Wednesday 2 January 2013

Rubbish at being ruthless

'What's that pile of old papers in the corner?  Can I throw them away' says the husband.  The old papers being the left over bits and bobs from the last crop I went to in ... hmm... well, a little while ago.  See the problem is that I have an issue with throwing away pretty things.  Left over pretty things.  Because I know the minute I throw them away, I will find the perfect use for them and it will be too late.
But today, with a spring in my step and a determined look in my eye I have taken those old papers, and the other piles of 'old papers' and spread them over the dining room table, put collections of them in bags ready to take to the crop on Saturday and umm ... moved what's left around a bit.  Put them into piles of similar colourways.  Thrown away lots.  Hmm well maybe not lots exactly but anything smaller than a 50p coin.  Any bits of ribbon less than 4" long.  Any slither of paper less than 1" wide.  Well that made a dent in the pile.  But then I thought about the papers I was left with.  Bits too pretty to be thrown away, but then again, if I've already made a few layouts with that pattern or those colours, do I really need to keep scraps to make more?  Yes of course I do. No, I probably don't.   Patterned paper which looks a bit dated now.  I could come back into fashion.  Just remember how much you regretted throwing away those old platform boots.  Getting rid of it is a good excuse for buying new, up to the minute paper.   Pages of alphabets with only ks and qs and vs left.  Am I likely to make a page which uses them up in a title.  It could happen. No I probably won't.  Half pieces of lace doilies that have got a bit scrunched around at the edges at the bottom of a bag.  I could always iron them or stick them down carefully. Possibly not.  Is it time for a coffee yet?  No, stick with it, the throwing away pile is getting bigger.  Sheets of stickers where I've used the nice ones and only ones I don't like are left.  But your taste might change, you may grown to like them. No, you've used nearly all of them, you've had your money's worth.  Feeling a bit hungry, is it too early for lunch?  Yes it is a bit.  
I know what, I'll write a quick blog post and then get back to it ...

11 comments:

Cheri said...

If you don't LOVE it, toss it!

helena said...

A few months ago I purged my papers and put all the bits I didn't love into a box and took them to my local charity shop - either they made some money from selling it or they binned it - but it made me feel better about moving it out of my space.

good luck

scrappyjacky said...

I totally relate,Deb.....I find it soooo hard to get rid of leftover craft bits.....actually I find it hard to get rid of things in general!!

Elizabeth said...

Since I'm mostly a digital scrapper, I don't have that problem. However, I am also a quilter and find it very difficult to throw away even the smallest pieces of pretty fabrics, laces, buttons, etc. I think our problem is not uncommon among creative people. Sigh.

Kirsty.A said...

Well done you!

Beverly said...

I so need to do this with paper scraps!

Scrappi Sandi said...

STOP!!!! Bring those unwanted stickers/alpha leftovers/dated PP's alnog to Enfield crop on the 12th!! theres a Freecycle table & a Bring & Buy table too....I can always use odd alpha letters for texture backgrounds!!!! BUT...that said, doesn't it feel good to have a good purge!!!! :D

Sandie said...

I'm with Scrappie Sandi! Bring them to Enfield! lol
I also relate - I'm the one who picks scraps out of the bin on the table during crops - I love little bits and usually find a use for them such as punching flowers!
I also need a good declutter myself. Loved your post, it bought back lots of memories!

Maria Ontiveros said...

I have to be in the right mood to purge. I'm looking forward to doing a bit of that this weekend.
Rinda

Abi said...

Ha ha! I love this stream of consciousness! I can totally relate to this as I am such a hoarder! My Mum's motto is "if in doubt chuck it out!"

alexa said...

Your writing style and witty strike throughs have really made me smile this morning! Hoping you feel refreshed and decluttered :).