De-cluttering a craft room

Crystal Sifton
by Crystal Sifton
Hi All....I am a chronic crafter but since I moved, I have SOOOO much stuff in there and honestly, I haven't done much of anything since. I hate to get rid of things. Some things are sacred like my beads, painting supplies and crochet but I have so many others - cross stitch, scrapbooking, paper, stencils, books, quilting magazines.

Any tips on how to decide WHAT to get rid of? Been struggling with this for a couple of years

Thanks!
  9 answers
  • Janet Pizaro Janet Pizaro on Mar 22, 2017

    Have your organized the room at all? There are so many ideas of what others have done.

    • See 1 previous
    • Janet Pizaro Janet Pizaro on Mar 24, 2017

      Yes I hear the overwhelming part. If they are already stored in pretty boxes I would look into a shelving unit or a closet unit . I would not stress that much.This is your happiness with all your crafting supplies.

  • Linda Rethman Linda Rethman on Mar 23, 2017

    It will be very hard, but to truly organize you have to purge first. Pull everything out of the room and as much as possible put like things together in this pull out phase. Before anything goes back into the room, house, space for crafting you have to be truly committed to that craft. This is a tough love moment. Maybes don't cut it here. Know that someone out there is in love with that craft you are maybe about. Give your maybes a whole new life and send them on. With the remainder of your lovelies, continue to put like thing together and get rid of duplicates where possible. Then, start having fun with finding homes for the jewels you want to keep. You will discover a new aquatintAnne with items you have forgotten about and the love of crafting will be renewed.


    • Crystal Sifton Crystal Sifton on Mar 24, 2017

      Oh good idea! I'm thinking of maybe putting on a garage sale to get rid of bags of things.....


  • Shoshana Shoshana on Mar 23, 2017

    Organization is key. That's what I've come to understand. Someone suggested that I try a pegboard for craft organizing. One of the best ideas I've ever received. Check out how this Hometalker did it- http://www.hometalk.com/diy/craft-room/craft-supply-storage/pegboard-craft-organization-846875

  • GrDD GrDD on Mar 24, 2017

    In my organization of craft room, it came down to being realistic about which of the crafts I really WAS going to be working on in the future. All "been-there-done-that" crafts materials were lovingly passed on to a pre-school, grandchild or charity. Good luck

  • Banjojane66 Banjojane66 on Mar 25, 2017

    Yes! I love my beads, yarn, sewing notions and stuff!

    A distant friend passed away, recently and the family gave me some of her most treasured things she made. I really love the beautiful colors!

    (Some pictures here .) She was working on some, when she became ill. But, getting back to your question...


    This is an example of how I would separate things I want to get rid of, or not get rid of.

    Your probably going to laugh, or think this silly, but ......

    (you will have space after you put your treasures in one place and you can move around the room!!) *;*

    -I would buy a large duffel bag on rollers, (Walmart has some for 20.00) and wrap your things up in a plastic storage/trash bag),

    put them in the duffel bag and put in a small block of cedar, to keep bugs out.

    "The things one person sees as wonderful, may be trash to others!" Like me.... I love my purses, but they clutter my closet! I put my smaller purses inside the larger ones! ) Yes, they are in a duffel bag too!

    If you put your stuff in suitcases/ duffel bags, with rollers, you can move them around until you decide they are no longer a need. Happy rolling! This is great exercise too!! lol

  • Banjojane66 Banjojane66 on Mar 25, 2017

    It's me again. Here's some pics of stuff and things, I'd like to show you what beautiful things my friend made. Too much for one person to enjoy!! They will be given to a church in her memory.

  • D roach D roach on Mar 27, 2017

    donate it to a local school for them to use.

  • Crystal Sifton Crystal Sifton on Mar 29, 2017

    I have been busy in there. First off, I put a lot of things together, rather than having separate boxes for each. I have about 20 boxes to get rid of that are not the nicest! Next step is to take everything off and go through stuff. Thanks for all the replies and ideas :D

  • Linda Linda on Apr 18, 2017

    Hi! I too love crafts....all kinds of them! One of my favourite places to donate things I am not going to use: Sew on Fire.....check it out online. Fabric and trims are made into clothes and other essentials for the poor and needy around the world. They are located in Burlington, Ontario, and they send soooooo many wonderful items around the world. Volunteers use donated fabrics and yarns to make beautiful blankets/quilts/baby items/hats/scarves/mitts/toys/clothes/pencil cases and backpacks for people who are impoverished....widows and orphans. Some supplies help women begin a sewing business so they can support themselves and their children.


    That said, for the things you want to keep, I use large antique wardrobes, in my living room, to store the crafts I want to keep....use clear plastic lidded containers to fit neatly into each wardrobe [on shelves]. Label everything so you can tell at a glance what is what. Also group like with like....Also, you can use decorative boxes [Michael's and Homesense have some lovely ones....] make sure you buy ones with lids so that you can stack them. Also, the wheeled plastic storage carts can be taken out of a closet/pantry/other underused area and wheeled to wherever you want to work on your projects, then simply whisk it away when you are finished with it.


    Hope these ideas help! Have a great day!