Pruning My Scrapbook Supplies and the Negative Feelings Attached to It

When I first thought of writing this article, I honestly panicked. How can I possibly write an article on something I struggle with terribly? I decided to take a non-traditional approach. Instead of a "how-to" I'm going to walk you through my journey of learning to purge. You can search for "organization and purging" on the Internet and find a plethora of instructions, but those didn't work for me. I had to create a process of my own.

Emotional Attachment and Fear?

Article after article that I read kept mentioning an emotional attachment or memory to things which we hold on to. There was also an equal amount of psycho blah-blah about fears that we "might need it one day." That wasn't me either. I have a hard time getting rid of scrapbooking stuff because I bought it, which requires money. Money doesn't grow on trees and I don't want to be wasteful. The second reason I have a hard time getting rid of things is because I honestly have plans to use the stuff. Getting rid of it made me face the fact that I created a dream, a project, or an idea which never came to fruition. Honestly, it made me feel like a failure. With each pregnancy, less time was spent in my scrapbook room and more junk was stored in there. I just kept wanting to feel that sense of accomplishment from beginning to end. Being a mother of many little ones, I don't see accomplishment often.

Every time I went into my scrapbook room and began to "purge," I would become more and more aware of how much I had not used and the process just became overwhelming. I stopped going in the room altogether because the piles kept screaming "failure" to me and would make me cry. I left it alone for probably a year.

The Process.

I knew that I had to get rid of stuff. I had no room to actually create. So, I began just grouping stuff together in random piles.  Then, I saw a drawer that contained a kit I was supposed to play with four years ago. The stuff was brand new in the package. So, I texted a picture of it to my friends and it sold in two minutes.

I gathered a bunch of teal items including rub-ons, stickers, frames, chipboard, etc. and texted that out. It sold immediately. So then I started gathering pink items. I started to notice that I was actually having fun digging through old piles in search of all things pink that I knew I wouldn't use or didn't need. I also noticed that making money meant I could afford to go on a scrapbook retreat with my friends in the fall. I thought, "I'm selling what I don't use for a weekend away to use whatever I want and have uninterrupted time to do it." Then, something happened. I felt a sense of accomplishment. I no longer felt trapped, overwhelmed or like a failure, I felt SMART! It just made sense!

The End?

Not yet. I sold about $175 worth of stuff in two hours and gathered much more to give away. I still have too much stuff and only put a dent in about 10% of my inventory. I got tired of running around the room lifting heavy boxes (yes, boxes) of stuff. It also made for quite a mess. I will get back to it and I'm actually quite excited about it.

Being a mother requires being selfless. With each child born a piece of us is gone which we will never get back, for it has to leave to make room for a new love in our life. I think it more than a fair trade.