I guess I am fortunate that the words "sale" and "clearance" hold no attraction for me. When I buy things on "sale" or "clearance" is when I am most likely to buy things I don't want or need.

I have the apps on my phone for Michaels, Joanns and Hobby Lobby and I do use their coupoons.

But I know from experience, the scrap supplies I don't use, the food in my pantry that is out of date, the clothes in my closet I don't wear - most were on sale or clearance. Seldom to I purchase sale or clearance - its seldom what I want or will use or will wear.

I will buy one thing I really want rather than a shopping basket full of clearance things I think I might use at the moment but in reality, will never use.

If I am looking for a particular item and it is on sale - I will buy it at the lower price (like my Big Shot) but I will not look at clearance or sale items to see what jumps out at me - because I will come home with some and it will end up being donated somewhere.

A sale or clearance item is only worth buying to me if I would have really wanted it at the full price too. If not, then I really don't want it at the reduced price.

Can't help it - that is just the way my brain works. I learned as a teenager making baby-sitting money that I'd rather have one really nice blouse that I really really wanted than 2 or 3 less expensive ones that I didn't like as well. To this day - that is still my mindset.

Totally agree, Henri! That is why I purge my stuff once per year....I do buy stuff that I don't end up using and I'd rather get rid of it (to someone that WILL use it) and have just the stuff there that I know I will use!
Just like those clothes in your closet that you won't wear....I would rather get rid of those rolls of ribbon that I won't use and make room for the ones I really will use.....

Alison

The words "clearance" or "sale" get me in trouble every time because it is ALWAYS something AWESOME and I do use it! It's just so much! LOL! But now I need to use of all of the awesomeness that I have so I can downsize my stash:) I need to make a conscious effort to stay away from the clearance aisle. Great advice, Henri:) Thank you.

• t-scraps Said:

I tried, LOL but I don't feel like going through the stuff. Hahahaha. Is there any hope for meeee

When my stash outgrew my tiny corner, I set myself a "no-buy challenge". That meant that I had to complete so many LOs and so many cards (I think I set 50 LOs and 100 cards, but it is up to you) without buying anything except adhesive. Then I added page protectors and albums to the list of exceptions, because I had a heap of LOs with nowhere to put them. I ran out of white card-stock and made myself use the colours instead.

It worked. And because so many of them were cards, that meant that a lot of my stuff left the house rather than just getting moved from stash to albums.

While I was "stash-starving", I allowed myself virtual shopping with wishlists, but I wasn't allowed to buy until I had finished the challenge. No hexagon punch? Too bad - I had to cut my own hexagons by hand. It wasn't difficult. When I finished my target, I discovered that most of the stuff I had put on my wishlist when I was going through withdrawals, I no longer wanted. Interesting huh?

But yes, I'm afraid you do have to get organised first. You have to treat your stash like a store, and know where everything is, so that you can find it all and use it.

Shall I come and give you a hand? I LOVE organising scrapping goodies!

Same with me. I was able to visit Michaels yesterday and walked away with nothing in my hands! It was a true miracle!

I'm the exact opposite. I'm old enough that I'm retired, I've payed into the system for a lifetime and now get a nice social security check and don't have a penny of bills coming out of it so if I want something, I treat myself to it and if I have way too much - its okay as long as I love the stuff I have and plan to use it.

I've never been in this position before and I'm enjoying it so I don't want to put myself on budgets or restrictions.

I just beware of sales and clearance where I get things impulsively that I'm not going to use or want because my personal history tells me that is the stuff I mostly don't use and wonder why I bought it.

I love to purge and get rid of stuff, give it to someone else who may use it. That makes me feel good too.

But even though I have thousands of pieces of patterned paper, if I see some more I love, I will get them. I may never use them but a young mother who is the daughter of one of my best friends will get everything when I die and and with 3 kids - she will use them!

I am finding though that I buy fewer and fewer tools and less and less inks. My weakness in patterned paper and pre-made diecuts. I go nuts over those and buy them on line almost always.

If I see a punch or nestie or embossing folder I want I get it, but very few really jump out at me anymore.

I seldom use my Cricut carts but still pick up a new Cricket cart or Slice cart from time to time, but in 4 years I've only bought 12 Cricut carts. Its not the tools that grab me - its the paper and cute die cuts.

I frequently go to Michaels or Hobby Lobby or Joanns and come home with nothing because there wasn't really anything I fell in love with - no new papers and nothing else I really wanted.

Rosey - I love organizing my scrap stuff too. Its as much fun as actually using it!

I also put wishlists on line and when the get really high - $200 or $300 I go through them before I push send and sometimes almost half are things I don't really want anymore and take them off. I do that with Amazon and other sites I buy online from too. I let the balance get up there before ordering and then I've lost interest in some of it.

You do really have self-control! I need some therapy!

What works for me is have a handy "ready to donate" box and when I come across things I don't ever see myself using into the box they go. If I have duplicates, I force myself to hold onto only the best. Example: "red, white & blue" patriotic themed items. Sure it's great to have some in your stash but how many 4th of July pages will I ever make? So instead of keeping the 25 odd items I had, I narrowed it down to the best 5.

Then about every 6 months or so I pack up my donate box and actually donate it. I have NEVER regretting giving away anything.

• Henri Jean Said:

THIS!!

• Gelidy Gelato Said:

THIS is a GREAT idea!! I am going to start a donate box in my room!!

I can't throw things away, but I have no problem giving them away to someone that will use them.

Thanks for helping me clean up my scrap room

• Jarvae Said:

What they said!!

I try to be as organized as possible....which for me, isn't very organized.

Also, I really don't buy A LOT of scrap stuff anymore, just my monthly kit from Swirlydoos and the occasional pack of Prima flowers. I think once you have scrapped for so long, you hit a supply plateau. Well, so to speak. I still buy inks.

• arteshamac Said:

You are SO me! I have the hardest time passing up on something that is on clearance! I have had to learn to really analyze it and ask myself if I am REALLY gonna use it. No matter what the price tag, it's too expensive if it is something that I do not need or would never use!

I have way too much stuff! It is semi organized, but I feel like I've wasted so much money buying stuff that I didn't really need (or because it was on clearance...ha ha). I think it started out because I needed to build up a stash. I didn't have much at all but I kept buying and buying and now I don't even have room to work on it! Also, lately I've been getting into digital scrapping...if only I'd really discovered that a long time ago! It's so much less messy and takes up so much less room. I just can't let go of the actual supplies though.

• Manda_K Said:

I did kind of hit my limit for the summer. I still check the usual suspects during lunch breaks and whatnot but I find myself not really wanting anything in the stores. I have a harder time with online shopping because there are still so many cute things out there.

I'm addicted to patterned papers and die cuts as well, but I also like trying new techniques and tools and stuff. I put myself on a spending freeze at the beginning of this month and I am going to try to not buy things between now and Christmas so I can use up my stash. I find that when I get frustrated with a page and it's not coming together for me, my first instinct is that I need something I don't have and I must go to the store right now! But I know that I'm just stalling and now I'm trying to push myself through it. It's hard, but fun too.

I have to clean out my scrap space cause we'll be moving in a few short months. I've cleaned out my scrap space twice in the last four years and that's nothing to compared what other people do.

My suggestion is to be honest with yourself. Sure it's nice to have three feet of paper. But if you don't know half of what you have, and you just go out and buy more, what's the point? So one day pick up a half inch of paper and go through it, deciding which paper you actually see yourself using. Donate the rest. Next day, another stack of paper.

Donate, donate, donate!! There are so many avenues that would love the supplies and will be well used. The last clear-out went to my church and guess what? The next Sunday I recognized the paper from my donated stash. It was awesome seeing that the items were actually being used.

As for items, you "might use," make page kits. Page kits are easy to make. Or make a fun blank album. You can give the album as a gift, use your supplies, and have someone benefit all in one.

There is a group on facebook called S.H.A. Scrapbook Hoarders Anonymous. The whole purpose of the group is to sell/buy scrapbook things. Maybe you can put some things on there.

http://www.facebook.com/groups/32306322109126 5/

I give stuff to my sister and then friends and leftovers I usually take to the retreats I attend for the trade table...anything left over the hostess gives away to different groups and charities.

When I have too much stuff, which I usually do, I forget what I have. I'll come across some cute embelly or pp and think geez I coulda used that on this or that layout. I've even been known to buy something I already have. However I continue to shop for more scrapcrap.

• Mia1979 Said:

You can never have too much stuff...unless your great dane can get lost in it...

too much stuff? is there ever such a thing as too much stuff? just reorganize and make room