I was at a client’s house recently, helping her to organize her crafting area. As we containerized her scrapbooking supplies and sorted her numerous stacks of pictures into various ‘project’ categories to be scrapbooked at a later (undetermined) date, I was surprised to hear her confess that she really did not like scrapbooking and often procrastinated making time for it on her calendar. Why then, I wondered, did she have so much space in her home dedicated to a hobby that did not bring her joy?
I think her story is one that many can relate to. When she was first introduced to the world of scrapbooking, she was initially exited about it. She saw the beautiful work of others and smiled with delight at the idea of turning her own paper memories into beautiful works of art as well. She jumped right in and bought a bunch of scrapbooking supplies. When the time came to actually sit down and create scrapbooks, however, she soon realized that scrapbooking was not ‘her thing’ after all. But what is a person to do in such a situation? She now owns all these scrapbooking supplies. The commitment has pretty much been made. There’s no turning back now. ……..Right? Besides….. Her daughter may want to scrapbook one day. So, she should really save the scrapbooking supplies for that ‘rainy day’ as well. ……..Right? Well….. Not necessarily.
My general thoughts are these….. We all change and grow over the course of our lives. And our likes and dislikes change accordingly. A hobby that made us happy at one point in our lives, may no longer bring us joy at another point in our lives. Don’t feel pressured to keep something that no longer serves the purpose that it once served long ago. Yes, you may have initially invested money into something, but if that something no longer brings you joy, is it really worth keeping (especially, if it is taking up valuable space in your home that could be used for something else)? Why not sell or donate the supplies or equipment to someone else who could get use and enjoyment out of them now?
As for those ‘rainy day’ projects that you may have on your list to accomplish ‘someday’…… It is good to periodically reevaluate that list to determine the importance and the likelihood of those projects ever being completed. If you still believe a project is important to you and that it will be completed within a reasonable period of time, then keep it on your list. If, however, your motivation to complete a particular project has diminished significantly since it was first added to your list, or you feel the end result could be accomplished in a different way than originally planned, then alter your project list accordingly.
Regarding the original ‘photo organizing’ project example, there are other, more simple things that one could do with all those printed photos that have accumulated over the years. They could be scanned, sorted and placed on CDs, which would take up much less space on a shelf in a bookcase. The paper copies could then be shredded and tossed. One of my other favorite ideas is to sort the printed photos into categories, divide them with colored, labeled index cards, and store them in photo boxes on a shelf (which can be purchased in a variety of different designs and colors at your local department or hobby stores). Again, this takes up much less space, costs much less money in supplies, and requires less creativity and time to put together than scrapbooking. There are other options for organizing photos, but these are my favorite to recommend to people who don’t want to worry about being too creative or spending too much time on the project.
I hope you found these tips to be helpful! Thank you again for stopping by & Thank you for organizing with me!
– Beverly