Declutter tips for craft supplies
One of my Feng Shui/Home Organizing clients asked me for some declutter tips for how to declutter her craft supplies. She lives in a studio cottage and is currently working hard at pairing down her belongings to fit her space and current lifestyle. She was simultaneously sorting through all of her belongings, letting go of many things and implementing Feng Shui adjustments for balance and harmony.
Her question:
“What do you tell your clients to do who are crafters, quilters, etc… ? I have a fabric stash (probably 4-6 bins). I also do many other crafts like cross stitching, beading, wood burning… and have several unfinished projects, mostly photo/scrap albums (3-4 bins).”
This is a lot of fabric and craft supplies that require a large amount of space to store. Since her space is small and storage is limited, I recommend she seriously consider how much space she has in her life right now for these things. I gave her the following questions to guide her:
- Do you have room for all of it?
- Do you have time and space to actually use it?
- How long have you had these things waiting for the chance to use them?
- Hold each item and ask, does it spark joy?
In a situation like this, I recommend going through all of it at the same time (so you can get a clear picture of what you have) and only keep the things you absolutely love.
You’ve changed, your life is different now.
Begin to let the idea sink in that you don’t have to keep all these things just because in the past you had the time and space to use them. You have changed and your life is different now. Open up to the potential that it could be very liberating to let these things go. When you pare down to the amount that’s practical to keep, you may find that a huge weight has been lifted.
Some of her fabric projects were quilts that were already designed, planned out and ready to be stitched. She had put a lot of time and creativity into each project, but the projects weren’t complete. She decided she would commit to completing each quilt and then sell them. The idea of completing her creations, putting them out into the world and at the same time potentially earning money doing so made her very excited!
Creating a deadline
She gave herself a deadline. Once she completed her massive decluttering project she would turn her time and attention to completing the quilts. If she got to that point and it wasn’t happening, she’d reevaluate this plan so that she didn’t get stuck in the old pattern of waiting for someday. Have you experienced, ‘waiting for someday’?
Watch out for someday
Holding onto things for ‘someday’ is a place where people often get stuck. It can take years to get to someday and more often than not someday never comes. ‘Someday’ takes you out of the present moment. In the meantime your life is changing right before your eyes.
It can be a profound shift to come to a place of acceptance around where you are in your life right now. This is what decluttering is all about, or holds the potential to be. Conscious decluttering can help you get current with how you truly feel in the moment.
Waiting for someday is often the block that keeps someday from coming. When you let go of things from the past it allows you to be in the present. This opens the door to a brighter future.
Today I worked with another decluttering coaching client who is also going through a massive decluttering. When she got to a box of paper making supplies she went right into someday. She couldn’t make a decision and was ready to put the box into the pile of ‘undecided’.
I gently invited her to tune into how she felt about this box of stuff in the present moment by reminding her to ask:
- Do I love it?
- Do I use it?
- Do I have room for it?
Asking these questions immediately brought her back to her feelings in the present moment and helped her let go of the overwhelm of ‘someday’. Now the answer was clear to her, “I’m ready to let it go!” Later, when she got to a bag of needle point supplies she got a clear yes and could feel the joy of getting back to her creations.
