Addicted?

It looks like spring is finally on its way in, and I couldn't be happier about it! Of course, as I open the windows and let the sunshine in, I can see all the dust and clutter that's managed to sneak in and settle around the house. Since, I've been working on catching up two years' worth of scrapbook pictures, I've made quite a mess in my workspace. I've decided to start spring cleaning and sorting out my supplies. Its been two years since I've closed my online scrap store and boy do I have tons of inventory left over!! I'm ready to cycle out the old and replace it with new! :)

I went through four big boxes this afternoon and have piles of stuff all over my bed...scraps of paper in one pile, half-used sheets of stickers in a second pile. I've got an ebay pile and a garage sale pile...a pile of things that will work for cards, and a pile of stuff to go to the kids for crafting. After all of that piling and sorting, I still have three HUGE tubs of stickers, rub-ons, kits, stuff, stuff, stuff...and two HUGE boxes of papers. That doesn't even count the supplies I have for personal use! How on earth have I become so overrun with scrapbook supplies?

As I climb to the summit of my embellishment mountain, I look around at the riches I've amassed. I think that I should be ashamed at how much I've managed to collect. There are doubles of this and triples of that! As I try to decide what to throw out and what to keep, I can't help but to feel a sense of longing to keep it all. A little part of me wonders, as I place a tin of prima flowers in the ebay pile, what those flowers might have become in my scrapbook pages. Or how those papers would have looked so pretty with the right photos. But then I realize that I can't move an inch in my bedroom as I'm completely surrounded...the floor is covered, and I can't even see the carpet for all the piles of supplies everywhere. I have to face reality. Its time to downsize.

I vow that I will use up every little sticker, every scrap of paper and every ribbon I have. I will spend all summer scrapping, card-making, catching up and giving away. I will no longer buy a rainbow of cardstock because I'm almost out of orange. I will no longer put something in my checkout cart thinking that I will pose my family in ways that will give me an excuse to use it. I will avert my eyes from the clearance section at Hobby Lobby. I will NOT buy anything else until I need it...I will use up what I have!!

But as I write this, I must admit that I looked at all the company websites today in search for the latest and greatest collections. I still clipped the Michael's 40% coupons, and I will still manage to find myself (although I SWEAR I will have no idea how I end up there) at the scrapbook mega-store.

Perhaps next spring my crafting space will be more organized and pared down to the essentials. Maybe next year I'll unsubscribe to Basic Grey's newsletter, and SEI's email updates. Maybe 2011 will be the year to shrink my inventory and curb my scrapbook collecting. Maybe, but probably not.