Making the Most of Your Scrapbooking Time

With summer in full swing, activities pulling you in every direction and adding onto that a job, to pay for your scrapbooking obsession, time to get organized and let alone scrap is hard to find. So, over the next few days I will share with you ways to get organized and make the most of your scrapbooking time.

This first one is very ugly and intimidating, but you HAVE to go through your supplies and figure out what you have and will use and what you will never use. I did this recently and ended up getting rid of 2 huge boxes of paper that I knew I would never use. I donated both boxes to local organizations that provide crafts for kids, adults, special needs persons, senior citizens, etc. This is a great feel good way to get rid of supplies you have invested money in.

Here are the tips I used to pare down my "stuff"

• Be honest with yourself on what you will use. You may love the embellishment but know you will never use it so please donate it!
• As you are sorting, also sort your paper by size. I created a box of scraps and threw away any scraps less than 1"x1" or anything that was too thin. If you are not a scrap user at all, then by all means throw them all away.
• As you are sorting and find embellishments that match paper, pile them together so when you do use the paper you have the embellishments at hand.
• Have lots of storage containers, paper racks, shoe boxes or drawers on hand to sort your supplies.
• Finally, be honest and be patient!

Going through my "stuff" took me 2 evenings but was well worth it as I was then able to put page kits together so quickly and then I was able to begin scrapping again.

Stay tuned tomorrow to see how to put page kits together.