At the end of November, I sat down to take stock of my crafty area/stash. I don't have a whole room dedicated to just crafting - just a portion of my walk-in closet and a desk and shelf in my bedroom. So, my space is somewhat limited, but I still have things spilling over and boxes worth of stuff stored in the back of the closet that I have not used.
The first big thing I figured out is that asking if something "sparks joy" or not does not work for me. For example, I
do need to keep some of the sympathy stamp sets that don't spark joy (they're more somber), but I don't
need to keep kitty cat stamp #1255541 even though it makes me happy to see it.
In addition, I think just removing things that cause negative feelings might not help in the long run (for me, at least). Sure, there's guilt in seeing that stamp set I got a year ago and still haven't used. But if I get rid of it, I know I'll just end up replacing it with another set and find myself in the same position a year later. If the core problem is that I'm not careful with what/how/when I buy supplies, getting rid of extra supplies doesn't help. It just leaves me with free room to fill up with more stuff I only collect.
Instead, I'm going to focus on what I want to ultimately get out of all of my supplies - and that's to use them. Instead of shopping outside, I'll be shopping my stash and keeping a record of how far that takes me in 2018. By not bringing anything new in, I'll still get my supplies under control.
If I look at a stamp set and it makes me feel guilty, I put it in my "use next" box that sits on my desk. Next time I'm making a card, I will use that set. What if it's difficult or uninspiring to use the supply? That's actually great, because it will confirm that I'm ready to let it go - while also helping me define my style or my process better. That means my future purchases will be more mindful and more careful, which is a much bigger win (in my opinion).
So, to answer your question... I'm not letting go of anything that's not a definite "yes" right now. I'm using, learning and then making that decision easy for myself later. I'll be borrowing the lovely advice of having a donation box I can easily put things into when I'm ready to part with them, though. That's a pretty smart idea.
