Fit Your Hobbies into Your Life
 Any organizing job is divided into 4 main parts - evaluate, eliminate, containerize, and maintain.
aEvaluate: What are your hobbies?
Where do you usually work on those activities?
What other activities happen in the same space?
How often do you use the space for hobbies?
Can you carry the materials you need in a portable container, or do they need a permanent home?
How long will the materials sit out on your kitchen table?
aEliminate: In organizing your hobby materials, take the time to eliminate any materials you are no longer using. The fabric that seemed like a great purchase 2 years ago - are you really going to use it? Do you intend to keep all of your duplicate pictures for scrapbooking? Do you have bits of wood that are really too small to be useful for any other project? Get rid of anything you no longer have a use for. Many charities would love to have good, used craft materials and supplies. Or try the local Scouting or Guiding units.
aContainerize: Permanent space, portable space, or temporary storage - which do you need? Maybe what you need is a combination of all three. Be sure to measure the pieces you are storing before you purchase the containers. Take advantage of specialized storage made by manufacturers for their own materials - scissors totes for paper projects, leather pouches for woodworking supplies, long, closely spaced shelves for storing drawings. If you will be toting your work with you make sure you don't make the containers so big that you will hurt yourself dragging them around! Consider keeping a bureau in the family room with drawers dedicated to your family's hobbies.
aMaintain: Put your equipment and supplies away in the proper place every time you finish using them - just like Mom used to tell you! Lost interest in a hobby, or finished a project and don't need the equipment anymore - pass it on to someone who is interested.
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Too Many Photos!
Most of us have extra photos hanging around - doubles that we purchased for friends and relatives, 7 pictures of the birthday cake instead of 1, negatives from 1977 - you know how it is! Here are some hints regarding those photos .
aOnce you receive a roll of developed photos, immediately throw out any that are blurry, unidentifiable or just plain bad.
aWith doubles, toss all but the best - and whatever you don't give away in a month or so can probably be tossed too - other people's pictures, even of an adorable grandchild or baby just don't get the same attention as pictures taken by oneself.
aIf your children are old enough, give them the photos to play with. They can be cut up to make great paper dolls, bookmarks, fancy cards - just think of them as a disposable commodity and remember to toss all of the bits!
aIf you want to keep your negatives the most important thing you can do is date them and mark the subject on the package. Most photo retailers carry negative sleeves that you can keep in binders. Acid-free photo boxes are good too - you can leave the negatives, dated, in the package. Don't forget to weed them out first (always purge before you store - organizing 101). And ask yourself, honestly - how often have you dug out an old negative and made a picture with it? Photo reprints can be made from photos now, if you really want another copy.
aScrapbooking is a very satisfying way to keep old photos and mementos safe and attractive. In looking back over your life it is easy to pick 5 or 6 of the best photos to remind you of an era in your life - then you can comfortably toss the extras because you have such a beautiful book of the best pictures. |
Have fun with your own hobbies, and if you have ideas to share, post them in our guest book at www.organizme.com
Happy Organizing,
Laurene Livesey Park
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