Do you think that if you declutter, your life will be boring or you will always be bored?
Is minimalism boring? In short, NO! It makes you so creative.
What do you do when the things you love to do are cluttering up your heart and mind? You know – that craft room you have packed full of things you want to make “one day” code for never? Or that yoga punch card you bought but haven’t used? And the half started, never finished DIY home projects you found on pinterest and lost the motivation to complete?
Those are just as much clutter as the piles of stuff you had laying around your house and they need to go!
Start with all the things you have bought with the intention of creating and then NEVER started.
Those are the easy ones. Yes, it may feel like you are throwing away (Hopefully giving away) something that means a lot to you, and something you would really love to make or do – but let’s be honest. If we held onto every single project we ever wanted to do “one day” we would all have houses that looked like Hobby Lobby’s clearance section. That’s not good for our mental state.
Next, move onto the projects you started BUT never finished.
If you’re being honest with yourself have no intention to finish. Maybe it really wasn’t as fun as you thought it would be, was above your skill set, or just ended up being a different process or experience you were originally hoping for. Whatever the reason is, you started it, and now it just doesn’t feel like something fun to finish, or it’s too overwhelming to finish.
Finally go through what’s left and KEEP the things you know you love to create with.
It’s really rare that someone loves to do ALL crafts. Normally they love one or two types of creative projects. For me, it’s painting on canvas. I have tried many things – knitting, crocheting, sewing, custom vinyl, scrapbooking, sketching, watercolors. I like those things. Sometimes. Not enough to keep supplies on hand at home. Painting though – THAT lights my soul up. I could paint for days and days and days and stop only to eat and drink and be completely happy.
It makes me REALLY happy to have painting supplies on hand at home so I can use them when I feel inspired to use them.
I get stressed out to have a closet full (maybe even a room full) up creative projects I just wanted to try and have left to collect dust.
When you have what is left organize them using this technique I use to organize my stuff.
Crafting supplies can be expensive and this can really feel like a big waste of money to get rid of this stuff – but totally honest, the money has already been spent. Now it’s COSTING you in different ways – your time, energy and sanity. Those can’t be quantified, but they shouldn’t be ignored.
How to be creative without keeping ALL the things
As a mom, I think it is really important to make time for the creative projects that spark excitement and happiness in you, but we can’t keep houses full of all those things. Luckily there are SO many ways to fulfill those creative projects needs when you get the itch without hoarding them and letting them overrun your home.
There are SO many craft night classes you can take that cover everything from woodworking to sewing to cooking to knitting. You can go participate in one of those and figure out what you really love that way. Plus you get to see other adults who are also seeing a creative outlet like yourself. Usually you even get a really pretty end product to bring home and display for your family.
It feels good to be creative and it feels GREAT to create something.
When we take on too many projects and hoard too many supplies it has the opposite effect on us. We are left feeling uninspired and overwhelmed. I hope this helps you to simplify the projects you are taking on and you can start to feel like the creative, passionate creator of a mom you know you are!
