Crafts

Decluttering Craft Supplies

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March is National Craft Month. If you are a hard core crafter, occasional crafter, or even if you used to do crafting you probably have a lot of supplies stored in various drawers, containers, or closets.

yarn_&_needlesIf you enjoy multiple crafts like I do that can add up to a lot of supplies. Over the years my interest in different crafts have changed. Many times those supplies get stashed away in a container, not seeing the light of day for a long time.  If this has happened to you it may be time to declutter some of those supplies.

Clipart from Clipartheaven.com

Unused supplies and unfinished projects are a red flag telling us it is time to make some tough decisions.  Here are few questions to ask yourself when trying to determine if you should keep them or not.

  • Do you love this kind of crafting?
  • Is this unfinished project due to you not liking this particular project or the kind of craft?
  • Did you used to love this kind of crafting but are no longer interested?
  • Do you feel bad about wasting good supplies and don’t want to throw them out?

If you have decided you no longer enjoy a particular kind of craft then it’s time to declutter those supplies. You don’t have to throw everything out in the trash. There are plenty of places you can donate them.  This includes those half finished projects as long as you have the materials to finish them. You will be blessing others while at the same time cleaning out your craft area.

Here are some suggestions on where to donate.  I’m sure a few phone calls will give you several local places happy to take those craft supplies.

  • Local schools – nursery schools through colleges.
  • Nursing homes, assisted living, and retirement homes.
  • Women’s shelters – both children’s and adult craft supplies are wanted.
  • Certain charities (see below).

 

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Clipart from Clipartheaven.com

 

If you enjoy sewing or knitting and have a lot of extra supplies/materials there are several ways you can use your skills and supplies for a good cause.  Many charities donate finished projects to help newborns, children, cancer patients, and elderly people. I have done this before by sewing bibs, burp pads, and changing pads for my local Newborns In Need chapter. These small projects helped me clear out some extra fabrics I had sitting around.  If you don’t want to do the sewing or knitting these kinds of charities would love to have your fabric and yarns so their members can make the projects.

It feels good to use your skills to bless others. Here is a site that lists charities that are looking for donations of finished projects.

http://www.craftforcharity.com/charities.html

It’s time to get your creative juices going or pass those supplies on to someone else so they can get their creative juices going. Either way you’ll be clearing out some of that craft clutter laying around the house.

To a lighter load along the way.

Janice

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March Special Dates and Events

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This year March has only two special dates/holidays. There is Daylight Savings day on Sunday, March 11. Most of us will move the clocks forward and lose that extra hour of sleep.  You don’t want to be late for any plans that day so be sure to set your clocks the night before.

ShamrockThen there is St. Patrick’s Day on Saturday, March 17.  St. Patrick’s Day may have started out as an Irish religious holiday over 1000 years ago but many people, including all us non-Irish, love to join in the celebrations today. Below are several links to find out about the history of this holiday and fun ways to celebrate it with your family.

March also has several month long events. There is Women’s History Month, American Red Cross Month, And National Craft Month. There is also Poison Prevention Week. If you have small children or pets be sure to check out the FAQ’s at the link below for a lot of good information.

If you are a crafter then this will be a month filled with special sales and classes at your local craft store. Below are some links for some of the major stores where you can find out the specials in your area.

If your craft/sewing area is filled with clutter and unfinished projects it may be time to clean it out before starting any new ones. I’ll be posting an article on decluttering craft supplies next week.  Be sure to check back here or better yet sign up to receive an email when a new post is written. You can sign up here…..

Check out the sites below and start getting organized for the month ahead. Remember that a little planning today makes tomorrow easier and a lot more fun!

Janice

Women’s History Month

http://womenshistorymonth.gov/

http://www.nwhp.org//

American Red Cross Month

www.redcross.org

National Craft Month

This is a great site for projects and links to blogs on crafting.

http://www.craftplace.org/

If you’re into sewing and crafts these links are for the major craft stores.  On the main page of each site you can also link to their Facebook page.

http://www.joann.com/

http://www.hancockfabrics.com/

http://www.hobbylobby.com/

http://www.michaels.com/

poison_prevention_awareness_month_pageMarch 18 – 24,  Poison Prevention Week

http://www.poisonprevention.org/poison.htm

March 11 (Sunday), Daylight Saving

Make sure you move your clocks forward.  Spring forward, fall back. That’s how I always remember which way to move the clock.

   http://www.holidaysmart.com/z_daylightsavingstime.htm 

ShamrockMarch 17 (Saturday), St. Patricks Day

http://www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day

http://www.st-patricks-day.com/

http://holidays.kaboose.com/patrick-history.html

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Ideas for Last Minute Holiday Inspiration

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It’s hard to believe Christmas is just a little over a week away.  The first night of Chanukah is next Tuesday, December 20. The greeting cards are arriving in force now. If you haven’t mailed yours yet it’s time to do it.

In my monthly newsletter I included a lot of website links for ideas on Christmas and Chanukah. Here are some of those links to help you with ideas for gifts, organizing your holidays, making homemade decorations with your children, holiday recipes, and lots of other ideas.  Check them out for some last minute inspiration.

Christmas

http://christmas.organizedhome.com/

http://www.amazing-christmas-ideas.com/

http://holidays.kaboose.com/christmas/

http://browse.realsimple.com/holidays-entertaining/holidays/christmas/index.html

 

Chanukah

http://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/default_cdo/jewish/Hanukkah.htm

http://holidays.kaboose.com/chanukah/

 

To a lighter load along the way.

Janice

 

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Clear Out The Clutter On Snowy Days

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The news today said that at least one third of the nation (USA) will experience some of this huge winter storm. I know here in St. Louis we are under a Blizzard warning. I don’t ever remember being under that kind of warning before.

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Because of this storm many people will find themselves stuck in their homes for at least a couple of days, maybe even longer. If you have children that means they are out of school and will either be glued to the TV watching movies, reruns, or cartoons, on the computer playing games, or be bored out of their minds and driving you crazy.

So take advantage of this time stuck in the house to do so decluttering and organizing with your children. Of course, if you don’t have children at home you can still do some of the projects listed below. A lot of these ideas are from Chapter 4 (Paper Memories) in the eBook “Cut Out The Paper Clutter”.

  1. Go through your boxes of photos and throw away the bad shots. These may include ones with the heads cut off, blurred shots that are unidentifiable, too dark or too light, or duplicates.
  2. While going through the photos be sure to write any information about them on the back. It’s best to use a photo safe pen if you have one. If you’re doing this with your children then take the time to talk about the photos. They probably will find it a lot more interesting than reruns on the TV.
  3. Pull out those boxes of your children’s saved papers from past school years (or your own). Go down memory lane with them and then get rid of as many as possible. Usually when you do this you’ll be asking yourself, “Why did I keep this?”. When time loosens the hold these items have on you or your children, take advantage of it and let them go.
  4. Snowy days are also a good time to go through the overstuffed bookshelves and all those DVD’s or even VHS tapes if you have them. Pull out any you know you’ll never read or watch again. Put them in a box or bag to take to your local charity next time you run errands. You’ll be giving other children or adults a chance to read those books or watch the DVD’s.
  5. This is also a good time to pull out some of those craft supplies and get creative. When supplies sit there unused for long periods of time they can become clutter. But if they are used in the process of a creative project, they are not clutter!

If you are one of those stuck at home due to the weather don’t sit around and waste the time. Have fun going through things and clear out some of the clutter at the same time. You won’t regret it!

Janice

https://cutclutterwithscissors.com

http://twitter.com/jlscissors

Facebook Page: http://bit.ly/99D10k

If you have piles of paper clutter then you need to get my eBook, “Cut Out The Paper Clutter”. It can help you clear out those piles and organize the important papers.

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http://organizebythemonth.com/CutOutThePaperClutter.html

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