r/declutter • u/2redthread • 10d ago
Motivation Tips & Tricks Motivation tips for craft room
Hello everybody,
I am in the process of decluttering for my dreamed craft roomš¤©.I sew, crochet , knit, draw , paint and do some leathercraft. Those are the hobbies that I keep because they are so important in my life, I keep coming back to those. I am fortunate enough to have a place dedicated to it in my home but it is overflowing. I managed to throw away two trash bags of scraps and unfinished projects, decided to keep one brand of paint / colored pencils , but now I am facing a wall.
I wanted to "contain" ( Dana K White method) all of my stash , but it seems that I can't decide which fabric/ yarn is the best or my favorite. If I bought them, I already loved them, so I have difficulty to declutter. Also they all "sparks joy" so I am facing a wall.
I also have lots of pattern magazine, I don't know which one to keep or to let go.
For people who have done this with creative stuff , what was the method/ the mantra ( "the object or the space" ) that clearly made a difference?
14
u/Lybychick 10d ago
My motivation came when I found a donation spot that specialized in craft supplies ā¦ literally a place to bring unused craft supplies and UFOs to be lovingly rehomed by people who would use it. It made it easier to let go of things on the fence because I knew they wouldnāt be wasted even if I couldnāt use them.
After my poor infatuation with knitting failed, I found a SAH mom of 5 who was crafting on a budget and gave her all my yarns and needlesā¦. She was in tears at the drop off spot because she hadnāt been able to afford supplies and she used knitting as a meditative practice. Her husband even got out of the car and thanked me because it made her happy. That sparked my joy!
5
u/2redthread 9d ago
Finding someone to give what I would not keep definitely could make the process easier . Thanks for the advice
10
u/GlassHouses_1991 10d ago
I got back into garment sewing a few years ago after a long hiatus and accumulated far too much fabric.
I have decluttered a lot of it by making a decision about a colour palette for my wardrobe. This made it easier to let go of fabric that, although lovely, was going to be difficult to co-ordinate with other garments I own or plan to make.
I also used an app to catalogue all my fabric (I use Threadloop, but other platforms are available). Once Iād done this it really struck me how much fabric I already had (300+ metres) and how long it would take to make all the projects I have dreamed up. It also highlighted types of fabric that I had collected too much of, e.g. floral prints in cotton poplin or cotton lawn. (How many floral shirts does one person need?)
Finding a good cause that would benefit from my destashing efforts also helped.
3
u/2redthread 9d ago
I like the idea to keep a color palette, as 80% of stuff that I make is for myself. Great advice šš»
12
u/RandomCoffeeThoughts 10d ago
So the point of the container theory is having to make the choice. I get that you love it all, but is any of the yarn intended for a project or did you buy it for "someday" and just like the color? If it's a someday yarn, that's the stuff that should go.
The container theory is hard because you have to make actual choices and they aren't always easy ones. Crafts make it harder, but having a lot of inventory, for lack of a better word, won't stop you from buying more unless you are combining The Container Theory and Project Pan together.
3
u/MitzyCaldwell 9d ago
I think that this is such a great crafting point. Having an inventory wonāt stop you from buying new yarn (fabric etc). I feel like could literally have a craft store in my backyard at my disposal and Iād still go out and buy more because āthis yarn was sooo pretty and softā lol
7
u/RandomCoffeeThoughts 9d ago
That is me and books. At one point my TBR pile and I were the same height. I couldn't buy them and not read them. If I couldn't read them right away, I couldn't buy it right then. I had to work to get that pile down.
3
u/MitzyCaldwell 9d ago
I get that. That is also me and books. My husband foolishly thought once I had a kindle Iād buy less books - jokes on him because now I want the pretty editions hahaha
11
u/MitzyCaldwell 10d ago
So I wouldnāt focus on what sparks joy because everything could spark joy.
I am a big fan of the container method and while it isnāt necessarily easy to pick what goes into it I would maybe do the following once you have designed space for said craft.
I would decide what you are actually going to use them for and do you actually have enough for that project. I knit so I know yarn can be so pretty and beautiful and we buy it thinking ohhhh Iāll make something. But then we donāt lol. If you bought one skein and now wanna make a sweater Iād let that one go because you wonāt match the lots if you try to buy some more now. So have a specific idea in mind, make sure you have enough and then let go of the rest. If you still have too much for that area then you have a hard choice to make - do you take area from another craft keep the yarn but give up some fabric space or do you let go of the yarn you might want but donāt have room for. If itās the latter then I would start out by putting your favourites in until nothing else fits and then see if anything left over youād want to switch with whatās already in there.
I donāt think thereās a rip or trick other than to just go through it, be prepared to be uncomfortable, maybe even sad while letting the stuff go.
7
u/2redthread 10d ago
I definitely think that I was too focused on one particular piece of yarn / fabric/ ... and didn't think enough on what project could I do with it. Also I have to accept to be uncomfortable to go through with it. Thanks šš»
2
u/MitzyCaldwell 9d ago
Itās simple but that doesnāt mean itās easy and I find that the simple things are often the hardest. People who donāt struggle with this donāt get but you bought something you liked and wanted and that didnāt change necessarily but now you have to let it go. It sounds dramatic but it can definitely be a bit of a grieving process - you have to let go of versions of yourself and you have to come to terms with a finite about of space. And I find that space can often feel unfair or you can feel annoyed that you canāt keep what you want (especially on social media when people have huge homes and you donāt have the same and werenāt constantly being show perfectly curated images that arenāt actually achievable).
As a fellow knitter (and other crafters that have since been abandoned hahaha) I feel your pain and am sending you lots of good vibes to get what you want accomplished š©·
1
u/2redthread 9d ago
Yeah definitely , I have to acknowledge that I don't have the space to keep all my stash and the time to use it all . Thanks š„°
1
9
u/knit2dye4 10d ago
As for the patterns/magazines, I scanned every single one of my knitting and cross stitch patterns and uploaded them to my Google Drive so I could access them from any of my devices. Then I sold (for a pretty nominal cost) or donated the paper patterns.
1
8
u/Impossible-Corgi742 10d ago
I just decluttered and reorganized my hobby room this week. I changed the main focus from sewing/crochet/embroidery to painting. This means the largest table and space is dedicated to art. Moving the smaller space to sewing etc, meant cutting those supplies by at least 2/3 if not more, so I donated a lot and Iām happy about that.
The only tip I can give is to know where you want to spend your time. I wanted to focus on art, so I only kept the basics for the other hobbiesājust the essentials. The room feels so fresh and clean and I have so much more room for painting now.
7
u/Suz9006 10d ago
As far as the pattern books, canāt you page thru them and tear out the patterns you really love and toss the rest of the book. A goal would be to get a stack of books down to just a three ring notebook
5
u/MysteriousSecretGuru 10d ago
Or could you scan the pages and print out the patterns as you need them. There is also a free website freesewing.org. you could check them out and set if what you have is already out there. I don't sew, so I don't know how practical this is. But I thought it was a neat idea.
7
u/readingrainbowroad 10d ago
Three quotes/mantras that truly help me in more than just decluttering:
- "You can keep anything but you can't keep everything."
- "Just because it's a cool idea doesn't mean you have to do (or keep) it."
- "You don't owe anything to your past self."
Also, I am currently preparing to move across an ocean, and let me tell you, I have been able to get rid of wayyyy more crafting stuff with ease than I ever thought possible as a lifelong crafter of all kinds. So if you're still really struggling to make decisions on paring stuff down, might I suggest "would I take this across an ocean?" š
4
6
u/FredKayeCollector2 10d ago
I had to downsize a bunch of gorgeous, expensive, irreplaceable, sometimes sentimental (garment) fabric a few years ago to "container concept" into my sewing room. "Spark joy" doesn't work well for me when it comes to the unending possibilities that an uncut length of fabric holds - it all sparked all the joy.
What I ended up having to was match fabric + supplies to only those projects that I had a firm (not nebulous maybe) idea for in my mind AND I was excited about doing it AND I wanted the final product - and ME doing the project was value-added enough that I wasn't willing to buy it (or have someone else do it).
It was super painful but my former "sewing room" (second/guest bedroom) was a totally non-functioning Doom Room/Hell Room and I wanted my new space to be, above all else FUNCTIONAL. 1) I wanted all sewing-related stuff in the room (no "overstock" stashed anywhere else), 2) I didn't want anything (but furniture) on the floor so I could vacuum/mop, and 3) I didn't want a bunch of stuff piled up on flat surfaces (I know from experience that is a personal recipe for disaster). So those were my non-negotiables.
My goal was 75% capacity, later shooting for closer to 50% (rummaging around in a drawer, lengths of fabric seem to "popcorn" and I didn't want to have to re-pack everything anytime I wanted to get something out).
Sewing books had to fit on the bottom two shelves of my book case (that was a difficult limit to follow without cheating) and my sewing patterns (in boxes) had to fit on the top shelf (easy, plenty of room). I wanted one shelf for a notions storage box & some smaller containers and I really wanted one shelf just for keepsakes/decor items that were personal and/or didn't really fit the design "vibe" of the rest of the house. There were a few things that ended up on top of my dressers (serger, file box, keepsake boxes) but no piles!
Did it suck? Absolutely. Did I have to make several passes? Yes - but it got easier each time because when faced with FIRM volume limits, I was able to come to terms with the fact that a lot of it was past life/fantasy life fabric plus a fair amount of sunk cost going on as well. And the more I focused on the "good" (appropriate/logical) stuff, the easier it was to see when something didn't quite fit.
I will say that the older I get, the more product-focused (rather than process-focused) my sewing has become. If I don't have a finished product in mind, if it's not something I think I "need" than I probably won't do it. I used to think that I would copy "great designs of the world" for my 1/2-size mannequin or make stuff to sell at the Farmer's Market but I realized, through inaction, that's not how I'm going to choose to spend my free time.
It sounds like you're doing a lot of arts/crafts for the pure enjoyment of the process (doing the art/craft) as much, maybe more, than having the final product. I still think having a goal of a functional space and setting some firm volume limits can help.
And if you end up keeping "extra" yarn, as long as that yarn isn't going "bad" in storage, then I think you're doing pretty darn good.
p.s. for pattern magazines, my grandmother used to tear out any pages for the projects she wanted to do and then got rid of the rest. She had a whole drawer full of this kind of stuff when she died (sorted by general type into manila mailing envelopes).
3
u/2redthread 9d ago
Thanks for sharing. I do recognize myself in your story, as I had already a place where my craft stuff were, but the overflow made it difficult and tiresome to go through it to the point that I didn't enjoy the process of sewing because I had first to pass this mountain of boxes š Having clear goals for the room other than " no overflow" is a good idea .
1
6
u/KiwiTheKitty 10d ago
Something that has helped me was picking out my absolute favorites of favorite yarns for knitting and putting everything else somewhere else. I saw how much easier it was to get into my stash with less on the shelf and how much less decision paralysis I have when there are fewer options, and that's been a big motivation for me to keep it that way.
Being honest about what I like to knit with has been helpful too. Like if it's gorgeous and will look amazing as a finished item, but I hate the entire process of knitting it, it's just not something I keep anymore. Goodbye, linen and cotton dominant yarns... if it's fine to work with, but I don't enjoy wearing it, that goes too.
I've also been on a buying ban since like January, like if I want to knit, I have a stash! Stop adding to it and just knit from it!! I had the mindset of needing to find the "perfect pattern" for the yarn, but the perfect pattern is just something that will be used and enjoyed.
4
u/catcontentcurator 10d ago
Can you match fabrics to patterns from your magazines so you have something concrete to make with them?
4
u/playmore_24 10d ago
Find a local art teacher to donate to- you'll feel good that the materials you part with are being appreciated!
5
u/stuffrescue 10d ago
Crafters have a superpower here: your excess supplies are treasure to somebody. Schools, senior centers, and beginner crafters will genuinely use the fabric and yarn you know you will never touch. It is easier to let supplies go when you picture them getting used instead of stored. One working rule that helps: keep only what fits the projects you can name out loud. If you cannot name the project, it is inventory, not a hobby.
The approach might not work for some. I use it for jewelry making specifically. That way I don't have boxs of inventory I'm not currently able to move.
Leatherworking is fun, by the way. I have an Italian sewing machine for leather and heavy canvas.
Happy Crafting!
4
u/Imaginary-One6993 10d ago
Relisten to DKWās chapter on crafts and hobby supplies. Sparks joy is just not a thing in her system because you love it all! Maybe āfavoriteā could be filtered by: this color is my favorite, I have a sweaters worth, I use this weight or fiber most often , or something like that. I used her method on my fabric and yarn and books a couple of years ago and it has been great to be under my clutter threshold!
1
u/2redthread 9d ago
Definitely to have more " rational" criteria to determine what I keep more could help .
6
u/Green-Conference-740 10d ago
Imagine what you will make with each fabric. If that project doesnāt excite you consider letting that fabric go.
6
u/2redthread 10d ago
Good idea. I was so focused on" does this fabric spark joy?" , I didn't consider " does this project with this fabric spark joy?" .
2
u/terpsichore17 4d ago edited 4d ago
Thereās a quilter named Karen Brown on YouTube as āJust Get It Done Quilts.ā She has a video on how to assess a WIP/UFO for whether you actually want to finish it or not, so that the WIPs become FOs. The same process should work for non-quilting projects.
She also has a yearly Declutter Challenge in January, where she goes through each part of her stash for the first three weeks of the year. Having 21 days where each day focuses on one thing/category for a specific amount of time helps it feel less daunting.
1
17
u/Philosopher2670 10d ago
One way to declutter fabric or yarn is to make something with it.
I find one of the hardest things is deciding what to make and finding a pattern to use.
Maybe you need to make room a Project Kit section?
Spend a little time project planning. Decide what you are going to make with each fabric/yarn and find the pattern for it. Put the fabric/yarn, pattern, notions and any "notes to yourself" in a bag together. Now you have a project ready to go for when you have the time and energy for that craft.
This will also help you identify fabrics/yarns that are not realistically going to be made into anything. It might make it easier to pass those on to another crafter.