scraproom

A little over a year ago I moved from my 10 by 11 foot scrap corner of the basement, which I was completely happy with, into a large 18 by 12 foot room that had been Scott’s photo studio.  The move was necessary because he needed a longer space that included my scrap corner, and this room would be unused.  I was ecstatic to have such a large space to spread out into.  When I moved in, I bought some new Recollections cubes from Michael’s and set up in such a way that all my supplies were really spread out across my room.  I love having things spread across lots of partially filled shelves and drawers, rather than having things crammed into small spaces.  It means I can flip through the supplies I have and see everything so easily.  I don’t generally keep a large stash (although a non-scrapbooker would probably disagree with me on that!), but I did do what I called a major purge, where I pulled out everything that I knew I would’t use (paper, lots of stamps, tools, inks, etc.) and put it a box aside for a new crafter in my neighbourhood (I also gave some to my sister).

image
My newly reorganized Scraproom, as of July 2014

 

I just did a major clean up of my scrap room where I moved some of the furniture around, brought my kids’ craft supplies into the room, and created a space just for them to craft.  Their supplies are also spread out across many cube drawers with not much in them, but it makes it organized and easy to put things away.  Obviously, an updated scrap room tour was in order!  But as I filmed it and as I edited it, I began to question myself- why do I have so much stuff??  I seriously have a crapload of stuff in this room, considering that 90% or more of my layouts come from the kits I receive each month.

Now to be fair, most of what I have in here is opened partial packages of things.  Much of it came in kits from previous months, and a small amount of it (yes, label stickers, I’m talking about YOU!) came from when I was still feeling the need to build my stash with supplies I love (and I DO love label stickers… I probably don’t need 4 million of them, but they make me so happy!).  I don’t usually buy multiple (or even single) packs of things I am not using.  But I heard myself several times use the phrase, “I don’t really use these any more” and I started to wonder, “then why do I have them?”

But you know what?  The thought of giving them away or selling them really is not appealing to me at all.  I love my crafty goodies!  Even the old stuff!  If it survived last year’s purge, it’s something I like and can see myself using at some point.  Yes, I have a lot of sh!t in my room, but I have the space to store it efficiently.  I can find what I need when I need it (except, as I learned in the video, plain tags!).  And although I did spend a lot on craft supplies when I started out, I don’t spend much now.  I’ve been scrapping for 5 years, and I’ve been on 3 design teams… and prior to my work with Scraptastic, the DT work I did left me with lots of left overs I might not have chosen to buy myself.  Plus, I occasionally dabble in other crafts such as sewing, jewelry making, and mixed media.  Although I don’t spend gobs of time on any of these other crafts, I love them enough that I wouldn’t want to not have the option of coming down and pulling them out to work on.

So I spent a good chunk of time in my room, looking through my supplies.  I looked at groups of supplies and asked myself myself: Is this contributing to my crafty happiness or hindering it in some way?

When I think about the supplies I have, I ask myself some questions:

  • Am I living within my budget? It seems obvious, but you need to operate using Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, and make sure you’re taking care of yourself and your family before you indulge in scrappy goodies.  I consider scrapbooking supplies a recreational expense because it is such an effective stress-buster for me, and I do believe I can work longer, more efficient hours when I have some scrappy time to myself each week.
  • Do I have time to use the supplies? I carve out specific time each week, and actually work my work schedule around scrapbooking (I realize I’m lucky to have that option) so I know I’ll be consistently using supplies each week, but I also have a kit coming in each month.  I try to use it up (at least use up the stuff I love the most) before the next one comes, and then I try to limit my spending to adhesive and “stock supplies” most of the year (stock supplies includes things like doilies, mists, tags, white card stock, card envelopes, etc.  – things I miss when I run out of).  When my kids were toddlers (when I started scrapping) I had nowhere near as much time, so all my craft supplies lived on a tiny wheely cart in my dining room.
  • Do I have space to store the supplies and a means to access them efficiently?  For me, it’s not only about having the space, because I will always have some space in a corner somewhere.  The more important question is, whether I will be happy with where I store it, and be able to access it without interrupting my crafty process.  Not everyone scraps the same way, so this may or may not be important to you, but for me, it is crucial.  If I have to get up and look through drawers for something, it will kill my crafty “buzz” and no one wants that!
  • Do I feel in control of what I have and how I’m spending my time and money? There have been times when I’ve spent more time per week shopping or organizing things, than I’ve spent actually crafting.  And there is nothing wrong with that if that’s how you want to spend your time and money.  But if you intend to scrap, and simply find you’re never getting around to it and if that bothers you, then there is something amiss in your process.  Perhaps it’s time to reorganize and purge some product, or set a spending budget, or get yourself in your workspace and simply create something… anything!  I think just paying attention to this last question has helped me immensely in the past few years, to make better choices and feel better about what I’m doing with my crafty time and money.

Although I’ve come to a place where I feel ok about the stuff I have, I’m really glad I took the time to give some thought to it.  I think it’s easy to get caught up in the buying and collecting of stuff, and sometimes collecting craft supplies can be just as much a hobby as crafting, but for me… I want to feel like I’m in control of it.  Like I have the stuff I have because I choose to have it… not because it snuck up on me.  I think I had a moment where it felt like it snuck up on me, and that jolted me into a bit of self-evaluation.  In the end, I’m happy where I am, but if I weren’t, I’d be sorting through and getting rid of some of my supplies.  Basically, wherever your comfort zone is… whether it’s a few shelves of supplies, or a huge room filled to the rafters, you have to live within it, otherwise crafting becomes overwhelming or guilt-inducing.  I suppose that comfort zone is different for everyone, depending on your space, budget, and crafting habits, but I think it’s important to think about it every once in awhile.  I know that if push came to shove, all I’d need to be a happy crafter is my monthly kit, some adhesive, and few bottles of mist.  But I can also be happy with a crapload of supplies, as long as I can find those tags when I need them!

Here’s the video tour, and I’ll probably have a bit more to say on this topic when I post the shopping video some of you have requested:
(yes, it’s insanely long- it’s hard to get 216 square feet of scrap room into less than 50 minutes of video!)

Do you ever suffer from Scraproom Guilt?  How do you deal with it?  Have any tips for me or others?  Please chime in below!

Mercy Tiara

Mercy Tiara

You may be wondering who is Mercy Tiara, and why the name? MercyTiara is an anagram of my first and middle names, Tracy Marie. I discovered this name in the 90's in grad school when we were all coming up with alter egos for one another in a lab one day. I've used it ever since, but you can call me Tracy or MercyTiara, or anything you want... just don't call me late for supper!

more posts

12 Comments

  1. Jane

    Reply
    July 8, 2014 at 8:18 am

    Hi
    Great post, I just like vimmi, check morning and night for new youtube vids, from all my subscriptions, so much inspiration comes from youtube. This was a great read! I have moved around a lot the past 7 years and have been toting around about 6 ikea type card board boxes, not full with me through it all. That was my Stash!! We have settled in our home, hope to be here a while,I decided to unbox and get back to scrapping. The stash hasn’t grown much since emptying the boxes, it all fits on my table, all very easy to see and grab, it works for me very well. Since first watching your video’s I now too am a Scraptastic subscriber, and love it. I’m not always the best with coordinating paper and all the cute embellishments, the kits make it so easy. It defiantly keeps my stash down immensely and I’m happy with that. I don’t enjoy clutter and like seeing everything I have.
    Thanks again for the great read and your inspirational work!

  2. Jen Thompson

    Reply
    July 6, 2014 at 7:47 pm

    This post is epic! And great timing too as I’m about to start doing some major cleaning out of scrap space today. I find I get my mojo back after I do a big clean up 🙂

  3. Claire

    Reply
    July 4, 2014 at 8:30 am

    Lots in here I identify with – thanks for spending the time to put it down in writing .
    I recently had a major change in my scrap room which enabled me to re-think the whole process . I had to downsize from a 10′ x 12′ space to half of that. I’m glad I did it now because it enabled me to do a complete top down ( or bottom up – well maybe it met in the middle ! ) appraisal of everything in my scrapping life. I suppose I would admit to having a stash addiction – but you know what ? … it makes me happy, it’s not doing anyone any harm, I work hard to finance it and I think I’m a better person for nourishing my creative ( and shopaholic ) soul ! No more guilt .
    I now have the cutest minimal spec , all ordered and labelled to within an inch of its life and my local children’s hospice is now stocked up with craft bodies that should keep their craft club going for a decade . Everyone is happy . If you’d like a peek , it’s here on my blog .http://neverkeptadiarybutmightmanageablog.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/before-and-after.html

    • Tracy

      Reply
      July 5, 2014 at 11:47 am

      Claire, your room is absolutely dreamy! I love the cream colour scheme, and even your cat coordinates! Thanks so much for posting- so much inspiration there!

  4. Cathy R

    Reply
    July 4, 2014 at 2:58 am

    I discovered you last year after hearing you on Paperclipping Round Table and am subscribed to your Youtube channel. I thoroughly enjoy and look forward to watching your videos. I was happy to read your post on organizing and how many supplies is too much as I am two weeks away from having to MOVE EVERYTHING out of my craft room. I am blessed in that we are remodeling our kitchen and some of my old cabinets are going into the craft room but first everything has to come out. Will all of it make it back in? I haven’t decided yet! I purged a great deal last year, giving boxes of supplies to my granddaughter and to my church’s preschool and still, I have boxes and stacks of paper and supplies, probably enough to last me the rest of my life. That being said what I do have makes me happy and what will make me even happier is to be better organized which I think I will be once the “new” old cabinets go into that room. That old saying, a place for everything and everything in its place – I just know I will scrap more and quicker when I can find everything without moving what seems 20 million boxes to find the right item for my page. LOL! Anyway, great post and video. Thanks for sharing.

    • Tracy

      Reply
      July 5, 2014 at 11:49 am

      Thanks for your comment. I love the idea of having kitchen cabinets in a scrap room. Be sure to send me some photos when you are done the project!

  5. Morissa

    Reply
    July 3, 2014 at 9:58 pm

    I am in the midst of a massive purge. It is necessary to my happiness. I have a crafty area that is about 6’x8′ in a loft with a huge window on one wall, two partial walls and over half of what would be wall space is open. I downsized and moved from a much larger space after my daughter was born. I didn’t have a good grasp on how much less I needed to have in my space to be productive and happy. I am still considering disposing of a few larger items. I have also created a bit of a crafty “annex” in the basement on a bookshelf to store my extra adhesives (picked up on sale…I like having extra. I live in the middle of no where and hate running out unable to get anything for a few days.) and a few of my less frequently used tools (larger xyron, small canvases and frames, fabric stash, etc.).

    In terms of shopping, I have very much decreased my shopping. I really have enough and have a good base for what I am doing.I must say I am a sucker for stamps….totally my weakness. I think kit clubs might be the way to go for me, although I subbed to SC for awhile and couldn’t get it the kits as they accumulated for six months. I think I just need to find one that is my style that way I can have trendy papers and embellishments without having to buy entire packages, which I spent a lot of time purging.

    I enjoy collecting stamps and scrappy items, but I have a better idea about what I like, what I will actually use and the quantities in which I will use it for the most part. I am sure I will struggle with using everything I purchase, but I know that I am getting a lot better at it and am a lot more aware of what I am purchasing. Can’t wait to snuggle up with a cup of coffee and enjoy your video!

  6. Jen S.

    Reply
    July 3, 2014 at 4:39 pm

    Inspired to go organize my craft room now…

  7. kelly b

    Reply
    July 3, 2014 at 4:38 pm

    I am in the middle of a huge purge right now! I am selling some of the items though and using the money for other scrapbook items…not exactly purging, but it makes me happy. I used to be horrible in holding onto papers because I loved them so much that I wanted the perfect picture for them. Now I don’t love the papers as much. So, I am using them now! I find that if I list the things that I need to do for organizing I “reward” myself for doing things on my list by scrapbooking. I’m getting more done in my purge as a result! So that is a win for me! However, I’m now trying to figure out where I go from here. I’m trying to set up a schedule of creative time for me, and although it’s not perfect I think that it’s better than what it used to be. Thanks for sharing your room. You have some great organizational tips that I can find myself using.

  8. Tamara

    Reply
    July 3, 2014 at 4:31 pm

    I have been scrapbooking since 1997 when a neighbor introduced me to it, although it has not always been consistent and I have taken “time off” over the years due to many factors. The past few years have seen a resurgence in scrapping and I found myself enjoying the purchasing and acquiring stuff almost more than the scrapbooking process, which was not good, and I struggled with having enough! With the closing of many local and online stores I have now found myself returning to my collection and remembering why I liked a particular paper or embellishment and being content with what I have and USING what I have. I have enough stuff I need to enjoy the creating once again and I do!!!!! It has been so much fun to pull out old stuff combine it with new and make great pages and cards.
    PS love your channel and have watched it for a while now, thank you for the inspiration and also for helping me to think about why I scrapbook. Great questions that you posed.

  9. vimmi

    Reply
    July 3, 2014 at 12:26 pm

    I loved your article and video. I am on vacation and the first thing I do in the morning, go to your channel. LOL. I just started scrapbooking a year ago and started with collecting stuff. When I started out, I didn’t kniw what my style was, so I spend a lot of money at Micheal’s (even though it was their 90 % off clearence sale) and got a lot of stuff which I won’t use. But I can’t give it away. Maybe some time. And I have 2 boys, so don’t see them using them.

    Now I buy stuff I love and even though don’t get to scrap much (because of my little one being home) maybe some day soon. But I do need to purge.

    • Tracy

      Reply
      July 3, 2014 at 12:41 pm

      Thanks so much for your comment. Yes, I can totally relate! It took me a few years to really develop my own style and in those first few years I bought a lot of things simply because they were cheap- and then I was like, “how am I going to use this?” As your little ones grow up, you’ll likely get more time to scrap! Enjoy your vacation!

Leave A Reply to Tracy Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.