Free Your Space: Which craft?

Posted by Annette Reyman on February 23, 2011

Are you someone who enjoys
doing crafts or is crafting something you enjoy but don’t actually get around
to doing often enough for your liking?

Sometimes we get so enticed by
the site of a great sale that we begin buying things for projects without first
having any real intention of doing them. Many actually have stockpiles of
crafting materials: yarn, beads, ribbon, lace, craft paper, paint and tools. Alternatively,
we may have so many ideas about what we’d like to do, but never actually
purchase the materials to get started. (This usually sounds like, “I’m not
going to buy that; I could make it myself.”) Whatever obstacle you have faced,
how will you ever find the ‘right’ circumstance to start (and finish) a craft?

Whatever your reasons have been
up until today I invite you to put them aside and take a moment right now to
choose. Pick one project or craft that you will do. If you have one in mind,
congratulations. You’ve just taken the first step toward its completion. In
order to take the next step you must first address your resources, your time
and your space.

In order to gather all the
resources you will need for whatever craft you want to do, you need to know
what you already have. So, once you’ve decided on your project, gather whatever
materials you have in your home. Is it all in good condition? Do you have enough or too much? Do you actually like all of it: are
there favorite knitting needles that you love to use and others that you won’t
ever use again? Do you still like the colors and textures of the yarn you have?
Excess can be just as deterring as not having enough materials in the first
place. Decide what to keep and put
the rest in a bag marked “Donate.” Add whatever else you may need to this
week’s shopping list.

Next, let’s take the issue of
time. There are periods in our
lives when we seem to have endless hours of unscheduled time. During other phases, we may be pulled
in so many directions that we can’t seem to even stop for lunch. The bottom line with regard to time is
that it remains the same. We get
24 hours every day. What we do
have control over is how we schedule it.

Whether working, retired or in
between careers maintaining a schedule of some sort will help keep us motivated
while providing a framework that can prevent spreading ourselves too thin. Want to find time to do a craft? Put it on your calendar. Want to ensure you don’t disregard
it? Invite someone to do it with
you! It is sometimes easier for us
to honor a time commitment when it is made to someone other than ourselves.

Now that you have your
materials and have time scheduled for your craft, look around your home for the
best place to work: Do you need a large table area or can you curl up in a cozy
chair while you work? Once you
know the dimensions of your project it will be easier to decide on and claim
the space you will need. Be sure that,
if you are using a common area, such as a kitchen table, you have a container
that can house your project in between scheduled craft sessions.

May addressing the issues of
resources, time and space move you further in the direction of actually turning
one of your crafting daydreams into a proud accomplishment.

* Annette
Reyman is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers
and its Philadelphia Chapter. View her Web site at www.allrightorganizing.com. To
contact Annette for organizing work or speaking engagements in the Greater
Philadelphia area call (908) 361-7105 or email her at annettereyman@gmail.com.
Visit her blog, http://www.areyofhope.blogspot.com
or her website at www.allrightorganizing.com
or follow All Right Organizing on Facebook.