People learn in all
different ways and need different levels/quantities of information. The Step by Step instructions will come
first, the details, tips and tricks, and other information will follow. If you just want the step by step with no
explanation you can stop reading at the end of the first section. If having detailed information is important
to you, keep reading . At the end you’ll
find the download link to a printable checklist for this lesson.
2. Choose
a home for your purge.
3. Create
and label your “Purge” container.
4. Start
using the container the very next time you craft.
Step 1 – Set a “Purge” goal.
“Until you commit your
goals to paper you have intentions that are Seeds without Soil.” - anon
You can set purge goals
in a variety of ways;
Purge ____ number of items each time you craft.
Purge ____ pounds of supplies.
Purge ____ inches of supplies for each year you’ve been
scrapbooking.
Purge anything that’s older than ______ years/months.
These are just a few of
the options. Whether you choose one of
these or some other method, you must WRITE down your goal. If you’re nervous, start small and increase
the goal as you get more and more comfortable.
Step 2 – Choose a home for your purge.
It’s much easier to
purge when you feel good about where your purged supplies will go. Pick a destination for your purge and a date
that you will deliver it there. Add this
information to the Written Goal Sheet.
Step 3 – Create and Label you purge container.
Choose a container that
is at least 12x12 so it will fit all manner of scrapbooking supplies. Tape the Written Goal Sheet to the
container. Place your container so it is
accessible without “getting up” when you scrap.
You don’t have to use a container that takes up a square foot of floor
space, shelf space or desk space, you can use something like a Paper Storage
Box, this will take up less space but allow you to still add 12x12 items.
Step 4 – Start using your purge container.
This is pretty
self-explanatory, but inspire yourself to purge by thinking through how/what
might qualify as “purge” i.e., anything that makes you say “what was I
thinking when I bought this?” should probably go in the purge box, anything
that’s been floating around since you took your first Creative Memories class
10 years ago might belong in the purge box,
- you know what I’m saying.
Step 5 – Take it Away
You’ve indicated a date
that you’re going to deliver your purge to it’s new home. When that date
arrives empty the box into a bag and take it to its new home. Change the delivery date and/or place on
your purge box and start filling it up
again. From this point forward you
should ALWAYS have a purge box available.
We all know there are
products in our supply collections that we will never use. These might be things we bought with good
intentions that just never made it onto a page and now they’re outdated or
inappropriate. They might be things we
got an amazing deal on and couldn’t pass up (think paper stacks). They could be
“club kits” that again don’t actually work with the way we scrap or what we
scrap. There are countless bits and pieces from old projects floating around,
when you we see them we think “I should probably get rid of that, but…..what if
I need it.”
Purging your supplies
is difficult on a number of levels:
Emotional – We buy
things to go with memories.
Physical – Just the idea of taking on the physical task of throwing things away is laborious and time consuming.
Financial – We invested
money in these things, we don’t want to be “wasteful”
Why is purging
important?
Avoiding Overwhelm
If you’ve accumulated
so many supplies that the thought of organizing them, or digging through them
to find what you need is overwhelming it will keep you from sitting down and
engaging in the craft you love.
Time Efficiency
“Digging and Searching”
is a huge time sucker. If your hours for
Scrapbooking are unlimited this might not be important to you . For most of us
Scrapping/Crafting time is limited. If
you’re spending time digging and searching you’re not spending time creating.
Space Efficiency
Do you have extra space
for your craft supplies? If you do, you’re in the minority. Using the space you’ve got to store things
you’ll never use means you can’t efficiently store the things you will use.
I could go on and on,
but the bottom line is this; If you want to maximize the enjoyment you get out of crafting, you need to minimize the amount of frustration you feel in the process. If looking for things is frustrating you, it's time to remove the things that you don't or won't use.
Emotional Transfer– If it’s the emotional part of giving things
away that is hard for you, find a recipient that you can transfer emotionally
and well as physically. As an example, I
learned about teenage girl that was hospitalized with terminal cancer. She loved to Scrapbook, and was creating a
book about her life to leave behind with her family. Medical bills superseded craft supplies in
the meager family budget. She was cutting up greeting cards and wrapping paper
to create embellishments from her Scrapbook.
It was REALLY easy for me to purge lots of products from my supply
collection and send them to her at the hospital. The gal who delivered the products to her
called me later in the day and said – “Both the cancer patient and her parents
cried with joy over the supplies.”
Physical– The actual task of throwing things away can be
troublesome in and of itself. Making it EASY to remove items you won’t use will
be key to your success.
Financial– This is perhaps the easiest category to rationalize and
move through. Think about it like this,
if you have products you won’t use, you’ve already “wasted” the money. Now the products are also “wasting” space,
“wasting” time, “wasting” energy and stifling your creative abilities. Getting them out of your space is not going
to get your money back, but it is going stop the Space, Time, Energy,
Creative waste. If you want to recoup your financial
investment donate your “purged” supplies to a charity and take the tax
deduction, bag them up and sell them by
the pound on ebay, or take them to your Local Scrapbook Store when they have
their garage sale. In any one of these
situations you’ll be better off the next
time you sit down to craft.
