Sparking Joy for Crafty Moms: How to Apply KonMari Methods for Hobbies

The KonMari method brings a lot of people organization and peace of mind in their homes. Having tons of stuff may seem inspiring for a while. But as you develop creatively, you can find inspiration in other ways besides having a ton of materials at your fingertips. The KonMari method helps you pare down your hobby and craft stash so that you don’t become overwhelmed with tons of stuff.

You might find that you have acquired tons of stuff over many years. Or you might be a new crafter who is just learning to make color decisions for herself. With so many pretty things at the craft store, it can be hard to get it right every time. Even if you guard against impulse purchases by planning your crafts carefully, you often just end up with extra stuff. Glue. Pipe cleaners. Fat Quarters. Trim. Buttons. These are all things that the quantity is hard to get right every time. They are also just so affordable that many crafters overbuy when things are on sale, only to find them uninspiring later.

How to Know if Something Brings You Joy

There are a couple kinds of joy that crafting materials can bring. One is a joy that comes from having a familiar, reliable tool or material that is always on hand.

The other is a joy that comes from the inspiration that strikes you when you have an idea. Some questions to ask about joy from crafting materials are:

1. Does the joy last?

If you love the item at first, do you still love it after you’ve made something with it? You should like the quality of the item. A pen that you keep should have ink that you will actually want to use over and over.

2. Can you stock the item?

We often have to make space for things that we will use over and over again. Some savvy users of the KonMari method have certain boxes for things. To keep their space neat, they maintain only a certain amount of boxes. Initially, you have to decide how big to make the boxes. No matter what they hold, they have a size limit. Making space for a quality item that you can stock, like a special type of pen or a brand of paper, is a way to bring yourself that joy over and over. Getting rid of quality items in favor of cheaper ones that you can’t use over the long run usually dampens the joy.

3. Is it inspiring?

You really want to get the creative juices flowing from your tools and stash of hobby materials. Even if a certain item kept you inspired at one point, get rid of it if it doesn’t do that anymore. If you are a sewist like me, go through your sewing stash and throw away anything that you haven’t used in the last year or so. Just keep your sewing machine and the tools you actually use like an embroidery design software, and the fabrics you are reasonably certain you will use soon. Don’t be a hoarder and keep all the fabrics scraps just in case. Either use them right away and make handmade gifts for your friends and family, donate them to classrooms or schools, or throw them away

You can always go bigger by buying more, but you can’t always go better without some thoughtful planning. To bring yourself the most joy, get the best quality you can afford in both storage and hobby materials. Focus your energy and brainpower on finding items that feed your creativity by speaking quality to you when they are both in and out of use. For some, this may mean buying samples instead of stocking up as they get a feel for brands at their local store. For others, this may mean testing a few products for a while and trying new things as they enter the field of online ordering. Whatever quality means to you in crafting, you will want to make sure that you can find the materials that matter most as you aspire to more creativity.