Finish the job or find someone who will

Do you start several things and rarely finish them? You are not alone. We all have an ambitious moment that somehow dissolves away into procrastination. One terrific side effect of reducing your clutter, is getting things accomplished.

People who like to save things that might be used later, can add a lot of clutter to basements, closets, garages, under the bed, really anywhere they can stash things. Those accumulated objects take up a lot of space: plastic containers, yarn, nuts and bolts, fabric, broken pieces of jewelry that could be remade into something new – you get the idea.

Avoid feelings of guilt that come from throwing things away if you do not need them. Our grandparents taught us to never throw anything away if there is the tiniest possibility that the item can be repurposed or used at a later date. It is actually okay to recycle a plastic soup container that came with your Chinese carry out. It is not a sin to give away yards of fabric that you will probably never use.

Take a look at all of the projects that are partially finished. Maybe a friend who likes to sew could take that half-made skirt and do something fantastic with it. She would surely be thrilled to have it while you may never pick it up again.

There are times when you start a project, get part of the way through it and realize it is not really what you want. Maybe you cannot afford to finish it. Other times you have good intentions, but the task never really gets off the ground.

Schedule time to work on the unfinished projects. Simply scheduling time to do your project will help you accomplish it. Do not start a new endeavor if you have not finished the last one.

When you do finish what you start, there is a wonderful sense of accomplishment. It feels great to finally get that job done. Next time, try to pick a project that can be finished in a short amount of time. Pick something that really excites you and will help propel you to the finish line. Once you see how good it feels to complete a job, you may be more likely to finish the next one.

People can have terrible feelings of guilt over the unfinished project. There is no reason to feel so guilty. We are all busy. We have work, kids, lessons, spouses, sports – it is never-ending. There are things that are a lot less important than your job and family. If you do not have the time to finish this task, hobby, repair job, home improvement, etc., find someone who is willing or scrap the project entirely. Even if you pass along the task to someone else, you are now finished with it. Considered that a completed job because it is no longer on your plate.

Controlling Crafts!

Crafts can take on a life of their own, especially when you are an artsy/creative type person.  Every scrap, swatch or button has limitless potential and for many people, it seems wise to hold on to it all because “You never know when it will come in handy.’  The consequence of this way of thinking is CLUTTER. 

There are a few things you can do to tame the crafts. Most importantly, beware of impulse buying. Before you step foot into a crafts store or department, plan ahead what you are going to buy. Resist great sales of the things you already have plenty of. So many people have unopened scrapbooking items, yarn, fabrics, kits and more....and due to space limitations, end up having to get rid of the excess in order to make a room functional again.  Try this on your next shopping trip – if there is a "too great to resist" product that you see, ask them to hold it for you for 24 hours. If you still want it in 24 hours, then you can return to the store. If you lose your craving to have it, then you can celebrate the extra gift of space you have given yourself.

Next, gather all of your crafts from all over your home and spread them out on the floor. Group like things together. For example, find all of your yarns and group them by color or texture. Get rid of the yarns that are either old, smelly or have insufficient quantities. Then, find a container to hold the yarns. Containers don’t have to be fancy. Ziploc flexible totes are a great new product in two sizes that works well for yarn.  If you have many knitting needles, take inventory of what you have. Write the sized needles you have on an index card and you can even carry it with you to help you not buy the same sized needles again for your next project.

If drawing or painting is your thing, gather everything together and put all of your brushes together, all of your paints together, all of your paper together and all of your miscellaneous painting tools together. If you have 8 of the same exact brush type, perhaps you can let a few go. If you have paper that is faded, crumpled or not something you use anymore, recycle it! If you have spiral pads with very old sketches, perhaps you’re willing to rip out the ones you love most and let the rest go or scan them.  

Plastic bins can be useful for various supplies. Bins of all sizes are available at local stores and if there are lids, you can stack 2-3 on top of each other to allow you to easily access them. Make sure you evaluate what you have before you purchase containers. You want to make sure your containers are the right size for the quantities you have.

There are lots of little supplies like beads, buttons, bangles and more that go along with crafting. Some toolboxes or fishing lure cases can be used to organize the smaller items. If all of your beads and buttons are in one spot, you will not waste precious time searching for them when you need them.

For people who craft, there may be project bags all over with projects in various stages of completion. Ideally, you should finish old projects before you start new ones, but that’s a real challenge for many people. You might want to assign a space for “unfinished projects” so they are at least tucked away and not taking up valuable floor or shelf space. If you have a project that has sat unfinished for more years than you can remember, it might be time to say farewell. Just close your eyes and let it go. Sometimes new space is more important than holding on to unfinished business.

If you have some knit or crochet projects that are halfway finished, either finish them or frog them. Frogging is a term used for when you un-knit or un-crochet a project because you… rrrrrrippp it, rrrrripppp it! If you know you will never finish it, or if it not turning out the way you had hoped, better to frog it and put the yarn away for another project later.

Paints, glue, glitter, markers and other artistic products can dry out, spill or otherwise make a mess if they tip over. Take inventory of what you have and if it is unfit for use, get rid of it.  You’ll also be able to see how many of each type of item you have which will help you in your quest to not overbuy the same items.

Location is another important thing to pay attention to when organizing. The rule of thumb here is to place the crafts that you use the most in the most convenient, easy to reach spaces. Items that are used periodically should be in farther away spots. You will be amazed at the time you will save in placing the more frequently used items in nearby spaces.

Crafting is a wonderful way to spend your spare time. Giving a personalized or homemade gift can be much more appreciated than something purchased from a store. But the supplies for your crafts should not overrun your home.  Keep them at bay in their own area, either in a room, closet or cabinet, depending on how much space you have for the items. It will be easier to find what you need when you know where everything is kept.