Purging craft supplies can seem impossible, here are 5 questions to ask yourself as you declutter craft supplies that will make this task easier!
If you’re visiting me here, then you’re probably a craft lover just like I am. The craft store is my happy place. And it seems like things just jump into my cart when I’m there. On the one hand, craft supplies are the best. On the other hand, I live in an old house with very few closets.
Despite having learned a million storage tips and tricks, my office is often overflowing with craft supplies. It happens to the best of us, doesn’t it? So last year I was stuck at home and I decided I’d had enough and I need to declutter craft supplies as soon as possible.
Why do you need to declutter your craft stash?
There are a bunch of reasons decluttering helps. It makes it easier to find and use what you have, it makes it less likely that you’ll buy duplicates or forget you already own something and for a lot of people, a less cluttered environment feels calmer and more productive.
I came up with 5 really good questions to ask myself as I went through all of my craft supplies and it really helped me decide what to keep and what to get rid of. But first, I have a question that I think you might want to think about first…
Why is it so hard to get rid of craft supplies?
I think that for most of us, it’s hard to get rid of craft supplies because we see them all as potential. They could turn into something great. And we MIGHT need that supply later. I can’t tell you how many times I was making something, it wasn’t working out the way I had planned, and I had to root around in my supplies for a different supply. It’s like crafting FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out).
But once you do purge your craft room, you’ll be able to better access and use only the supplies that are the best and your projects (and your sanity) will be better for it! So once you’ve decided to declutter, what’s next?
How to Declutter Craft Supplies Step by Step
- Take EVERYTHING out of closets, shelves, dressers and bins and lay it where you can see it.
- Get rid of actual trash or anything broken.
- Ask yourself the 5 questions below about items and decide whether to keep, donate, or trash your craft supplies.
- Sort what you’ve decided to keep by type of craft supply
- Put back only the things you’re keeping.
I really believe you need to start by taking everything out so you can see it all. If we just look in closets and shelves and drawers that we look in all the time, our eyes kind of skim over things and we miss stuff. Take it all out, spread it on your kitchen counters or your dining room table or your desk. And then you can start asking yourself these 5 questions.
5 Questions to Ask Yourself as You Declutter Craft Supplies
- Is this for a specific project?
The number one craft room clutter culprit, for me, are supplies that I bought just because I liked them and not for a specific project. That rarely works out. If you find a supply that isn’t for a specific project, take 30 seconds and see if you easily think of something to do with it. If it takes more than 30 seconds, get rid of it. - Am I able to store this in view?
When you have so many craft supplies that you can’t store them all in an easily accessible way, you just will not use them. If you’re tempted to keep something but know you will have to stash it way in the back of a closet or in the attic or basement, reconsider, because the chances of it just languishing there are high. The best way to remember to use craft supplies from your stash is to keep them where you can see them! - Is it leftover?
The second biggest clutter culprit for me, after things with no specific purpose, are craft supplies that are leftover from a project. Scraps of vinyl, half empty paint containers, small bits of wood, these are the things that filled the bottoms of my drawers and bins. When you come across leftover craft supplies, ask yourself these questions:
– Is there enough left to use for anything?
– Do I need leftovers for repairs?
– Will I really use it again?
If the answer to any of these is yes, then you might want to keep it (or keep just some of it, for example, a little bit of paint for touch ups). If they’re all no, then let it go! - Is it still good?
This one’s easy! Take the caps off markers and test them, open paint containers to see if it’s dried out or separated, try squeezing glue out of the bottle or taking the lid off a glue stick. You get the idea. Get rid of anything that is not good anymore. - Do I still like it?
I guess this is the KonMari-like question. Take a look at the craft supplies you have left and decide if you actually still like each item. Styles and preferences change over time. Maybe that chevron fabric you bought in 2005 isn’t your style anymore. Or maybe you used to be into pastel scrapbook paper but now you prefer bright colors. If you’re not into it anymore, let it go! This one can be really freeing.
Once you’ve gone through everything, put back what you’re keeping and then get rid of what you’re not. But what should you DO with your purged craft supplies? Here are some options!
How to Get Rid of Unwanted Craft Supplies
- Dispose of them properly. Find out how to get rid of things like paints and adhesives where you live and make sure you dispose of them properly. Recycle things like paper and cardboard. And trash the rest.
- Give usable extras to a crafty friend (or host a craft supply swap)
- Give them to your kids, kids love craft supplies!
- Donate them. We have a local charity shop that does take craft supplies but check with yours because not all of them do. And only give them things in good condition, don’t donate junk.
- Ask if your local school, daycare or nursing home wants any of them.
Hopefully this is helpful and will help you tackle that organization project and declutter craft supplies in your home!
If you liked this, you may also like some of my other posts…
- Learn to Knit – p3tog (Purl 3 Together) - September 12, 2024
- Alternating Rib Hat Knitting Pattern - September 10, 2024
- Learn to Knit – How To Use a Pom Pom Maker - August 29, 2024
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