I’m back with another installment of my home purge series today, this time sharing how I cleaned out my cluttered craft closet.  This closet sits inside my home office and houses not only crafting supplies but also office extras and filming equipment.  I decided it was time for a big sweep since I no longer craft as much as I did in my twenties and the space could be better utilized for storage.

I broke my craft closet clean out down into two parts: paper memorabilia and crafting supplies.  I first tackled my many boxes of paper memorabilia that I mentioned in my paper purge post.  While this process was time consuming it was actually relatively easy since I had already decided in my heart that it was time to let go of most of these things.  My paper memorabilia consisted of 10+ years worth of birthday cards, theater programs, and airplane tickets, all neatly arranged in ziplock bags by year and sorted into bins.

I used to place great importance on saving these sentimental bits, although I’m not sure I ever had a plan of what to do with them.  It was only in the last few months that my perspective shifted and I realized my memories aren’t tied to material things and that letting go of these many pieces of paper didn’t mean I would lose those memories.

I decided to take the time to sort through every last piece of paper to be certain I wasn’t letting go of anything I’d regret.  In the end, I think I purged about 98% of what was in those bins.  What I am left with are a few things that mean the most to me and easily fit in a small memory box.

Purging my crafting supplies actually turned out to be more difficult that I originally anticipated.  I didn’t consider that it might be a bit tough to part with past hobbies of mine that I still love but no longer fit into my lifestyle.  I choose to dedicate the majority of my time to my online content now, which leaves less room for crafting pursuits.  I am content with the way things are, but I still had to make a conscious effort to let go of things I no longer make time for despite how much I enjoy them.  There’s only so many hours in the day!

In my early twenties I was interested in trying all sorts of crafts, as I’ve always enjoyed making things.  I loved to scrapbook, make jewelry, work with fake flowers, pour soap, etc.  I kept all of my supplies neatly stored by category in bins in my closet.  Over the last five years of being a YouTuber and then a blogger, my crafting pursuits waned and those bins have sat untouched for too long to justify holding onto all of that stuff anymore.

I went through each bin and tried to be as honest with myself as possible if that particular craft was something I realistically saw myself doing in the next year.  If so, I went through each item and whittled it down to the essentials.  If not, it was time to let it go.  Fortunately, I am able to donate much of what I purged since everything is in good condition and usable.  I put aside yarn and knitting supplies to go to a local nursing home (1), kid-friendly crafting supplies for a youth program or daycare (2), and the rest to general charity (3).  I am left with lots of empty bins (4) and a closet that now holds only items I see myself using in the near future.

If you’d like to see more about my craft closet clean out, check out this video:

While my closet is feeling much lighter, it isn’t organized at the moment for optimal storage.  This project’s purpose was to simply purge, not reorganize.  In my past purges I was able to reorganize along with my clean outs, because those projects didn’t require a lot of thought as I stuck to similar organization systems as before.  I am hoping to do a bit more dedicated reorganization in my home office, including my craft closet, over the summer so the space functions and flows better for me and suits my needs at the moment.  You can be certain I will share once I do so!

I hope you enjoyed this peek at my craft closet clean out.  I’d love to know if you’ve taken on any home purges lately and how those pursuits have gone for you if you care to share.
Happy cleaning!

* This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are genuinely my own. *