1. Pens – I had pens, pencils, and markers everywhere! I got them all out on my table and wrote with every one of them. Anything that didn’t work was immediately thrown away. That included pencils with hard erasers that wouldn’t erase any more.
2. Paper – I haven’t actually scrapbooked in about 10 years. But I still had a supply of scrapbook papers (AND stickers). I do use them from time to time in other projects so I didn’t want to throw away everything. So again I got all the papers in one place and really thought about what I would use. My style has changed over the last 10 years so some were easier to part with than others. I also looked at my list of projects I have planned and saved some papers for those.
3. Paint – I love to paint! But I don’t even remember the last time I threw away paint so I decided to tackle this too. Many of my bottles were dried up. Into the trash they went. Some colors were almost used up and others I didn’t have any ideas for projects for so they all went, too. I got the acrylic paints down to one plastic shoebox.
4. Dried up glue – ‘Nuff said about that…
5. Multiples – When I started organizing I realized that I had multiples of some tools. In the past, I’ve occasionally just bought a new tool when I couldn’t find the old one. So I passed my extra tape measures, pincushions, and rulers on to someone who could use them.
6. Tools you don’t use – I have my favorite pliers that I use for making jewelry. When they wore out I went and bought more just like them instead of using the pliers I had. When I organized I found 5 pairs of pliers that I never use!
7. Supplies for projects or hobbies you’ve lost interest in – For me, that includes knitting, crocheting, needlepoint, and scrapbooking.
8. Craft magazines – Just about everything in magazines can be found online but I still like to read magazines. So when I find something I want to remember in a magazine, I’ll find it online and pin it to one of my Pinterest boards. Then I can pass along my magazines to another friend who’s just as addicted as me!
9. Kids’ artwork – I know. This is a super hard one. Especially because it’s so sentimental. I want to save every scrap of paper they’ve ever drawn or painted on. But, let’s face it, my girls are now 22 and 24. It’s time for me to get rid of some. (Yes, I was STILL saving some of their art!) BUT before I threw them away I took a close up picture of each individual one. Now I can keep all of their artwork in a folder on my hard drive. Wow… I wish I’d had an iPhone when my girls were little. I’d probably have to buy an external hard drive JUST to store photos of their art. They were very prolific artists. (I’d also have a few pictures of murals on some of our walls, too!)
These last three items fall into a special category. I’m giving myself one more chance on these. I’ll add these to my list of projects. BUT if I don’t do them by the next time I declutter, they’re going to Goodwill!
10. Anything broken
11. New craft supplies over a year old that still haven’t even been opened
12. Unfinished projects