Declutter help
 

I'm moving next year, cross country. I can't possibly take all this with me, can I?

A couple of years ago I bought the Spellbinder Platinum die machine, the 9" one. It's huge. I wish I had bought the 6" one. I'm thinking of letting it go - but do I sell it or what?

And the stamps, oh my. I'm going to donate them here right after I post this. I realized that after a season like Christmas when I've used the heck out of a stamp set, I'm not going to use it the next year too! So time to get rid of them.

Has anyone else had to do this? How did you start sizing down your stamp/die/cardstock collection?

Maybe since you have a year, break it down by categories, and focus on one category a month, such as inks, cardstocks, dsps, stamps, dies, tools, etc. Then, go through everything you own in that category of the month, and narrow it down to what you will seriously use, which you will keep, and purge the rest. The following month, move on to the next category. There are many, many buy/sell groups on Facebook, as well as the buy/sell group here on Splitcoast Stampers. Purchase mailing supplies in bulk online, use a discount shipping format such as Pirateship or something similar to determine shipping rates, and sell, sell, sell. Once you get to your new place of residence and you’re settled into your new crafting area, you can replace most things, if you find that you sold something you wish you had kept.

I needed to downsize my stuff because it was overwhelming me, so I can relate to where you are.

I ended up going through it all and asking myself if I really loved those stamps...or if I really used all that designer paper...or is it something that works with my particular style...or has something been a "squatter" in my craft area...and so on. There's 7 or more boxes of stuff I'm not going to miss, and my granddaughters have spoken for some stamps and inks and papers, which I happily gave to them (including two lovely crafting boxes to store it all in).

I now feel like my "stamping stuff" isn't taking over the whole room and I can sew or quilt if I want to without feeling guilty.

If you still love your hobby, what are the most important items (supplies, tools, etc) that you want to have available to you when you move. If it was me, I would do the tools first. Then the necessities like adhesives, and papers you use most. Then when you start on stamps, dies, and stencils...you can ask yourself if this is something you love to use and would continue to use. Choose your "best of the best" and put them with the tools and necessities you want to keep.

Then you can continue to create while you are waiting to move. If you forgot to save something out, then you can rescue it.

Thanks for asking this question. The 9 inch machine is more versatile as you can use Embossing folders in different orientations or get the 6in plates and run through dies faster. I'd keep it.

Now I am overwhelmed as well and will use some of the suggestions your question prompted answers to. Thanks

I, too, am downsizing my craft supplies for a number of reasons. One, like you, I'm anticipating an eventual move. Two, I'm reorganizing my craft room to have easier access my favorite supplies. And three, I want to make room for new supplies that appeal to me more.

I've been stamping for over twenty years, so my styles and tastes have changed over time. But I never really purged my old supplies, because I still liked them well enough, and I thought I might use them someday. Unfortunately, "someday" rarely came. And even when it did, if those particular supplies hadn't been there, I could have used something else.

So I started by looking at my supplies in a new way. Instead of thinking about whether I "could" use something, I think about whether I "do" use something. And that forced me to realize that I have a bunch of wood-mounted stamps that I almost never use, but which are taking up a large space in my craft room. For me, it's not worth the time and trouble to sell them, so I've been packing them into Flat Rate postal boxes and giving them away in the "Pay It Forward" thread.

My biggest challenge was my designer paper. I love collecting paper, so it's always hard for me to part with any of it. What I ended up doing was keeping only paper that excited me when I looked at it and made me eager to create with it. The rest got donated to the "You Matter Project", which is discussed in this thread: https://www.splitcoaststampers.com/f...ashing-634441/

For me, it was easier to get rid of stuff if it was going to a good cause or people I knew would enjoy it. That made me feel less like I'd wasted my money. Instead, I'd simply bought gifts for charities and my fellow Splitcoaststampers.

Such very good thoughts!

I think we all go thru this every so often. Whether due to a move, or just feeling overwhelmed, gettig older, ..etc. It would likely be a good idea for people to walk around and pick 2-5-10 things to let go of every month.

And we always say, DT members and the "pros"-the big bloggers-they purge very regularly. We don't. We go thru year after year of holidays, seasons, trends, new products...and before you knokw it, you have a LOT of stuff.

I think doing a category a month sounds like a terrific idea.

I agree you should keep your die machine. I went bigger myself for that reason-more flexible after many years on a 6 inch. That is a prime machine to use. Esp if you are using a professional mover anyway. BTW-the PO is changing the rules for forwarding mail due to a move so you will want to check that out. You are going to have to provide ID and stuff now.

Do you know yet where you are going and how much space you will have there for your crafts? You could get some graph paper and try to map out that room-which may inform you how much you keep.

I went through my stamp sets recently to make an index, and I was able to weed out quite a few that I no longer want. I've also been trying to go through and use one stamp set a day--and that's led to weeding out more sets (either because I didn't like using them or they were kind of duplicates of other stamps I like better).

I've also been working through other things: embellishments I no longer want to use, die sets that are too similar to others, etc.

Use that old declutter rule: if you haven't used it in a year, get rid of it (unless you have a really good justification for keeping it).

I'm a librarian, and one of the things we have to do is weed the collection--removing books that aren't being read or are outdated, so that there's room for new. It can be painful to do, but then it gets cathartic. It's also easier to see the gems when there isn't as much stuff taking up space. I think the same applies with crafting.

Good luck going through things, and I wish you the best as you make a big change in your life!

Whew, that would be hard! I’m moving from one room in the house to another, and that’s hard enough. As I’ve been going through my craft things, I’ve been getting rid of a bunch of things-stamps, dies, all kinds of things. I have a family at church that are home schooling their four children, so I’ve been giving them whatever they want from my move. I think it is helping me get rid of a lot of things knowing it’s going to be used.🙂

I purge continually. As I have said before, I have a theme for the month when I'm making cards, so when I'm using those stamps, dies, embellishments, etc. I use the opportunity to purge while it's all out anyway. If it doesn't get used, it goes into the give away drawer. It may sit there for a month before it actually leaves the premisses, just in case. Even if it does get used, but I had to struggle to find a way to make it really work, it goes, too. Another time I purge is when I buy a new stamp. My stamps are all wood mounted and I have a custom built cabinet for them. Therefore my storage is limited to that. Sets are broken up and stored by theme, so if I get a stamp that cannot fit in the proper location, then something(s) needs to go. If the set includes a birthday greeting, say and it won't fit in the two boxes I have for birthday greetings, then either it goes, or some older one I have goes. For a few months now I have been considering getting rid of a stamp that has happy birthday written in different fonts/sizes spiraling out from the center. I used to use it a lot when there were young kids in the family but not so much any more. There still is room in the box, so it hasn't had to leave, but I still may do it. As I age, I keep thinking about all the stuff I have that my kids will have to deal with when I'm gone. It terrifies me that they will have such a daunting chore that the memory of that will cloud all the good times they should remember. It spurs me on!

Great Ideas!
 

Thank you so much for sharing places to donate purged material. I too am downsizing my craft stash and didn’t know what to do with it. Trying to sell, whether online or in person, is so time consuming I dreaded it. I love the idea of donating it but had no idea where. Your information has given me a renewed energy to continue to purge. Thank you.

Thank you! This week I realized that shipping supplies and shipping are kind of a pain. I did start by giving away some stamps on the Pay It Forward thread. I love that. But I just bought some kind of cheap supplies at Walgreen's and now I'm having to make multiple runs to the post office. Pirateship? I will definitely check that out. And where's the best place to get mailing supplies? Amazon?

It sounds like you are talking about the KonMari method. I loved that audiobook but putting it in practice is a whole 'nother story...:)

Great ideas, thank you for your post!!! I'm working on this today so it's been very helpful to see what others go through.

But it's HUGE, and HEAVY. And if I can run these folders through the 6" machine then why not downsize? I personally struggle with the embossing folders and I don't even know why I have so many! I tried some of the inking tricks I saw online and it just came out, well, messy.

Thank you so much! Especially for the new way of thinking and link. I gave some stamps away recently in the Pay It Forward thread. I'm struggling as I have so much and the mailing supplies/method of shipping is hard. But I will try the method someone else here listed. I don't mind the loss of money so much as the thought of it just being tossed into the garbage, when there are so many out there who I know would love it!

Wow, tons of good info here. Like I said to another poster, really on the 9"? This thing is huge and heavy. I tend to use the tiny Altenew one more often than the huge and heavy one. I hate getting it out and trying to find a spot to use it...

Thank you about the post office info! I'm not anywhere close to that though. I will download a checklist when we are more sure on the date. Likely not until next spring. So no, no idea on the space I'll have. Regardless, I'm drowning in crafts and it's not helping my creativity!

Of course you made an index you librarian you! Thank you for your post! :)

Ha! Yeah, it's hard. I've been listening to this book called What to Say When you Talk to Yourself. It's amazing. So now I'll say it here - I can do this, I will declutter!

You can do it for sure!

I am going to make one last pitch
Die cutting machines are the core of a lot of what we do. Not like a foil or laminator etc. We use them for a bunch of stuff.
Any die machine IMHO should have a place it sits and gets used. So the weight of it does not matter to me. And the platinum folds up so it has a small storage footprint on a table. I dont move it around. It cost good money and why waste it? Ok the EFs are giving you a hard time (maybe we can help with that?) but there is still die cutting and bigger machine lets you cut more at the same time in addition to bigger dies like for 3D cards. It would be different if you were just walking away but you are continuing to craft. What would you do with it? Try to sell it? You would have to take a serious loss on it and then turn around and buy another (6 inch) machine? Which wont be cheap either. You can always get rid of it later if you want after the move if you still want to.
Ok that's it from me on that. You know what is best for you.

Whereever you end up...would you be getting a room for your crafts? Do you know yet?

Another way to do it-although it may be the same thing as by category- is just start at one end and keep moving to the right till you finish that wall. Repeat. Have a box at the ready stuff goes into.

I think it is great you are doing Pay it Forward! A lot of schools would love stuff like general stuff like scissors or ink pads, paper, etc. Many churches have stamping groups who make cards for the people. Or a community center. In fact one of those would likely LOVE getting your die cutting machine.

I did read this whole thread, and the one thing that struck me is I have a big shot pro. it has a dedicated space and I do not move it. ( it's heavy I have dies that will cut a 12" square piece of paper on it sized huge and heavy) and it will be the first thing that gets packed if we ever move. I think if it were me, because, I tend to spin things around on that cut panel when they don't cut all the way the first time, I would start looking for a space to leave your 9" machine out so you don't have to worry about how heavy it is. I have a I found it on etsy from some ladies in the UK but, they sew quilted covers for the machine so, dusting it is not an issue.
if that's a factor maybe a hand towel could get tossed over the top of it?

We moved 2 yrs ago from MD >OH after 40 yrs there. Taking a year to declutter, sell, giveaway and yes throw away. (We downsized from a 4 bedroom to a 3 bedroom) Its great you are starting now. I would start packing it in boxes now so you can see what you have to move too.

I sold a lot on YT(destashes and) and FB Marketplace (for local heavier stuff). Like a lot of others here, IF you haven't used it in a year (or even 2-5-10 yrs!) it maybe time to move it along. I recycled anything I could also.

I will say this, I only have missed a few things since decluttering, I just found them on E*ay or Marketplace IF I really thought I would use it.

HTHs

I wonder how the move went and if you decided to keep the bigger machine.