My KonMari Journey: KOMONO - Household Equipment: Craft Supplies

Welcome to 'My KonMari Journey' series. Over the next few months I will be sharing my progress, as I make my way through the KonMari Method, based on the best-seller book 'The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up' by Japanese organising enthusiast, Marie Kondo.

Today I am sharing - Household Equipment: Craft Supplies

If you are new to my blog, Welcome! In case you missed it, be sure to read my Introduction and Getting Started post, so you know what the KonMari Method is all about and the reasons why I am doing it.

Also in this series: 

Introduction & Getting Started

Clothes

Books

Paper

Paper (Update)

Komono: CDs & DVDs

Komono: Skincare products, Make-up & Accessories
Komono: Valuables & Electronics
Komono: Household Equipment: Stationary

In a nutshell, Marie Kondo has four rules she recommends people follow when doing the KonMari Method:

1. Tidy in one shot, as quickly and completely as possible.

2. Sort by category, not by location

3. Selection Criterion: Does it 'spark joy?'

4. Order of tidying: Clothes, Books, Documents (Paper), Miscellaneous items (Komono), and Momentos (Sentimental)

As suggested in the book, I will start doing the KonMari Method with my own 'stuff' first, then I will work though the kids items, because I am too sentimental and would find it hard to part with their things right off the bat. I also need to get my head around this new process of de-cluttering, tidying and organising, so hopefully when it comes to purging my kids stuff, it will be a lot easier (well, let's hope so).

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The fourth category of the KonMari Method is KOMONO (Miscellaneous). Now for me, this category is probably bigger than the Paper category. Do you remember in my Introduction post, I mentioned I felt overwhelmed by the amount of stuff I had stored in containers sitting in my office, well majority of them fit into this category. I have containers of miscellaneous items - that I haven't really touched for the past 3 years and includes stuff I have kept for over 10! This category may take some time, however I will be following Marie Kondo's recommended order (see below) and will hopefully (fingers crossed) find a new home for everything and only "keep things because I love them, not 'just because'" (Marie Kondo) - which is totally why I always rebound, and why I NEED the KonMari Method in my life.

Over the next couple of weeks or however long it takes me, I will be tackling Komono (miscellaneous items 1) which includes:

• CDs, DVDs 
• Skincare products
• Make-Up
• Accessories
• Valuables (passports, credit cards, etc)
• Electrical equipment and appliances (digital cameras, electric cords, anything that seems vaguely 'electric')
• Household equipment (stationery and writing materials, sewing kits, etc.) including ~ Crafts ~ 
• Household supplies (expendables like medicine, detergents, tissues, etc)
• Kitchen goods/food supplies
• Other 

As always I will be keeping these three rules in mind when doing my purge:
1. Tidy in one shot, as quickly and completely as possible.

2. Sort by category, not by location
3. Selection Criterion: Does it 'spark joy?'

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Today I am sharing - Household Equipment: Craft Supplies

Please note: the 'Household Equipment' sub-category of the Komono category is going to be split into two separate posts. The first (this post) is going to focus on Stationery supplies e.g. pens, pencils, felts, and office supplies. You can read about how I got on HERE. The second will be all about Craft supplies, including paper used for craft, which I am about to share with you today. 

I have a lot of 'craft supplies' tucked away in different areas of my home. I am teacher, a mum, and a creative person (at the best of times) and I am drawn to ALL types of craft supplies - I just can't help myself. Over the years I have thrown stuff away or donated it, however I am still left with a big pile of miscellaneous craft supplies, some of which I have not used in YEARS! So, I am super excited about getting stuck in and seeing what I have, what sparks joy and what I will purging...this is where Marie Kondo's saying "Keep things because you love them - not just because" is going to come in handy! 

BEFORE

See...I told you I had a lot of craft supplies - well to me I think it's a lot. As I have said in my previous KonMari posts - I love seeing EVERYTHING spread out on the floor because it shows the full magnitude of what I currently own, and it didn't surprise me one bit. I know I have an addiction to craft supplies, I mean, seriously who doesn't? 

Before I took this photo, all of my craft supplies were temporarily stored in a 90L container and a maybe half of a 60L container, this was after going through all areas in my home (especially my office) and corralling it in one place. I truly believe sorting by category, not by location is THE BEST way to go through your belongings, and if you can do a pre-sort beforehand, even better...that way you know when you work your way through each category, you won't have to worry about finding items in random places...but if you do, well as Marie Konda says - you can say goodbye to them forever.

While I was working my way through my craft supplies, touching and holding everything I owned, I came across this bag of unopened 'moving eyes'. I couldn't tell you how old they were, however they had  a yellow stain in them and would be no good for crafts, quite possibly unsafe, so they went straight in the bin, as well as face-paint (some were over 5 years old) and some old dried up dye I had. 

I also came across craft supplies I never even knew I had...like my Easter crafts - I completely forgot I bought these on Clearance after Easter last year (in my defence, I did pack up my whole house shortly after Easter). Lucky I found them, because I could have easily gone crazy this year, so finding these supplies was in fact good timing, especially with Easter only a couple of weeks away. I will be making an 'Easter Craft Box' (like I did with my Christmas Craft Supplies) in the next week, using my supplies that 'spark joy', so watch this space. 

DURING

After the inital purging process, which involved me holding EVERY item I owned and asking the question "Does this spark joy"? I was left with this. Now I know it looks like a lot, but believe it or not, I purged about half of what I owned, and that is pretty good, I am very proud of myself for achieving that.

Looking at this pile, I can see what I have and the craft activities I have planned for my kids in the coming months and for that, I am super excited. The biggest test would be using what I have on hand, instead of buying new stuff and that is a goal of mine - wish me luck. 

Just a bit of a breakdown of what I do have on-hand...

• Craft box with coloured craft paper and bunting
• Paintbrushes (in a jar) and paint tubes 
• Fasteners & craft wire
• Fingerpaint
• Pastels
• Alphabet stickers/tracing sheet, 
• Mod podge & brush
• Singular hole punch
• Craft scissors (you may have recognised these in Stationery category - they are the same ones, I don't own two sets - I just decided they belonged with Crafts) 
• Glitter shakers (in the orange container)
• Tub of Stickers
• Rubber bands
• Wooden pegs (in a jar)
• Tissue paper (which will be stored in my Gift Wrapping Station)
• Different types of string and ribbons
• Party decorations
• Green Art table cloth
• Foam letters
• Beads
• Craft glue & Adhesive glue
• Vinyl (to make DIY Drums)
• Bows (stored with Christmas Gift Wrapping Station)
• Easter Craft supplies & decorations
• Black material 

 Not shown in this photo or post is my craft paper. I was going to add it to this category, however what I do have on-hand I am keeping. I have a ream of A4 white paper and a ream of A4 coloured paper, plus a small pile of A3 newsprint, white cartridge and black paper - enough to keep me and the kids entertained. I have found buying the kids A3 Art sketchpad from KMart really handy, a cheaper alternative to buying school cartridge paper. 

AFTER

Phew! I am DONE! I have corralled all like things together, for the time being, until I complete the KonMari purge process. Once I have finished the KonMari Method on my whole house, I will go back through and organise my areas properly. Now I don't feel overwhelmed by my craft supply collection. Everything I need is here, and I can find it easily. Paints, Glitter, Scissors, Stickers, Easter Decorations & supplies, plus my craft & party supplies in the 'craft box' container. This sparks joy for me! 

What began as an overwhelming task, turned into something quite positive for me. I had kept so many craft supplies "just because", and I had not used them, loved them or plan to use them so out they went and it FEELS GREAT!!! It feels great knowing what I have, I will use with my kids and I'm really excited about getting my 'craft-on'!  

Are you addicted to craft supplies? 

Do you own a lot of craft supplies?  Do you feel overwhelmed by it all? 

Do you have one or two craft items you simply can't live without? 

Next: 'My KonMari Journey' - Komono: Household supplies (expendables like medicine, detergents, tissues)

Please note: The Komono (Miscellaneous) category has several sub-categories, and I will be sharing a post for all of them (some will be combined, some will be split into two parts). Watch this space or  Subscribe to my Blog, so you don't miss a post.

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I am super excited about this journey and I would love for you to follow along in this process, better yet, join me - Subscribe to my Blog, so you don't miss a post and together we can tidy our homes and change our lives, once and for all. I will also be sharing my journey on my Facebook page, and Instagram, so be sure to follow me there too.

Charlene

If you would like to give the KonMari Method a go, and you don't have the book - Here is a checklist of the fourth category - KOMONO (Miscellaneous items 1) . Click the image below and Save/Print. You can also view my previous checklists HERE.

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