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Another thing to consider for those of you who can't part with something they "paid good money for" is think of how much storing that stuff is costing you. Consider the cost of putting on an addition to your home or renting a bigger place or heaven forbid a storage unit. Getting rid of unused items will make your home more spacious and enjoyable. All of a sudden the "things we paid good money for" do not seem all that valuable.
Do Stampers really do this?
If someone has to go through all this, just to keep from throwing out, selling craft supplies.....well there is already a T.V. show that concerns this problem.
Seriously, were do people get the money to spend on this crafting when there is a problem like this???
__________________ 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
They often dont have the money and run up massive amounts of debt on multiple credit cards. Very sad. The money might be better spent with a therapist identifying what hole in their lives they are trying to fill, and healthy ways to do it. Easier said than done.
I cant handle those shows. I have told DH he is do whatever it takes if I start getting like that. (a surprising number of spouses let it just go on and on) Drag me to therapy, tie me to a chair, take away the CCs. Whatever it takes!
He did say the other day it looked like I have "an awful lot of stamps. How many can a person use?" B/C I re-orged and stuff that was in a corner is now out in the light of day....so by my very desire to be able access stamps, I outed myself on how many I have. He has a point. I do have a decent amount. I had to explain every time you see me looking is NOT me buying LOL. I'm just window shopping!
They often dont have the money and run up massive amounts of debt on multiple credit cards. Very sad. The money might be better spent with a therapist identifying what hole in their lives they are trying to fill, and healthy ways to do it. Easier said than done.
I cant handle those shows. I have told DH he is do whatever it takes if I start getting like that. (a surprising number of spouses let it just go on and on) Drag me to therapy, tie me to a chair, take away the CCs. Whatever it takes!
He did say the other day it looked like I have "an awful lot of stamps. How many can a person use?" B/C I re-orged and stuff that was in a corner is now out in the light of day....so by my very desire to be able access stamps, I outed myself on how many I have. He has a point. I do have a decent amount. I had to explain every time you see me looking is NOT me buying LOL. I'm just window shopping!
Originally Posted by lindsaymay View Post
Another thing to consider for those of you who can't part with something they "paid good money for" is think of how much storing that stuff is costing you. Consider the cost of putting on an addition to your home or renting a bigger place or heaven forbid a storage unit. Getting rid of unused items will make your home more spacious and enjoyable. All of a sudden the "things we paid good money for" do not seem all that valuable.
I was responding to lindsaymay comment in red.
IF some one has to add an addition on to their house, rent a bigger place to live or spend money on a storage unit to hold their stamping supplies, well yes I would call this hording.
__________________ 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 have some friends who are either just starting out or will eventually start stamping/scrapbooking, and I have a box of stuff for them. As I go along in my creating, when I come across something I know I'll never use, it goes right into the box! Feels more like I'm helping a friend as opposed to just getting rid of stuff I might need someday.
I use the 6 month rule for other areas of my life and I would just like to suggest that if you haven't opened the box in 6 months, don't open it now! Just take it to the donation site and walk away!
It never fails you open it and then start questioning yourself all over again!
Leslie-
I got that. I was responding to your remark "there are tv shows for that"-I thought you meant the horders.
I read what Lindsey was saying as: if you keep buying but never purging...you will burst at the seams if you dont expand...and do you have any interest in spending all that money to do that for stamps? Maybe I got it wrong.
As a librarian I have to cull stuff at work but I am not so good with my own books or craft stuff. I have some suggestions: Put all the things you have saved because you "might" find a use for it in a box (or boxes) and make a day when you only use those things. You never know what you might create and it will start making a dent in the boxes. Or have a craft party with your friends with the stipulation that they only use stuff from your boxes! Try to find out if you have a craft club in your area or rest home, they would be gratefull of any donations.
Regarding sets - the first thing I do is break them up. Radical, I know. The sentiments are stored with my sentiments and the rest go into their appropriate categories. I get much more use out of them that way and my creativity is not limited to what the stamp manufacturer thinks should go together.
Storage - Purging is great, and you probably wouldn't miss what is gone. Here's another tactic - if you have room, store a box or two in the attic (we don't have basements in Texas). If it's too much of a pain to get something out of the box, and/or you haven't needed the contents in a year, then you know it's time to get rid of it.
I totally agree with this. Then, if there is one or two stamps in a set, I give them away to someone who wants it. There are always newbies that want the stamps you don't want and that's a great feeling. We just moved, and while my craft area is even a bit larger, I still took the opportunity to purge and I'm still purging now that we are settled. It is so freeing!
Last edited by jeanne3579; 09-03-2014 at 04:40 PM..
Our local craft store has a craft rummage sale twice a year. We take in what we do not want and sell it. Then we get credit at the store to purchase more! It take getting rid of lots to buy one new thing, but you do get rid of stuff!
I am not a SU purchaser unless at rummage sales, and NEVER their paper or pads. Less expensive stuff works just as well - this is NOT art that will be kept forever. I break up the sets and keep only what I know I will use.
Check with your local independent store to see if they do that. I also gave a lot to the art teacher at the local grade school.
Same boat here. I moved from a 2 bedroom trailer to a 1 bedroom small apt. I have a craft room with a bed in it. I had 3 or 4 yard sales before I moved. Didn't help keep buying more. Maybe we should start a scrapbook anonymous (sp) ?
I try to follow the "something in something out" rule. I don't always succeed, but I'll purge regularly. Just recycled some old DSP this week, I hadn't touched most of it in over 2 years! I've become very particular about what I buy and when something new and wonderful comes out I wait for for the dust to settle and honest reviews to come out.
It really helps if you can be brutally honest with yourself about what you will actually USE and not just admire. Big difference!
I try to follow the "something in something out" rule. I don't always succeed, but I'll purge regularly. Just recycled some old DSP this week, I hadn't touched most of it in over 2 years! I've become very particular about what I buy and when something new and wonderful comes out I wait for for the dust to settle and honest reviews to come out.
I have problems sometimes with stamp sets. I see the set, and a few samples, and I think, "I have got to have that one!" But I've learned to resist the first thoughts and watch what everyone does with the stamps. Now I see that often I can do without a set.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cartermrc
It really helps if you can be brutally honest with yourself about what you will actually USE and not just admire. Big difference!
As MUCH as I would LOVE a room like those...I wont ever be able to afford it short of hitting the lottery. Maybe that is a good thing. I suspect I might buy even MORE if I had all that space?
Can anyone who has done their rooms up tell me-has that happened to you? Once you had a nice big space you found yourself buying more? Or did it help you to slow down b/c you wanted to keep the space open and uncluttered?
[QUOTE=wavejumper;20743326]scrapbook.com just showed craft rooms...holy cow. Some are nicer than my LR, never mind a work space! Looks to me like serious money was spent.
In my dreams. . . I just relocated my craft room from a 7' wide porch to an alcove in my den. I was isolated on the porch. The narrowness of the room made it impossible to have an efficient workspace. The alcove is a wee bit bigger but it enables me to have a U shaped layout.
As MUCH as I would LOVE a room like those...I wont ever be able to afford it short of hitting the lottery. Maybe that is a good thing. I suspect I might buy even MORE if I had all that space?
Can anyone who has done their rooms up tell me-has that happened to you? Once you had a nice big space you found yourself buying more? Or did it help you to slow down b/c you wanted to keep the space open and uncluttered?
I'm with you, I laugh when people are purging because they are getting rid of more than I own!
Now that I have a whole room to myself I am not as tempted to buy as I used to be. I can see most of what I have now and so I don't buy dups or more than I need. Paper is still my big downfall but I am working hard on controlling the urge to buy!
Can anyone who has done their rooms up tell me-has that happened to you? Once you had a nice big space you found yourself buying more? Or did it help you to slow down b/c you wanted to keep the space open and uncluttered?
I don't have a huge space but what I have is nice (not super fancy but nice) and what I notice is that you spend more $ on organizing because you want everything to match and fit perfectly. Maybe it's because I'm a bit OCD, but I'll search and search until I find the right kind of basket to match the others. My friends love this about me because they get my cast-offs.
I had to make a hard decision on do I want my room to be beautiful or functional. You might think I should be able to do both, but my reality is that I found that if I put everything hidden away so it was picture ready, it wasn't fun to use. I've since brought my tools out and keep them out and hide away things I use every so often.
Having a nice room makes no difference in what stamps, tools, or paper that I buy. What makes the difference is that I no longer want to do another "purge" so I only buy what I can and will use. ;)
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 .
__________________ Debbie "Make it work, people." - Tim Gunn My Gallery
Force yourself to fit your supplies into a smaller area- then you will HAVE to purge.
I made the decision one day many years ago to no longer have 'stashes' of supplies hidden all over the house (boxes of ribbon in the closet, off-season stamps in the basement, random supplies in the living room cabinets, etc). I went through all of my supplies, purging what I hadn't used in years. Those items were donated or sold. All of my supplies were kept in my craft studio.
Two years after that, I went even further and decided to no longer store any supplies in my studio closet (I wanted to use it as a real closet again!). So I purged again. And again, and again.
This past spring I moved into a smaller home and purged even more. Now I have only those supplies that I love and use regularly. There isn't room for more and I find I'm happier when I create. I don't miss what's gone.
I have all of the usual "reasons" for not purging - already spent money, don't want stuff to go to the landfill so I have to find a new home for it, etc. But the really big obstacle for me is the "need it one day." And I clearly have a very different time table from most people. Had an item for a year? That's new to me. I really do go back and use stuff I've had for years. When was the last time I used vellum paper? Not this decade. Needed it the other night. Last month used a stamp I've had since about 2002. Things don't really go unused because they aren't "not my style" anymore because I like such a variety of things. But probably the biggest handicap is that I absolutely hate, despise, and resent paying money to replace something that I used to own. (I'm not talking about things that break or wear out & have to be replaced, like appliances, etc.)
In my twenties I used to teach decluttering. I used to tell my students the clutter you have in your home are freeloaders. They are not paying rent or utilities. They take up space that can be used for something you do love.
I am very good about keeping clutter down in my home. I hate clutter with a passion. My DH & I moved last year to a beautiful home. I got an art studio. My DH got an art studio. Then my DH wanted to make another art studio. Guess who was taking care of his art studio? I finally told him I didn't want to take care of it any more. I ruthlessly got rid of it. My DH took all his things and put them in his cluttered art studio. I don't have to look at it, lol. I took five items of mine that I am still wondering why my DH had them. Why does he need a wooden unicorn, lol. That third art studio is now being turned into a greenhouse.
I wrote this long story is that I think when people here the word purge they think "I have to get rid of everything." That's not true. You are getting rid of the old to make room for the things that fit who you are now.
I went through my own art studio this Summer. I did a big purge. I didn't purge it because I wanted to downsize. I wanted it to fit the artist I am now. I love my art studio so much now because it's so me. Not the girl I was five years ago but the girl I am now. That room is my living journal.
Here's another way to approach your "purging". My husband always likes to say if you learned from it but not learning from it any more it's time to get rid of it. Give it to somebody else so they can have a chance to learn too.
Don't feel bad we all have our trouble spots with clutter. Mine is books. I love books. I use the library, subscribed to that new Amazon ebook thing. I keep buying books. They make me happy. I do read them and donate my books.
But probably the biggest handicap is that I absolutely hate, despise, and resent paying money to replace something that I used to own. (I'm not talking about things that break or wear out & have to be replaced, like appliances, etc.)
There, I've said it.
In all my purges, I've never replaced something I let go. Maybe I've been lucky, but I think it's more about the fact that when I was truly honest with myself I knew I was never going to use the item.
My Mom is a hoarder (yep, whole house chock full) and she is always talking about how she might need this or that. She makes my hyper sensitive about what I might need down the road.:p
My friend's mother died last year. They lived together so my friend could take care of her mother. Mom was a semi-hoarder and did not want to give away anything. Now my friend is stuck with a house full of junk that she has to dispose of. Her mother, who had emphysema for years, did her no favors by leaving all that stuff.
I like to live as though my house was going up for sale. Clutter makes me crazy.
__________________ Debbie "Make it work, people." - Tim Gunn My Gallery
[QUOTE=Buried Treasures;20748112]My friend's mother died last year. They lived together so my friend could take care of her mother. Mom was a semi-hoarder and did not want to give away anything. Now my friend is stuck with a house full of junk that she has to dispose of. Her mother, who had emphysema for years, did her no favors by leaving all that stuff.
I like to live as though my house was going up for sale. Clutter makes me crazy.[/QUOTE]
Same for me. I'm the executor of my Mom's will and the plan is that we'll take anything we want to keep and then I'm calling 1-800-got-junk. The problem is I'll have to sort through years, years, and years of papers.
I don't keep anything in my house including my stamp room that is really used. Now that's not to say I don't have a lot of stuff but I actually use it. I don't bring anything new into my house unless it's to replace something or I have room to store it.
Ever hear the phrase "Less is More"? That's how I've been living with my craft supplies. I'm not there yet but getting there. I used to think I had to get what everyone else had - try the new trends...and gee, if there as a coupon - watch out! I had to go shopping to buy SOMETHING...even though I didn't need a thing. I'm such an "all or nothing" personality - when I first tried stamping it was just a little $20 kit...then within a month I had over 100 stamps and everything that goes with them. LOL!! Over the years the collection grew...but I've learned that I'm not trendy. I don't have to have everything that comes out new....my old tool works well - why do I think I have to have the newer version? Stamps were another thing - I thought I had to have this one and that one...sets and non-sets. And don't even start me on ribbon and paper. LOL!! I've stopped buying. Partly due to financial concerns...partly due to space concerns...and partly just because it was getting obscene how much I had that I didn't use. Since then I've learned a lot about myself as a stamper and crafter. I've learned that I don't have to have that new set because it fits a theme I might need....I can make a stamp I have fit that....and if I don't have a sentiment I can always find one online and print it out or just create one myself. And if I really can't find a stamp in my stash that fits - then I just head to Pinterest and look for free digi's. I've learned that I don't like brads, eyelets, and really any little do-dad. I've also learned that, while my cards may be simple/basic - they are me and that's ok. I mail all my cards so mega layers and lots of stuff on them isn't my style either. I guess what I'm trying to say is what I read throughout this thread already - keep what you love and what you will use....and don't worry about letting go of the rest of it. It's just stuff. I'm still decluttering and probably will be for a while...but the more I pare down my stash - it seems the more free I feel and the happier I am.....I'm not bogged down with "how can I use this" or "I've had this for so long I have to use it"....having less has been a blessing.
I'm slowly purging (although I refer to it as de-cr@pifying). I'm tired of it all. I collected spools and spools of ribbon even though I don't like using ribbon. So I gathered it up, put it in a box and donated the box. Guess what? Last week I saw a cute candy holder for Halloween and thought "I'll make that" but I gave my ribbon away. Guess what? Life will go on if I don't make a cute candy holder. I try to sell stamp sets here or on eBay but if nobody buys, the stamps go in the donations box or in the garbage. I try not to attach emotions to objects, especially stamping supplies. It's hard work, but I'm making progress.
I **think** (hope)I have finally progressed past the newbie mania phase.
(When you pinball through a store loving EVERY new thing and wanting it all)
Now I'm in the terrible twos...I have to squash the screaming little voice inside saying But I waaaaaaaant that!!!!" And that's actually going ok. Except late at night. I am weak late at night online. So now I am avoiding that. Live and learn.
One problem is that when I am shopping, I am not thinking about where is it going to go. I'll think about how I can use it, what else I have I can use it with, is it a good price...but not where it is going to live. It's get home and then find a place. MY DP got so full that now I do think about that.
This is why I was curious about having new and partiuclarly more space...I am afraid of that. I really am. While I would LOVE to have a big table friends and I can sit at, get my big shot off off my work table, etc...and while I say I dont think about where it is going to go...I fear that I really would never in that case.
I'm slowly purging (although I refer to it as de-cr@pifying). I'm tired of it all. ..... I try to sell stamp sets here or on eBay but if nobody buys, the stamps go in the donations box or in the garbage. I try not to attach emotions to objects, especially stamping supplies. ...
The emboldened part of your statement literally made me cringe!
I tried to give away some stamps to my craft group and nobody wanted them!
This happened to me once (though my "craft group" is "two people"). I scanned in the stamp and posted here on SCS and said the first one to pm me their address would get it. It was a small unmounted stamp though, and I sent it through with just one postage stamp.
I don't have to have everything that comes out new....my old tool works well
This is so me. I love my old tools. Give me my X-acto knife, metal ruler, cutting mat, Aleene's Tacky glue and I am a happy girl.
I look for digi's or draw my own images if I don't have a stamp. It was bothering me that I was stamping and not drawing. I felt constrained. Now I have found a good balance. I combine stamping with my drawings. That really changed the way I bought stamps. I gave away the stamps I didn't need any more or I am not attached too.
I make all my embellishments. I gave away a lot of my embellishments. I know somebody could use them and would be thrilled. Why keep them in my home because they are pretty? I need room for my pretty embellishments I make.
I know a lot of us reading and commenting in this thread also have other crafting hobbies. I know our rooms probably reflect that. I know when I was just mainly stamping and drawing everything fit into a Rubbermaid container. The good old days, lol.
I have a big craft room, and over the past 15 years of stamping, it has become chock full. I definitely don't believe in the 1 year rule. I can go 3 years without using a stamp and then I go on a binge with it. Or I go over a year without using my encaustic waxes and iron, then I do up a whole slew of wax backgrounds at once.
Lately what I buy tends to have multiple applications, such as stencils (can use with my gelli plate, mixed media, etc.) Also love collage, so save all sorts of images from calendars, magazines, miscellaneous ephemera.
One of my biggest issues is that everyone knows I craft. They save things for me. I get grocery bags full of junk (4" bits of ribbon, paper to use for scratch, old kid's punches). I don't want to sound ungrateful that they were thinking of me. For those that never set foot in my craft room, I thank them. Then I toss it or add it to the Goodwill pile (depending on its usefulness to someone else).
But one lady does use my craft room several times a year; I feel I have to take her goodies downstairs add and them to my stash. I have told her several times that I am just running out of room, but she doesn't take the hint. The bagfuls keep coming. How can I graciously stop the influx of "junk" and not offend her?
I have a big craft room, and over the past 15 years of stamping, it has become chock full. I definitely don't believe in the 1 year rule. I can go 3 years without using a stamp and then I go on a binge with it. Or I go over a year without using my encaustic waxes and iron, then I do up a whole slew of wax backgrounds at once.
Lately what I buy tends to have multiple applications, such as stencils (can use with my gelli plate, mixed media, etc.) Also love collage, so save all sorts of images from calendars, magazines, miscellaneous ephemera.
One of my biggest issues is that everyone knows I craft. They save things for me. I get grocery bags full of junk (4" bits of ribbon, paper to use for scratch, old kid's punches). I don't want to sound ungrateful that they were thinking of me. For those that never set foot in my craft room, I thank them. Then I toss it or add it to the Goodwill pile (depending on its usefulness to someone else).
But one lady does use my craft room several times a year; I feel I have to take her goodies downstairs add and them to my stash. I have told her several times that I am just running out of room, but she doesn't take the hint. The bagfuls keep coming. How can I graciously stop the influx of "junk" and not offend her?
My friends were actually giving me brand-new, really nice things - not junk - but I still didn't want them to keep giving me things. They didn't fit my style, I had no place to put them, etc. I was afraid of offending them, but it had to stop. What I said to them was that I had more than I could use in several lifetimes, so I didn't need any more, thank you very much, but that I would really, really appreciate the gift of spending some time with them. Now we go to lunch or something instead of giving gifts - win/win!
I know that your circumstance is significantly different, but if this lady visits your craft room periodically, then I'm sure that she can see how chock full it is already. Maybe you could scope out a place that could actually USE the stuff (school, after-school programs like Boys/Girls Clubs, senior center) and suggest that she gift them there. Something like "It's so thoughtful of you to save these things for me, but I have so much already. I recently discovered that (your chosen diversion destination) could really use things like this. Would it be okay to pass these treasures along to them? I know that they'd really appreciate it."
I'm good enough at over stocking my space. I can't imagine what I'd do if helpful friends and family were constantly giving me stuff as well.
I'm recovering from foot surgery and can't sit normally at a desk yet (need to keep foot elevated above my heart). I do have a pile of new stamp sets from that past six months or so that I need to add to my stamp catalog. I figured out how to do that while laying on the couch. I really needed to get that done.
I'm also going to use my time to take a good, hard look at every stamp and set I own. I will be culling my collection. Many no longer fit my style. Some never fit my style and I'm not even sure why I purchased them. Once I'm more mobile, I will put a bunch on B/S/T here and hope to pass them on to a better home.
Stamps aren't my primary storage problem, but it's the easiest place for me to start right now.
I also joined the RAK group and plan to use up a bunch of my paper stash. I'm thinking of challenging myself to make a certain number of cards a week, using items in my stash. I'll be off of work for a while and eventually will be able to sit at a desk, so now is a good time to start.
The final step will be to think much more carefully about new purchases. I'm hoping that the purging experience will help me learn what kinds of things I buy but don't use, so I can break that habit.
__________________ aka Sue. Or Sue-odd.
No blog for me. My gallery chronicles my card-making successes and mishaps.
I just noticed something while I was setting things up for our house sale this weekend, and doing more purging: it occurred to me that if I didn't know what a lot of things were that I was storing because I hadn't used them in so long, then how could I possibly miss them when they're gone? For example, I have buttons (lots and lots and lots) that I've purchased at estate sales and such, as well as some that I bought specifically for something or other. I decided that I wouldn't miss most of them, so I pulled out the teeny-tiny baby buttons that I know I'll miss and the faceted clear ones that I can color any color with my Bic markers, and bagged up the rest for the sale. They filled seven quart-size Ziploc bags(!), so now I've reduced my stamp supply storage by quite a bit, and someone else can have the joy of the buttons I may have to pull some other things out of where they're packed...
Maybe you could scope out a place that could actually USE the stuff (school, after-school programs like Boys/Girls Clubs, senior center) and suggest that she gift them there. Something like "It's so thoughtful of you to save these things for me, but I have so much already. I recently discovered that (your chosen diversion destination) could really use things like this. Would it be okay to pass these treasures along to them? I know that they'd really appreciate it."
Good idea. Actually I co-teach an art class at the community resource center. She knows that, so it would sound logical...
But honestly they wouldn't want most of it. But at least then I could toss it.
I have been working on a purge for like 8 months now. I have 4 33 gallon bins full of paper and still half or more of my stash to go. I have 2+ bins of SU stamp sets to sell..most of them unused! Then there are punches, dies and other stuff. My friend is going to come over and help me price stuff. All papers and cardstocks will go for .10 each..none of this is old...just buy way too much. My stamping friends are coming to look thru stuff a week in advance of the public offering...what a pain. I think i will quit buying stuff.....NOT!
Blessings.
Culling
