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I'm moving, Yay!!!, BUT I'm moving from a 4 bedroom home in which I have my own craft room, to a 1 bedroom condo. I seriously need help in purging 12 years worth of card making/scrapbooking stuff. I am so overwhelmed. What should I get rid of and what should I keep? I don't even know where to start. The rest of the house is a piece of cake, even my husband who is a packrat is not having issues. Any suggestions
Yes, I do.... I just did a serious purge, not because I needed to for space reasons, but because I wanted to. I followed the steps laid out by this gal, who based hers on the Marie Kondo book about decluttering. A book I made fun of until I read it, BTW.
Here's the video of her actual purge, and within it she links to a video she made about the theory behind it:
Starting out with the notion that you are going to only keep those things you truly love will certainly get you on the road to reducing your stash.
__________________ I have come to the conclusion that buying craft supplies and actually using them are two separate hobbies. RachelRose Designs by Robin... GALLERY
Are you moving out of town or just to a different place?
Well...sounds like you need to put your ruthless hat on. Keep in mind...you are going to like most of what you have-you picked it in the first place.
You have to separate the "I wouldnt buy it again but I also wouldnt throw it out" from
"Yeeeeah...It's nice. I might use it" from
"Aw isnt that cute!" from
I HAVE TO HAVE THIS.
Give yourself TIME to do this. Do not wait till the last minute. Fill the boxes below. Come back and review in a few days. When you give your mind time to acclimate to the idea, it is easier and not so overwhelming.
If you have a friend who can come over and just sit with you while you do it for moral support...that is good. But dont let them talk you into keeping with aww that's so cute or dumping what you like b/c they dont.
-What have you either never used or not used in years?
-What do you have duplicates of? How many "Happy Birthdays" do you need?
-Has anything dried out? If you discover more than half of a pen set is dead...you well may be willing to let go of the balance.
-How do you work? Do you like stuff to match so have a lot of say SU ink and paper? Because then you have to keep that kind of stuff.
-Got embellies you havent used? Bye bye!
-Clearly anything you have been forcing yourself to use just not to "waste" it.
Keep in mind, it isnt like you wont be able to get more stuff in the new home.
Tricks to less stuff-clear emboss colored sentiments or whatever instead of using colored embossing powder. Iridescent sequins will match many colors. So you dont have to have 20 colors of sequins.
"Pick the one you love best"-ie instead of having 3 kinds of WC pens, pick your favorite.
Stick to basics: Keep your basic shape dies and let go of the specialty like a pizza with toppings you only use maybe once every three years. Dont keep duplicate punches and dies. If you have a set of 6 sizes of square dies-dont keep 3 square punches if they are the same size.
How much space do you anticipate having now? Like one of those large units with cubbies and drawers in the LR?
Get a few boxes that you think will be a little less that that space so you will have room to grow. You can only fill those.
Have other boxes for stuff to go on the other side of the room so there is no mistakes of what goes where. Once you fill a box you are SURE you are fine with letting go...close it. Either hold for a sale or donation, but move it to another room. Seeing yourself building a stack of to go boxes can panic people who think they "wont have anything left" even though you have 10 boxes on the other side of the room.
As you fill them, you will know if something screams out at you not to get rid of it. Not the niggly little "aw that is so cute...." kinda thing. The one that explodes in your head saying "Excuse me? Have you gone nuts?"
Do you have family and friends you can give to?
Think about a sale. You might get enough money to pay for the unit/desk you will use in the new space if you cant take what you have! If you have an LSS they might let you post a sign for your sale. Heck some of them may want to buy stuff for their personal stashes! LOL List in Craig's List for all towns within what? 60-90 min drive?
Other people are going to have good ideas. Dont panic. Take one category at a time. You can do this.
I only have two things to add to Robin's and Shaz's very good suggestions:
If you have a stamp or two in a set that you love, but not the rest of the set, keep the ones you love and let the rest go. For more on this, see THIS THREAD.
In one of the many fabulous threads here (which one escapes me at the moment), someone used the phrase "carefully curated collection" regarding crafty supplies. That phrase stuck with me and made me look at EVERYTHING in my space again - did it fit that description?
And that's all I have to say about that... (with a nod to Forrest Gump ;))
I took a little on-line organizing/decluttering class way back when, and these were some questions someone posted. Some don't apply, but when decluttering a rather overwhelming space, I printed out the list and referred to often, especially when hesitating. (Usually hesitating meant I could let it go.) You can find other lists of questions on line if this doesn't ring your chimes.
- Is this something I use regularly or at important times?
- Is it something I love?
- Do I think I *should* love it?
- Am I keeping it out of obligation?
- Am I keeping it "just in case?"
- Do I have multiples of the same thing?
- Could something else do the same job?
- Could I use the space for something else?
- Am I holding onto it to fix one day?
- Is it worth the time I spend cleaning it?
I also bought a timer in a bright "happy" color, and set it for five minutes. Just five since beginning was the toughest part, and I felt resistance at anything longer. I generally spent much longer than five minutes - sometimes hours. But five equaled success.
wow: THAT'S A TOUGH ONE! I have used the hanging "sweater" closet hangers, they're like little shelves, to keep things tidy in my "craft " closet and really like rolling cart storage, so you can pull out things as you need them. If you can eliminate some things that really did not work out well or are very old, you will have more storage for what you like. Think of what you would love in your new space, instead of "what must I get rid of". Donate to a school art program or kids camp. Only keep what you really like, the best of the best. I found a making memories craft hanging storage at Tuesday Morning at a fantastic price, which really helped me in my January move. Good luck!
Yes, I do.... I just did a serious purge, not because I needed to for space reasons, but because I wanted to. I followed the steps laid out by this gal, who based hers on the Marie Kondo book about decluttering. A book I made fun of until I read it, BTW.
Here's the video of her actual purge, and within it she links to a video she made about the theory behind it:
Starting out with the notion that you are going to only keep those things you truly love will certainly get you on the road to reducing your stash.
I also advocate the Konmari method but I recommend you start by decluttering something that is not as "precious" first like clothes or kitchen stuff. It took me a month to konmari my craft room but I did a little at a time. I don't regret anything I got rid of though and honestly I will probably do it again because I still have so much and I love buying duplicates LOL! I filmed the process too but it is a long one but you can put the video on for moral support as you are working I also recommend the audio book version of The Life Changing MAgic of Tiding Up because you can listen as you do other things.
Thank you all so much for all of the wonderful ideas on purging.
I am moving out of state, and I am so excited, but like I said really stressed out too. I had a family emergency that needed to be taken care of first, and I am now ready to give this a try.
I am happy to say, that I went thru the million and one 12x12 cardstock that I had and kept maybe 20% of it. Next is going to be the 8-1/2x11 cardstock. Doing it in stages does help, and not as stressful as I thought. If I don't love it immediately or if I would not buy it, then it goes. What a great concept.
I know I have a long way to go, but I am going to try and do a specific group of things every night, (ink pad, colored markers etc..).
So again, I thank you all so much.
Now for my next question, my daughter is willing to do a garage sale for me, how do I price things?, cardstock, inks, stamp sets that I no longer need/want. Any and all suggestions will be really appreciated, as I do need a storage unit in my new condo just for my stuff, and any money I can make would go towards that.
Pricing is always a tricky thing. A lot of it depends on your mindset/expectation. Is it more important to you to recoup as much of your investment as possible (which is unrealistic, in my opinion - but it's just an opinion), or is it more important to actually get the stuff gone, and whatever you make out of the deal is gravy?
I went with the latter when I was getting rid of stuff before our cross-country move. I sold stuff like stamp sets for a third or less of what I paid, and ink pads and such as "x number for x dollars". Papers were 10 for $1.00, for example. I also had a box of "freebies" for random things that I couldn't justify any other way.
At the end of the week (yes, I went that long - there was a 20-year accumulation of furniture, household goods, fabrics and trims, and other crafty stuff in addition to the stamping items) I gave away whatever was left over to theater groups, schools, clubs - whoever was willing to come and get it.
I think Sue hit the nail on the head - pricing is about your mindset. What's great about having an actual in-person garage sale rather than listing stuff online is that you can start in one mindset and end in another. You can price things out as you want to, but by the end you can be just saying "What will you give me for it?". Because by the end you'll want it to be the end. You may find yourself just giving stuff away in the final hour or so. And the mindset will be - "Good. At least it's going out into the world to continue its life, rather than ending up as trash."
But I will say this as well: don't get into the mindset that you can't have any trash. There comes a point where throwing something away is the only thing left. People may jump all over me for saying it, but I have found it to be my own truth. There are only so many hoops I am willing to jump through in order to find new homes for things. However, I never bag anything up. It all goes to the curb in boxes with a sign that says FREE in big letters on them. And then people will root through it and carry away what they want. Then, what's left becomes actual trash. ;)!
__________________ I have come to the conclusion that buying craft supplies and actually using them are two separate hobbies. RachelRose Designs by Robin... GALLERY
Rachelrose,
I found your video on purging to be very helpful. When you were purging your paper did you take the pads apart? I was in Joann's a while ago and they put a half price table just in front of the entrance where they took apart the tablets. It looked like they were the tablets that were not selling. The pages were priced at .25 cents each, I figured they made money on this deal.
I have always had a small house and have only had a designated craft space in the last year when a child finally grew-up enough to move out. My stuff was stored in different sections of the house typically in the bottom of a closet or the top shelf of a closet that I could place a spare box. I would pull out what I needed each evening I crafted and use the kitchen table, putting them away at end of night. It keeps you neat & organized.
I recommend a filing cabinet to hold papers by color for solid colors then by theme for printed scrapbook ones. I have some wide file folders with sides that I keep stickers and scrapbook papers by the theme. Many people have spoken in other threads of removing wood and storing stamps in a notebook in sheet protectors. This saves a ton of room.
Under a bed is a great storage space. I have several large Longaberger baskets throughout house under my end tables in living room and under nightstand that held supplies as well.
Good luck.
Oh brother! Moving is already one of the top three life stressors. A family thing too? ugh. ((hugs)) I hope it resolved as best as possible.
Sale:
For me it depends on what kind of area you are in.
If you know there are card groups etc...you are in a stronger position.
Ads: Definitely list in CraigsList as a "moving/clearance craft sale" which inherently says "low prices" and mention you " are downsizing homes" which explains why you are doing this-it isnt because you think the stuff is junky-you are being forced to; to pull in people and post it in all towns within an hour's drive. See if your LSS will post a flyer for you. Post them on any community boards-supermarkets, churches, community centers, etc at least a week in advance so people can plan to come. People cant come to what they dont know about. This includes any forums you are allowed to post to..."Local craft sale in X town/state" I dont know if that is allowed here on the announcement boards. It would be cool if it is. If Etsy has a bulletin board, etc.
If you can, do it both Sat and Sun to pull the most people.
Price things in a way you are willing to do combines on...like 2 ea, 3/5 7/10, etc from the beginning to promote volume buying. Also, you could say "at 3 pm Sunday everything left will be 1/2 price" which may bring people back to you a second time.
Paper-I agree with Sue. Because we can get paper on sale at stores for 25 a sheet I dont think you can go higher than that incl specialty. I might say "mix and match all papers for 10/1.00" or whatever. Chances are you are going to take the DPs that are really special with you anyway. Oh-and once they cross the threshold of 10 or 12...anything over that is the sale price. Imo-dont make people have to pick in multiples. If yiou want to do that-pre pack. 10 neutrals or 10 brights or whatever.
But also be flexible. If someone says they drove an hour and cant come back....talk to them in a low voice and make a better offer to the side and tell them to keep it to themselves. You dont need to cut them a special deal and have them turn around and yell out "We can have this for this!" in front of everyone to their friend at the other end-which totally can happen.
Now I do something I know ebay sellers and some other hate....I will point out what retail was on something. People have no idea that stamp set you are offering for 5 bucks retails for 20. If it has the original price still on it-I leave it there so they can see the bargain. Even stampers dont know all prices. Of course not in an obnoxious way.
Of course they can (and well may) use their smart phones to look up prices on their own.
Dont hesitate to offer substitutes for requests...they want horses but you have 10 other kinds of animals...just mention that.
If you think you are in a dry zone-there isnt another carder for 50 miles...that's harder. I would still do all the advertising because people will buy for family and friends to send them too.
If you have stuff you can sell as great for kid crafts-pre made sets etc...any parent may want that.
On one hand, I wouldnt bother to be so fancy about displaying the stuff....on the other try to have some organization. Dont just dump everything into boxes. Keep like things together. It is one thing to thumb through paper but I dont want to dig it out from other things (which could dent or mark it too)
Last tips-Be ready at least on time if not a 1/2 hour earlier than advertised. Hard cores will show up early and want to start digging in any box you let them.
Have a TON of change and small bills from the bank-singles, fives, tens. As in hundreds of dollars worth (100/1s, 100 in 5s, 200 in tens). (think positive! many sales!) The good thing about yard sales is you can keep the bulk stash in the house. You can always re-deposit it but having to make runs for more quarters or whatever-not a good thing. And banks may not even be open on Sats and certainly not Sunday. If you dont want to break anything bigger than a 20....you should say in the ad "Cash only, no bills larger than 20" so people know to bring small. Trust me-people show up with 50s and then only want to spend 3 bucks....that can wipe out your change bank very fast. I learned the hard way it is way better to have too much than not enough and you cant believe how fast you burn through it.
Esp singles if you run out of tens and fives.
Make good notes though how much you are banking yourself so you know what your profit is after. You think you will remember but it gets hectic and then suddenly it's "did I have 300 total in bank or 400?"
Thank you all for the great tips. Family matter all taken care of, all good.
As for moving, we are retiring, kids all grown and on their own, and we don't need such a big house. Had condo as a rental unit, will move in until we decide if we like condo living or not.
As for downsizing, I have taken to heart everything that you all have recommended and I am doing great (I think). I have decided that I am only going to take what I really really love, as someone mentioned here, I can always buy new stuff.
My daughter said that she will help me do a garage sale for 2 weekends in August, that way I have time to finish purging and pricing, packaging all that I have to get rid of. Very excited over that, then whatever is left I will donate. I am ok with this. No stress.
Gregzgurl, I will be going to Vegas at the end of the month. Will be staying on the strip, but hubby will be working. I will be on my own during the day, wondering if you know what there is to do not gambling related.
Thank you all so much for all your input. It sure made me feel less stressed.
I am so happy that we were all able to help you put things into a less stressful perspective!
Sometimes posting to this forum is better than therapy. So I find! ;)!
__________________ I have come to the conclusion that buying craft supplies and actually using them are two separate hobbies. RachelRose Designs by Robin... GALLERY
Thank you all for the great tips. Family matter all taken care of, all good.
As for moving, we are retiring, kids all grown and on their own, and we don't need such a big house. Had condo as a rental unit, will move in until we decide if we like condo living or not.
As for downsizing, I have taken to heart everything that you all have recommended and I am doing great (I think). I have decided that I am only going to take what I really really love, as someone mentioned here, I can always buy new stuff.
My daughter said that she will help me do a garage sale for 2 weekends in August, that way I have time to finish purging and pricing, packaging all that I have to get rid of. Very excited over that, then whatever is left I will donate. I am ok with this. No stress.
Gregzgurl, I will be going to Vegas at the end of the month. Will be staying on the strip, but hubby will be working. I will be on my own during the day, wondering if you know what there is to do not gambling related.
Thank you all so much for all your input. It sure made me feel less stressed.
ck
Why yes, yes I do! PM me the dates you'll be here and I'll send a few ideas your way. It would be fun to meet up!
Well I'm still purging and doing pretty good, slow but good.
I have another question, is there someplace that shows the designer series cardstock picture, I have cs that I would like to index and don't know the name of them. Hope this question makes sense:confused:
@Brenda71, again thank you so much for the offer. I will be going away this weekend so when I come back, I will try and take a picture of the designer series cs that I need help identifying.
Well I'm still purging and doing pretty good, slow but good.
I have another question, is there someplace that shows the designer series cardstock picture, I have cs that I would like to index and don't know the name of them. Hope this question makes sense:confused:
Cindy
If it is Stampin' Up then there is a site by Stampin Style that has all the old catalogs so you can look up the DSP.
Moving/Purging help needed
I also recommend the audio book version of The Life Changing MAgic of Tiding Up because you can listen as you do other things. 
