scrapbooking | Claire Kurtz is The Well-Organized Woman

Hobby Gear & Supplies: How Much Is Too Much?

Hobbies are a valuable addition to our lives. They give us something fun and recreational to focus on that isn’t work or other responsibilities. The problem is that many hobbies require significant amounts of gear or supplies. We often meet clients that while in love with the hobbies they participate in, are overwhelmed by the amount of ‘stuff’ they have collected to facilitate the hobby. In order to help limit the number of hobby items, we have several recommendations:

1) Try Before You Buy: Often the instinct is that you cannot try a sport or hobby without first purchasing the necessary gear and supplies. For example, someone who wants to take up cycling may feel the need to get a bike, helmet, appropriate clothing, and anything else they may need before starting out. If the sport isn’t for them, however, this stuff ends up indefinitely taking up space in their garage. Instead of purchasing first, consider renting or borrowing gear to ensure that the hobby is something you’d like to continue long term.

2) Set Your Limits: Another common hobbyist trend that we see is the personality who seems to enjoy the thrill of the supply acquisition more than the actual hobby. This seems to be particularly true of scrapbookers who often have enormous collections of supplies, with few finished scrapbooks. To keep this from happening, give yourself limits on how much you will buy, how much you will spend, and how often you will shop for hobby supplies. Make the limits firm and stick to them so that you don’t end up with excessive amounts of stuff with little time to use them.

3) Pay it Forward: For those who fall into the category of large amounts of unused hobby supplies, there are many options for culling it from your home. Play It Again Sports will pay you for your used sports equipment. Goodwill, Salvation Army, and the other charities will accept just about anything you’ve got. A final option is to post about the available stuff on your social media accounts. There’s a good chance someone in your network will be interested and you can rest assured that the stuff is going to good use.

In the end, the most important thing about your hobby is that you’re enjoying yourself; so have a great time!

TWOW

How to Scrapbook Efficiently

A scrapbook is one of the most personal ways you can organize your experiences, your memories, and your life. They can be touching gifts and powerful chronicles that surprise your loved ones or adorn your shelves at home. While these memory keepers can be truly beloved treasures, many often perceive them to be complicated, never-ending projects only suitable for those with a lot of spare time on their hands. The reality is that the books can be as easy as you make them.

Have you ever walked into a craft store and been so overwhelmed by all of the products and supplies before you? I encourage you to take a deep breath, and keep it simple. I learned this from my sister who, as a wedding gift, created a scrapbook of the items and mementos that represented that special day and the events leading up to it. The book was a contained story with a start, a finish and a theme to this little piece of my life’s history.

As the Well-Organized Woman, I took inspiration from this wonderful present and hope that you will do the same by following these simple steps.

1. Choose one event or period of time. For example: the first year of your relationship or your child’s life, a wedding or a vacation.

2. Make a list of what you need and stick to it. For example: you’ll need general supplies like scissors, glue and tape, as well as the fun things like stickers, photo corners, creative papers and colorful markers. Go to the craft store and buy only those things. You can always go back.

3. Develop and print the photos (and then some) you want to use ahead of time. If you’re working with a deadline, photo printing and development can take up a lot of precious time, so make this one of your first tasks. It is better to have more photos available than you think you’ll need – you’ll be surprised by the creative ideas that pop up when you get working, so give yourself room to go with it!

4. Dedicate time and make sure you have enough of it. If you are giving a scrapbook as a gift, you’ll need plenty of time to complete it by the day you need to present it. Set aside blocks of quiet time without major interruptions so that your creative juices can flow with the calm you’ll need to glue pictures and mementos in the right places.

5. Keep a box for collecting the items for your scrapbook. If your book will chronicle an entire year, you’ll need a place to keep mementos, photos and other items like movie tickets from your first date. The last thing you want is to tear the house apart to find that one photo or memento you must have for the book from six months ago – it could be anywhere!

By following this well-organized process, you’ll reap rewards in the form of a beautiful and thoughtful scrapbook that will make a loved one’s day. So get creative, and get scrapping!

Good luck and enjoy!

-TWOW