Save Money by Organizing Your Hobbies
I love crafts of all sorts and I collect materials for different types of crafts at alarming rates. Now that I’m in the middle of packing to move, I’m starting to reconsider the organization patterns and purchasing patterns my craft hobbies have established. I’ve discovered that I truly enjoy acquiring crafting supplies more than I like actually making things. I love having neat little collections of everything you need to make x, y, or z. However, I’ve noticed lots of overlap and overpricing that could be avoided with organization.
I was looking for a way to organize my paper supplies and found this article:
Get Organized with Becky. This article shows a great way to organize all of your scrapbooking supplies but can easily be transferred to other craft or sewing supplies as well.
I noticed that some of my paper art supplies look very similar to my sewing supplies. While they look that same, I’m certain that I paid more for the paper art materials that resemble sewing supplies than if I’d just purchased sewing supplies. Take ribbon or thread “embellishments” for example. These are sold in scrapbooking stores and sections and frequently contain short lengths of colorful or whimsical threads. Now, in my knitting supplies, I have tons of neat threads that are certainly far more economically priced — because while scrapbookers only buy enough to “embellish” a page, knitters must buy enough to make an entire project. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that yarn is cheap — I’ve been to too many sheep and wool festivals and yarn shops to think that — but it is certainly cheaper per inch/foot/yard than yarn/thread sets marketed to paper hobbyists.
So, Becky’s article comes in very handy in helping reduce spending just by getting your craft space organized. While her tips are truly focused for scrapbookers, I can easily see how I can use those same methods to organize my sewing, painting, calligraphy, beading, polymer clay, metal, and other craft hobbies in a way that will allow me to use any and all supplies for any type of hobby. This way, I can use the better priced items that I already have on hand instead of being tempted by neatly packaged “embellishments” the scrapbooking companies are selling at a much higher priced.
Of course, I’m not sure how one would factor in the costs for all the organization supplies needed to have a craft room like the one in the article. Luckily, I’ve had a passion for clear storage containers for years and have a large selection of bins ready for sorting and storing. And, the partner had lots and lots of cabinets with small drawers perfect for little crafting nick-nacks. Too bad those cabinets weigh so much — I don’t think the man owns anything ‘lightweight’.