Time to purge my room!

[PedalPower]

The last couple of days, I've had a lot of nervous energy. Not sure why, but I can feel it and it has resulted in a cleaning frenzy! My sons toys--check, weeded down and cleaned up to just what he enjoys. Magazine rack--cleared to the bottom. Old stamp catalogs--gone! And no regrets (so far!). My next area to tackle...my scrapbook room. I think it's time......and while I'm in the mood, might as well get started, right? Think I'll regret it? I hope not. I honestly think I'll feel better when I don't have so much to work with. I think sometimes having so much stuff bogs me down. Is anyone else going through this right now? I need some moral support to keep going.

[SophieLaFontaine]

Well...not really a cleaning frenzy, but I purge regularly. Just Sunday I gave away a baby car seat and a booster seat to a friend. I had kept these for several years already, and they had only been used for six weeks, when my niece and nephew came to visit. On Thursday I will be giving away an unassembled dollhouse that I had bought for myself seven months ago, but never got around to (and probably never will) building it. Just getting rid of these three items got me on a mini cleaning/organizing spree, and things look a little neater and nicer!

Perhaps next I will go through the clothes drawer and empty some of those out.

edited to add: I did do a massive purge of my craft room maybe two years ago and I have never ever regretted it; I regret not having done it sooner!!

[STAMPTAYLOR]

I love cleaning out, I went through all my dsp and cs. Will donate to a local church to use for their art projects for their children's program. Cleaning out is also a good way to hibernate from this intolerable Texas heat, have to stay indoors during the hottest part of the day. Also we will have neat organized rooms to get our holiday projects done in.

[Phantom]

I can definitely relate to the cleaning frenzy! It happens to me too - often it's really intense in the fall. But it can hit any time and I think the best time to do it is when the mood strikes, otherwise it is often more frustrating than anything.

As for craft/stamp/scrap room purging, I am a huge advocate. It's worked exceedingly well for me. My stamping and art project interests have fluctuated a lot in the last several years and many products were more of a hindrance than a help.

I have a "dead corner" in the closet where most of my supplies are kept - a spot that's hard to reach and I tend to store things in there. Presently it is stacked up at least 5 feet high with everything I am going to sell. My latest purge a couple of weeks ago includes paper, dies, stamps, tools, markers.... a ton of items that I will sell at an LSS customer yard sale. In the past, my sales have yielded $300+, and I don't think I even had as much then.

I've done mini-purges in the past and sent unloved stamps and embellishments to friends, but now I've really narrowed my supplies down to what I like to use the most. I don't have too much that's "what was I thinking?!" but my focus has shifted from heavily (my version) embellished cards to something a little more simple but with little touches, and I'm working on more art projects and illustration work in addition to making cards for fun. So unless my focus shifts dramatically again, I think I've finally settled in to a comfort level with the quantity and types of products I have.

I really think having too much does get me bogged down and I hope you feel refreshed and inspired when you are done! Also, going through your supplies can be inspiring. Not just seeing what you have that may have been lost in the shuffle, but reorganizing too. I love to reorganize and often just keeping things in different places gives me fresh eyes.

I'd suggest that you have a "not sure" box too. You're less likely to have regrets if you don't toss too impulsively. Some things, you'll know instantly; but there may be items that you can't quite make up your mind on yet. I will sometimes turn to my "not sure" box and if it doesn't "click," I toss/sell.

Good luck (sorry so long-winded!) and I hope your purge goes well! Please come back and let us know how it's going !

[JoBear2]

Over last Dec and Jan/Feb this year, I had a massive purge. I had got to the point where I would look at the "stuff" in my house and it seemed to annoy and stress me - so I started little by little. I too had all this nervous energy which I just HAD to do something with. At first, I felt a very overwhelmed at the task ahead and the house seemed 1000 times MORE messy than when I started. At times, I almost wished I hadn't started - but persevered to the end goal! I went through my whole house: from my cutlery drawers to my Craft Room. I was ruthless with my purging too and figured that if I haven't used something for years, I don't need it. I found a nutmeg grater in my cutlery drawer which I had had since I married 24 years ago but never used!

I have a small box in my craft room which is my "not sure" box but if I haven't used anything in the box by the end of this year, it will go to charity. I have another small box of things which I intend to sell on EBay but I have given myself 12 months to sell it and if I haven't, it goes to charity too.

I have not regretted one minute of purging because I felt so refreshed and renewed from doing it. I also think that if you wish you hadn't got rid of "something", you are sure to find it on EBay! My DH thought I had gone a little crazy when I was doing it but now he is really happy that I did because there is more open space in the house. And now that I have re-organised my craft room since purging, I can find items more easily because everything is grouped together instead of having dies being in 3 different places - plus I have a place to put something back when I have finished with it.

My only regret is that I hadn't purged sooner - but I have learned my lesson and are planning another purge at the end of winter (which is end of Aug where I live in Australia). Regular purges = much happier me

[CandyStripe]

I try and purge my craftroom once a year and like others have said I have a 'not sure' box and anything that doesn't get used or sold by the next purge is donated.

You really have to have the urge though don't you or it just ends up half done.

I also did the kitchen recently too JoBear2 and was really ruthless, it looks so much better now,

[PedalPower]

Well, here I am 24 hours later. The old stamp catalogs went out with the trash and the garbage truck came today. I don't feel twitchy. Perhaps it's because of online resources like here, Pinterest, etc. I think I'll have a harder time when I get to my stamping magazines. I do love magazines and am not happy about the shift to digital content. I am not in the mood to tackle those today, so that's not going to make the list.

Yesterday, I pulled on my wood mounted SU sets off the shelves. I sorted through them and came up with three stacks: keep, get rid of, and maybe. I hope to stamp with each "maybe" set to make my decision. I cleared off an entire shelf's worth of space, which means I can start looking for a great storage container for some clear stamps that I'd like to have on the shelves. I feel like I made some progress, but I know it will be slow. The antsy feeling has left me for a bit, so I'm going to stop for a bit so it doesn't get to the frustration point. I'm sure it will be back soon. We've lived in our house for 10 years, and I keep saying we need to move just to do a massive purge. Not happening, though....so I must clear out stuff. Thanks for all your supportive words!

[cardmaker2]

Way to go! I have had periodic purges or mini-purges and they always feel so good. We are in the process of building a new house and my major purges are going to come when we pack up the rooms. I have started with some things just to get a handle on it but a lot will have to wait.

About the magazines. I love my old Papercrafts and Cardmaker magazines! there is just something about paper... although I am addicted to Pinterest and have a huge collection there. What I did for my magazines is sort them by season\theme and give each set their own lovely Ikea holder. They sit on a shelf and I can go to them when I want to. I just can't get rid of them and they feel better to me as organized as they are.

Maybe you already have that system and are ready to move on but I am happy with mine like that.