Welcome to Day 11 of the 30 Days to Less of a Hot Mess Challenge! We’re decluttering, reorganizing and taking a breath of fresh air to create a home we love. If this is your first time at the challenge, you may want to start here at the beginning. Affiliate links used for your convenience.
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This post might come as a big surprise to you. I don’t have a lot of craft supplies laying around. Well, not any more.
I used to!
I am the kind of person who makes a habit of saving broken home items because I might could turn them into a crafting project someday. Or I keep things I don’t love because I could spray paint them and turn them into something else altogether. Or, I could go to the store and buy some Mod Podge and glitter and make it fabulous.
Whatever the case may be, it was always a case to save a lot of items for … someday.
I love, love, love a good craft project, especially one that is free and involved items I already had laying around the house. Repurposing old items is a fabulous plan and one that I am whole-heartedly onboard with.
But. Not at the expense of your sanity and your home.
If keeping future, potential craft supplies around is keeping you from being able to open a closet door. Or it’s making you not want to go into your spare bedroom, ahem, preaching to the choir here, then it’s time to unload some of those goodies.
Crafting with repurposed items is all well and good, but if an item has been siting in your way for 3 years and the vision still hasn’t come to fruition? Maybe it’s time to part with said item. You know?
When I first started this blog we were living in our current home, but it had little to no personality and needed a lot of love to make it feel like ours. I was the girl who would stop on the side of the road to load up someone else’s discarded home goods in order to bring them home and make them into something we could love.
I still have several items in my home today, and love them!
So, I know this may be an unpopular idea, but I’m giving you permission to throw some of that junk away. Lighten the load and move forward with peace instead of stress because the house is so junked up!
5 Craft Supplies to Throw Away Today!
Or you could donate them, instead. Whatever floats your boat! 😉
1. Yard Sale or Thrift Store Wishes & Dreams. Remember that time you went to the thrift store and found this awesome lamp base for $1? You had big dreams and visions of creating something beautiful. And now it’s been sitting on the floor of your guest bedroom for 2 years waiting for inspiration to strike. Let it go! Give it to a new good home where that lady is ready with her spray paint. I’ve found that I may have had a good idea in the moment, but if it’s taken me years to implement, then it’s time to move on.
2. Broken things you think *might* make a good project one day. At one point we had to save everything, because financially we couldn’t just replace things when they broke. I had to either fix them or try to turn them into something else. But those days are gone and we can replace items when they break. I can also wait until inspiration strikes to pick up the craft supplies. I don’t have to be a hoarder crafter anymore. If you’re financially not there yet, then that’s perfectly OK. But if you are, lose the clutter!
3. Half used, old supplies and leftovers! It’s time to go through your supplies and toss the old stuff and anything that doesn’t work anymore. Also throw away any random leftovers from an old project. Chances are slim to none that you’ll ever need 3 random black pom poms again. The mental energy it takes to “keep up” with that randomness is just not worth it!
4. Half-finished projects. I’ve started and stopped more craft projects than you can imagine. I have a beaded “chandelier” that I tried to make several years ago that is just sitting in a box collecting dust. I spent a ton of time trying to make that thing, but it just doesn’t work! It’s time for it to go and for someone else to be able to use those beads. The truth is, my style has changed so much since I started, I wouldn’t even want to hang it up if I did finish it!
5. Nice craft supplies that have never been used. I had the cutest little stamp set that I bought at Target’s Dollar spot years ago. I never picked up stamping. I have no intentions of picking up stamping. Sure I could have kept it around to continue to sit and be unused. I could have given it to my daughter, but she already has plenty of arts and craft supplies. So, I donated it. If the day comes that we want to start stamping, then we’ll buy a new, nice kit then! Until then someone else can have fun with it. 😉
I hope this little list helps you as you’re purging your home during our 30 Days to Less of a Hot Mess! I know I feel so much freer now with all of those half-done projects and random supplies hanging around.
What supplies are YOU getting rid of today?
RELATED: Top 10 Colorful and Organized Craft Room Ideas
The Messy Work: Pull all of your craft supplies out and divide them into 3 piles: keep, donate and trash. Then follow through with them immediately. A “someday” time is just clutter.
In the mess with you, Laura
Linda Johnston
I did this last year. Time for another go at it!
Ruby Fercho
For years (yes, years) after my husband passed away, one of my goals has been to clean out-organize the garage. Well, I am into it, finally, & your encouraging tips for decluttering have helped keep me at it. Am using the cold, rainy days to stay at it. This will take many, many days, but I see progress. Today’s blog reminds me of the number of “craft” boxes that are on shelves in the garage. You are so right! I don’t even know all the things in those boxes, but I do know I have kept them thinking that one day I will need to finish what I’ve started or make those gifts I bought supplies to make. Thanks for all your tips. Ruby
Laura
Yes!! It sounds like you are on the right track, Ruby! Keep at it; it will be so worth it!
Joyce @ My Stay At Home Adventures
These are great tips! Thank you for sharing this with us @FuntasticFriday!
Linda S
Love this! You’ve given us permission, ok, commanded us! to do what we are afraid to do 🙂
When getting ready for a cross-country move last summer, I threw out something from every single category you’ve listed. It was so freeing!
Thanks for the motivation and thanks for linking up to Encouraging Hearts & Home blog hop!
Theresa @DearCreatives
Great tips for helping de-clutter and organize the craft room. Thanks for sharing at the #inspirationSpotlight party.Pinned & shared
Julie
I thought I would read this and find it hard to give up any of my craft supplies, you were not going to persuade me!!
But actually when you said, give it to a lady who is ready with her spray paint, that’s when I knew you are absolutely right.
I cleared a lot when we moved 2 years ago but I think another purge is in order, with fresh eyes. Will I actually use all those things I’ve saved – some definitely and some, not so much!
Laura
Love this! Great insight, Julie! Sometimes we just need to be brutally honest with ourselves. I have some projects that I REALLY want to finish, but the likelihood is slim to none. So, I feel so much lighter when I let it go!
xo, Laura
Roseann Hampton
It is definitely hard to part with that craft item “you might use some day”! I gave a lot of mine to my daughter when she first started teaching and she was very glad to get them.
Laura
Smart idea, Roseann!
xo, Laura
Robin
Great Tips- I really need to purge, my craft supplies are out of control. Pinned
Kalyn Abrams
These are some great tips! I’m on such an organizing/pitch it kick right now LOL! My husband and I just moved and I purged everything we owned, so I’m trying my best not to replace all that crap we had before.
Have a great day!
http://www.sincerelysweetpea.com
Vanessa
These are great tips for organizing craft supplies. Thank you for sharing at Dishing it and Digging it link party.
Shehla @ The Blue Elephants
these are awesome tips, and a much needed reminder! I love your tip about throwing away leftovers, especially. lol I keep all the extra yarn bits and bobs, even where there isn’t enough to do anything with them. They end up taking up so much space in my yarn storage system that I could really use.
Laura
I’m so glad was helpful, Shehla! xo, Laura
Lori
I need to figure out which crafts I want to keep doing and which ones I want stop doing. Or at least just make kits of the crafts and get rid of the extra stuff. May I can make kits of some of the things I am willing to get rid of and put them up for sale. Anyway thanks for giving me the “it’s ok ” to get rid of things!
susan
oh you don’t know how helpful your admission about the stamping stuff is to me. i too have a collection & do not use them. i have a wonderful little studio (spare bedroom) & it is overwhelming how much of the things you mentioned above have kept me out of there: the things i don’t do, the unfinished projects, the repurporse collection. my goal is to get rid of all that stuff in the following week. i live in the republic of panama & know many, many children who would love this stuff. thank you laura….you are an inspiration. xo s
Laura
Oh yay!!! Let it go and you will be blessed because you are blessing someone else, and lighter because you’ve gotten rid of things! Good luck with the decluttering, Susan! xo, Laura
susan
YEP! STAMPING HOBBY & ACRYLIC PAINTING HOBBY: gone!!!
Laura
Boom!! Susan is a #ladyboss declutterer! Way to go!!
xo, Laura
Vicki
I’ve been a sewer and crafter for years and was also a 4-H club leader for years and had a variety of supplies stashed away. Last year, when decluttering our spare room, I took a large plastic zippered bag that bedding came in and filled it with random supplies like pom poms, craft foam scraps, lace trim, yarn, embellishments, etc. and posted it for free on a Facebook Garage Sale site. It was snapped up pretty quickly! These types of things are great for teachers at schools, day cares, churches and club leaders like 4-H and Scouts. What I need to get rid of is the colored glass leftover from my mosaic crafting days and the large unfinished dollhouse and miniature furniture I bought at a garage sale I thought I would finish someday.
Laura
You’re on the right track! I’ve gotten rid of so many crafts. It’s been wonderful! Good luck in your decluttering journey, Vicki! xo, Laura
Sara
It sounds like we’re sisters😉….!
Laura
xo, Sara! 😀
Mary Cochrane
Laura, going through craft supplies etc was a brilliant thing! I have a feeling that this part would be the hardest for most of us. Funny thing is that last night I went through my desk that contains all sorts of extra stuff (including craft items).I now have a nice bag of items to donate to a school where I substitute teach! Thanks for your honest comments when you declutter. I smile when I read your posts because I can identify totally.
Laura
Wonderful, Mary! I know the school will love it! I should give some of my crafts to my daughter’s school, too! I never even thought of that! So thank YOU for the suggestion!
xo, Laura