Purge With Purpose ~ Another inspiring way to repurpose your clutter

Posted on August 28, 2008 | 0 comments

<p>Clearing the clutter is as important for your scrapbooking stash as it is for any other part of your home. And certainly, we all know what it’s like is to get into the mood to scrapbook, and to&nbsp;<strong>find the time</strong>&nbsp;to scrapbook, only to then discover that we are inundated with "stuff" that doesn’t inspire, and with even more stuff that we’ve outgrown.&nbsp; Solution?&nbsp; Purge.</p>
<p>There are great ways to purge so that:</p>
<ol type="1">
<li>You haven’t just thrown money out the window.</li>
<li>You haven’t just set yourself up to go spend&nbsp;<strong>more</strong>&nbsp;money.</li>
<li>You haven’t depleted your stash of items that you "might" need at a later date.&nbsp;</li>
</ol>
<p>Scrapbooking materials cost money, and whether or not you have an endless supply of money to spend, the bottom line is that if you can’t use what you’ve bought, someone else can!&nbsp; If you’re not going to save money by "not" spending it in the first place, then the best thing you can do, when you’ve got the urge to purge, is to&nbsp;<strong>help a novice scrapper get started</strong>.&nbsp; New scrapbookers are less picky about their supplies, and are generally thankful to be on the receiving end of items that they might not buy for themselves.&nbsp; And when you give your items away, you won’t feel like you’ve just thrown away dollars.&nbsp; Instead you’ll feel like you are investing in a cause!&nbsp;</p>
<p>Scrapbookers are shoppers at heart, which is sometimes good, and at other times very hard on the pocketbook.&nbsp; And more often than we’d like to admit, we dispose of items we’ve grown tired of&nbsp;<strong>as a way to justify</strong>&nbsp;buying more items that are newer, trendier, or more effective.&nbsp; It&nbsp;<strong>pays</strong>&nbsp;to pay close attention to what you buy, and why.&nbsp; Do you make purchases for specific projects?&nbsp; Or do you buy items because the host on QVC says you can’t live without them?&nbsp;&nbsp;<strong>Set a reasonable budget for yourself</strong>, and keep a running list of items that you need or want.&nbsp; That way, when you’re at a crop and everyone else is spending-up-a-storm, you’ll make sure to purchase only items that will truly make a difference in your scrapbooking.&nbsp;</p>
<p>And lastly, it’s important to find a balance between items you get rid of, and items you keep for future use.&nbsp; Obviously,&nbsp;<strong>if you hate flowers, get rid of them</strong>!&nbsp; Use caution, however, because while newer items match up better with current pictures or projects, it’s very possible that items which you’ve slated for the&nbsp;’give away’&nbsp;bin are more in line with "dated" projects that you haven’t yet finished, or even started.&nbsp; As an example, olive green ribbon might not go with today’s trend for teal…but it&nbsp;<strong>will</strong>&nbsp;serve as a great embellishment for those 70′s photos you have yet to scrapbook when olive green was the "in" thing.</p>
<p>Remember that if it doesn’t inspire you or you know that you have no intention of using it in the next 6-12 months, it doesn’t need to be taking up precious space. Keep the creative juices flowing!</p>
<p>Warmly,<br /><img src="http://scrapbookersinnercircle.com/images/tam_signature.png" border="0" alt="Tammy Morales" width="100" height="66" /><br />Tammy Morales<br />Your Scrapbook Coach<br />Publisher, ScrapbookersInnerCircle.com</p>