It's Day Six of my Buy Nothing Summer, and I have to admit, so far, it hasn't been that big of a deal. I haven't caved and gone on a crafty shopping binge. Shocker! I did get an email from Sharpie about their new fabric markers, and felt a bit of a pang, but quickly deleted it. So far there hasn't been anything that I wanted to buy, which has made it easy. Just wait until I need something though... yikes!
In terms of organizing, I managed to sort through two boxes of papers on Tuesday. I condensed my keep pile into a way smaller stack, about 1/5 the size of what I started with. This was a huge pile of student papers and assignments, and I've been meaning to go through them for months. I decided to keep a small selection of my favorite student papers (about a dozen, out of dozens), plus some blank worksheets that I know I'll use for future classes. I had about 3 dozen folders that I considered keeping, but then I decided that if I used folders again in the future, I'd just buy more when/if I needed them. I don't usually like to toss something useable (obviously!), but after watching two seasons of Hoarders on Netflix this past week or so, I'm definitely inspired to get stuff outta my house! All of the unwanted papers went to the curb to be recycled and are now out of my life.
I do keep using supplies from my stash, but the problem is that I keep using little things, which hardly makes a dent in the pile! In order for me to get this place organized, I need to start tacking some of the bigger projects. When I think about what takes up the most space of my consumable stash, it's zippers, papers, fabric, and blank canvases. Although the zippers are currently tucked away neatly, I do have a cool idea in mind for those that I'd like to try this weekend. To do so, I'll need to access my sewing supplies.... yikes! Wish me luck on that one!
Next, my goal is to tackle one box a day (at least!) of unpacked craft items. When I come to an item that doesn't have a "home" just yet, I'm going to have to find a use for it pronto! I do have an empty storage drawer under my desk, so I'm going to work on figuring out what I'll be using it for. For the last few days, I have managed to meet my goal of unpacking one box a day. Here's hoping I can keep it up!
Finally, someone mentioned that they keep daily supplies separate from occasional supplies. I thought that was a great idea! I have quite a few supplies for metalworking jewelry, but I haven't done anything with them for a year. I know I should get rid of them, but I do have hopes that I'll eventually be able to experiment more in that area. I managed to condense those supplies into a small plastic shoebox plus my soldering iron. This will be packed away into the 4 feet of currently unused space in my linen closet. It's really inconvenient space, so I figure it's perfect for occasional projects. Perhaps if I never miss these supplies, I will get rid of them later.
I have a tall storage unit with 4 small drawers and 3 large drawers that I think I am going to use for my art journal and collage supplies. The top drawers will be for my current journal-in-progress, markers, pens, pencils, washi tape -- all the smallish stuff that tends to clutter my desk. The bottom three drawers will be for vintage photographs, printed collage sheets, magazines, and other paper ephemera. The goal, and I don't know if I can really do this, is to get rid of whatever paper doesn't fit in this unit, preferably without it being crammed to the point of being difficult to use.
I just spend half an hour arranging space under my desk so that I can store my two show suitcases (a pair of Mary Kay suitcases that I snagged for $7 at a yard sale last year). I am storing my tent, tables, and tent weights in my friend's massive basement storage unit across the street, but I don't want to store inventory down there because there was a huge mold problem two years ago that ruined a lot of my stuff that I'd stored there when I was out of town for two months. (Ugh, that sucked!) I figure if the suitcases are under my desk, they are safe, secure, and convenient, if I need something from inside. Considering that I just dropped off tons of inventory at two of the places where I sell my work, I shouldn't need to access them until September, but if I do, it won't be a huge pain.
My goal for today is to finishing packing away the rest of my inventory, mail out my etsy orders for the week, mail out my zipper giveaway prizes (I'm seriously delinquent on those!) and move furniture a bit so I can have the storage unit for art journal stuff right next to my desk where I work. After that, I want to unpack my sewing machine so I can get started on my zipper project. Hurray!
See all of the Buy Nothing Summer posts here.
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