Have a craft room spring clean and find all your supplies

When it reaches the spring time we all look to have a clear out, tidy up and clean.  We take action in all areas of our lives.  So why should our craft room and supplies be any different?  Don’t worry though I am not going to tell you to just throw everything out, sometimes we can be more creative and productive if we have taken the time to sort through our endless supplies.

Scraps

Spring time is the perfect time to set yourself a challenge to try and use up all your scraps to try and create something out of nothing.  I call these items freebies.  You have already used the supplies for your intended project therefore anything additional that you make, in my opinion is considered a bonus.

Obviously your result will differ depending on your chosen craft, below are just a few ideas that sprang to mind:

Fabric scraps

There are numerous items that can be made with a patchwork theme.  Any left over scraps of fabric can be sewn together in a patchwork design which can then form the fabric for a new project.  Some of the favourites for patchwork are cushions, handbags or wall hangings.  Make your patchwork first and see where the inspiration takes you.

Wool Scraps

We are nearly always left with extra wool after we have finished a larger project.  Often the majority of our storage is used on partial balls of yarn.  There are many inventive ways that these could be used up. 

A simple and charitable way to use up your scraps is to make premature baby items and donate them to your local baby unit.  Small items including mittens, booties or hats could prove invaluable to prem infants.

If you are looking for a really simple but striking result with your scraps this honeycomb throw would make the perfect solution.  Small hexagons are knitted and then stuffed before being sewn together.  This created a padded honeycomb effect throw that can easily use up scraps of wool with a useful result. Check out tiny owl knits at https://tinyowlknits.wordpress.com/2011/07/29/the-beekeepers-quilt/

Jewellery spares

If you are a jewellery maker you are likely to have a large stash of beads, gems and charms that are currently unassigned.  Small bookmarks, keyrings or handbag charms offer a smaller solution to any odd pieces that you cannot envision in a piece of jewellery.

These bag charms over on my crafts would be great for using up spare beads and charms http://mycrafts.com/diy/how-to-make-chunky-bead-dangle-charms-from-a-single-chain/

Clear out

Now I did promise that my advice would not be to just chuck a huge amount out to do a craft room spring clean. However if you are anything like me you have tried a numerous number of new crafts.  Some of them you may have decided aren’t for you, or that you just can’t get your head around.  In a space critical craft room it may be time to look at these supplies or kits realistically. 

If you don’t enjoy the craft or can not get it to work in the way that you desire it may be time to clear these supplies out.  Some of these supplies could be donated to local schools or care homes to be used by their members.  This will hopefully clear out some room for you to fill with more craft supplies that are going to actually be used.

Organisation

There are a wealth of craft room storage ideas available online.  By sorting out and changing the storage in your craft room you will remind yourself of what supplies you have but also will be more productive as you will spend less time looking for things and more time actually creating.

Personally I use the Kallax cube units from IKEA to keep my supplies altogether in a neat and tidy manner.  There are a range of inserts that you can get to vary the storage available as well.

Good luck with your craft room spring clean, I know that this will be a huge undertaking.  It is likely to take you a considerable amount of time as you will become distracted by all the supplies that you will find.  We all forget what we have in our stash and a clear out and tidy up can resurface these items.  Hopefully once completed you will feel inspired and excited about the fresh ideas and supplies you have discovered.

You may also want to have a freshen up and spring clean of your online shops. Have a look at this post to get some guidance on tackling your online shops as well https://www.claireyatfairycrafters.com/freshen-up-your-online-shop/

Let me know how you get on and if there are any tips that you have for keeping your craft room sorted for the remainder of the year.