Corral those messes and use these 5 genius tips to make craft project cleanup less painful!
I wonder if there is a more universal truth than the feeling that the worst part of crafting and DIY is the cleanup. Does anyone enjoy that part? I know I don’t and I bet you don’t either. Not only is cleaning up after a craft project not the fun part, it’s hard to know what to do with leftover scraps, which things you can recycle, where to store your tools and supplies. It’s just not fun.
So today we’re going to talk about some genius tips to make craft project cleanup easier and less painful. These might sound like basic ideas, but honestly, if we were already doing them, we wouldn’t be reading this article, would we? Exactly. If you have any other great craft project cleanup tips and tricks, let us know!
5 Genius Tips to Make Craft Project Cleanup Less Painful
- Protect your work surface
I know, you have an old table, it doesn’t matter. Protect your work surface anyway. I like to use things from my recycle bin, junk mail fliers, newspaper, paper grocery bags, these all work well to protect your tabletop. Protecting your work surface helps with mess not only because it keeps the mess off your tabletop or desk but also because you can just lift the protective material with any scraps or trash still on it and either recycle or throw it out all in one fell swoop. It’s worth it! - Move your garbage can
Again, this one was a big “ah ha!” moment for me. Instead of letting trash or scraps pile up next to me so I have a big mess to clean up at the end, I started moving my trash can or recycle bin right next to me while I work. You can even have both. If you don’t have room for the entire trash can, use a designated scrap/trash container of some sort, an old cardboard box, and empty jar. Anything to collect bits and pieces while you work to minimize the mess. I like to have one for trash and one for recyclables. - Baby wipes
Unscented baby wipes are my crafting super supply. I always have them on hand even though I don’t have babies anymore. Of course they work well to clean hands, but you can also use them to wipe up drips or spills on your work surface, or even to wipes off errant paint on the project itself. The moisture in baby wipes is great for craft messes but they’re not so wet that they will cause drips or even more mess like a wet paper towel might. - A smock
Smocks are not just for children. Seriously, just grab an old button up shirt from somewhere and keep it next to all of your other craft supplies. It will be 100% worth it not to have to jump up from your project when you accidentally notice you got paint on your favorite shirt. And if it’s acrylic paint and you don’t notice and it dries, well, forget that shirt. Wear a smock, you will thank me. - Have a drying spot
Before you start, select and prepare a spot for your craft project to dry. Whether it’s glue or paint or finish, you don’t want the project to be disturbed or get dirty while it dries. If you leave the project right on your work surface to dry, it’s really really hard to clean up around it and it’s more likely to get bumped or get dust and dirt on it while you tidy. Having a separate drying spot solves all of those problems. Consider protecting that surface as well.
So, do you have any other tips and tricks to make craft project cleanup easier? We’d love to hear them!
If you liked this, you may also like some of my other posts…
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