to all sorts of colors. Nothing quite like having all the wrong shades of green.
I store it in file boxes. The problem is, I have room for 6 boxes and I now have enough paper for 9 boxes. Need to find a place for the other three boxes. And yes, one of my thoughts is to get rid of some of the books. But I've already parted with so many books that I'm down to just that one bookshelf.
__________________ aka Sue. Or Sue-odd.
No blog for me. My gallery chronicles my card-making successes and mishaps.
I'm not sure a file cabinet would help. The boxes take up very little space overall, it's just the sheer amount of paper I have. Besides, I have no floor space for a cabinet. The boxes fit on the bottom two shelves of my bookshelf, like so:
Five of these are exclusively SU paper.
The three overflow are exclusively Amuse Studio paper.
__________________ aka Sue. Or Sue-odd.
No blog for me. My gallery chronicles my card-making successes and mishaps.
Oddesigns,
I think your storage looks compact, organized and easy to use. I store my card stock in a drawer inside accordian file folders, but since I bought packages of retiring SU card stock, that is in boxes on shelves in the closet to be use as I run out in the drawer. I also love to have the right color. I think with what I have I'm set. I haven't bought anymore since the last color/pad change at SU. When I run out of what I have I will already be dead! Below is a picture of my card stock stash.
I too have an addiction to supplies. I got so disgusted with my stash that I decided it would be easier to pack up a box or two and donate it to the girls and boys club. they do lots of art and I know their budget it $0. I still have a lot to do in the room but I am taking one day (week) at a time. slowly but surely I will get my ---- together.
I'm not sure a file cabinet would help. The boxes take up very little space overall, it's just the sheer amount of paper I have. Besides, I have no floor space for a cabinet. The boxes fit on the bottom two shelves of my bookshelf, like so:
Five of these are exclusively SU paper.
The three overflow are exclusively Amuse Studio paper.
Sue, you actually look pretty organized to me, here is another random thought... just for fun, lets say you cut your paper color stash in half... and you kept a lot of basic's... and then lets say someday you needed this shade you didn't keep... so, you ran out and bought say stain bottles from ranger or spritz colors from someone else...
those bottles would not be as compact to store as the paper storage you already have going on.
I think as long as you keep creating its going to be fine. ( and I wont floor you with my paper stash lol)
Sue, you actually look pretty organized to me, here is another random thought... just for fun, lets say you cut your paper color stash in half... and you kept a lot of basic's... and then lets say someday you needed this shade you didn't keep... so, you ran out and bought say stain bottles from ranger or spritz colors from someone else...
That made my heart race just thinking about purging some of my colors. LOL. I don't think I'm ready.
It will be easier to put a moratorium on adding new colors (no more SU in colors, for example), until I've made a dent in my current supply.
I know that others have lots more paper than me. My problem is my limited space. I have what amounts to half a room. I have one long wall in the guest bedroom. There is nowhere else to spill over into, so when I exceed this space I am in trouble. That room also has my bookshelf with actual books (pictured above), and another bookshelf with my Fisher Price Little People collection on display. If I overflow my craft space, I need to either purge some of my little people or some of my books. It was all I could do to get both of those collections down to a single bookshelf, so neither of those options are particularly appealing to me.
__________________ aka Sue. Or Sue-odd.
No blog for me. My gallery chronicles my card-making successes and mishaps.
looks organized to me too. after doing my purging, I decided to have my mantra......
"WHAT I HAVE I WILL SHARE AND WHAT I NEED I WILL BORROW"
I say this all the time, especially when I get the urge to BUY something.
No, don't purge. You're being pretty conservative. I buy SU paper too, and have a few that replace the SU paper, like my white and vanilla, because I have Neenah Classic Crest. I just wish SU had a lighter gray...like the pti gray or the mft gray. I'll just have to get one of those. Just not whole lines of paper.
My paper is in expandable page protectors (in place of your file folders). I don't use the boxes. I find that every little bit of extra thickness (file folder, hanging file folder, box, etc) takes up space that could be used for real product. ;) They are then "filed" on a shelf under my desk. My drawers in my hutch hold a little bit of each color...in card bases or quarter sheets or scraps.
Just use up some paper! Then you have more room! LOL!
BTW, my 9x13 room is shared by my stamping, quilting/sewing, and watercolor. I don't have a lot of space either.
Ooh, I had a thought! Put a shelf above all of what you have...you can even go all the way around the room like we did with our train set...and put your Little People collection on that shelf. Then you would have a WHOLE bookshelf for more storage!
Buy what you need, not need " to buy" cause it's trendy, saw it on pinterest ect. Use the supplies on hand and consider not replacing them. A larger space for me and I'd fill it up, every inch of it. I also want to enjoy my hobby and not stress over too much stuff.
Buy what you need, not need " to buy" cause it's trendy, saw it on pinterest ect. Use the supplies on hand and consider not replacing them. A larger space for me and I'd fill it up, every inch of it. I also want to enjoy my hobby and not stress over too much stuff.
SO true!
I've kept some older colors that I love...but some of the newer colors are so similar. So when the old ones are gone, they're gone. I won't even keep the ink.
As for me, I need to use more colors in my cards in order to use up more of that stash.
could you just move the books to another place? ( says someone who actually has stacks of books everywhere?)
I could, but it would require a lot of thought and probably moving other stuff. After 15 years in the same house, we've finally got things settled and where we want them. We went through a period of too much jammed into every room, then I started purging. I'm still purging. The problem is, I love minimal design but I'm a hoarder at heart. I'm slowly working my spaces towards cleaner and simpler, but it's not without pain.
I'm down to the hardest stuff to purge: my wardrobe and my craft supplies.
Also, I definitely enjoy organizing, about as much as crafting, so I figure I'm getting pleasure out of all of this eve if I'm not using the supplies when I'm rearranging them. :p
__________________ aka Sue. Or Sue-odd.
No blog for me. My gallery chronicles my card-making successes and mishaps.
No problems for me purging wardrobe. Something new comes in; something old goes out.
I have purged most of my books and that was hard. It was like getting rid of old friends. The sewing books went to the American Sewing Guild. Novels went to the library. I finally got rid of my 17 volumes of videotapes by my favorite sewing instructor. That was really hard!
Sue, you're welcome to come to my house to organize any time
__________________ Debbie "Make it work, people." - Tim Gunn My Gallery
I just wanted to jump back in and offer a thought that might be helpful, or at least sympathetic...
I've moved MANY times in my adult life (our recent move to Las Vegas was #32 in the past 23 years), and things get "lost", damaged, just plain gone. We wanted to save space and weight in the car (we sold our house and almost everything in it - the car had our clothes, some bedding, my craft stuff (SERIOUSLY purged and downsized), and my Revereware pots and pans), so I shipped six boxes of books "Media Mail" - the cheapest way to go. Two boxes have never arrived, three of the four that made it were damaged, two were missing items. Among the items that did NOT get here was my entire collection of Christmas books, two primers that my grandmother taught out of, and the scriptures that my parents gave me (also all of my Harry Potter books, but I can replace those). This has been a recurring theme in my life - all of the things that I had the most sentimental/emotional attachment to are the ones that go missing. Things that I don't care so much about and/or that can be replaced are the ones that hang around. My thought is that I am getting lessons in not forming attachments to "things" - they don't matter nearly as much as people and the experiences that we have with them. At the end of the day, in time I will not miss those "things" like I do right in this moment, and the people I love are still with me, in the physical world or the spiritual...
I had a lot of the original Justrite rubber stamps and mounts. I went through all of them and kept 4 stamps sets and one 3 & 1/4" mount . I tossed the rest of the stamps and mounts in the trash.
I also purged a lot of my SU & other wood mounted stamps. Those went to the Good Will along with some clear Poly stamps such as some Flourishes sets.
Now all the stamps I have left fit in 2 -4QT Really Useful boxes .
I am determined to get the supplies and equipment for this hobby down to a minimum and manageable .
Barbara
__________________ "I have not failed . I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work" --Thomas A. Edison
One thought that I hope is helpful is to think differently about a thing's value. The money has already been spent and the cost of keeping it should be measured by storage space, usefulness (or lack thereof) and frustration from crafty chaos.
I just wanted to jump back in and offer a thought that might be helpful, or at least sympathetic...
I've moved MANY times in my adult life (our recent move to Las Vegas was #32 in the past 23 years), and things get "lost", damaged, just plain gone. We wanted to save space and weight in the car (we sold our house and almost everything in it - the car had our clothes, some bedding, my craft stuff (SERIOUSLY purged and downsized), and my Revereware pots and pans), so I shipped six boxes of books "Media Mail" - the cheapest way to go. Two boxes have never arrived, three of the four that made it were damaged, two were missing items. Among the items that did NOT get here was my entire collection of Christmas books, two primers that my grandmother taught out of, and the scriptures that my parents gave me (also all of my Harry Potter books, but I can replace those). This has been a recurring theme in my life - all of the things that I had the most sentimental/emotional attachment to are the ones that go missing. Things that I don't care so much about and/or that can be replaced are the ones that hang around. My thought is that I am getting lessons in not forming attachments to "things" - they don't matter nearly as much as people and the experiences that we have with them. At the end of the day, in time I will not miss those "things" like I do right in this moment, and the people I love are still with me, in the physical world or the spiritual...
Sue- I am so sorry. That is so heartbreaking. I know your trying to be positive about it. I know it's so painful. I am sending you hugs. I lost things in moves too. I am all about decluttering. Keeping things I only love or is useful. Losing sentimental items is like a kick in the soul. I lost something of my child's when DH & I moved into our new home and I practically had a breakdown.
My craft supplies- I have gotten that good balance in my life right now. What I have learned it takes time to find that balance. Your not just purging excess. Your purging your learning skills, your comfort areas and if you think you will be good enough without it. We all collect and then we have to purge. It's a learning experience of who you are as an artist. That's how I look at it. When I let go of something I have learned from it and now it's time to give that gift to someone else.
I have way too many craft supplies as well. My stuff is mostly organized very well, it's just the amount of stuff that is overwhelming. I have a hard time getting rid of any of it.
I am currently going through my magazines. Aprox 10 years worth of both scrapbooking and papercrafting magazines. As I started I picked out the ones I thought I'd be ok with getting rid of. Then I moved on to the "oh, I remember I liked this magazine brand, (I'm not going to want to get rid of these!)". What shocked me was even the ones I loved, really didn't have anything that jumped out at me to save. I just started the scrapbook magazines yesterday, so I'll see how that goes. So far 100's of magazines later and truthfully everything is dated and really it is so much easier to look ideas up either here or on Pinterest. Now, my issue is what to do with all of these magazines? I would love to recoup some money, even if it's a small amount. But I posted a thread to see if anyone thinks they'd sell, everyone said NO they won't. Now I have to force myself to recycle them.
A few months ago I removed my cricut cartridges from their cases, I kept the cases in a few Rubbermaid bins incase I change my mind or want to sell any (as if that would ever happen, lol). Now I need to force myself to purge the cases.
I don't know why this is so difficult for me, but it is. I am trying to remind myself that I am making room for the crafting things I use, so they will be more easy to access. I find it feels good going through everything and knowing I don't want this stuff taking up space in my home, it's the final letting go that I struggle with.
Thanks to everyone for sharing that we have similar issues.
