The Creativity Project: The Use It Up Year
Forcing myself to use what I already have to spark new ways of thinking
I, like a lot of creative people I know, have a ton of supplies for my hobbies. More than I need, and yet, I still will go out and buy more. I keep telling myself I will use the cool new thing when I get home, but they get shelved with the old things.
This includes washi tape, pretty much every color or Pilot G 2 pens, markers, paints, stickers, and more. And a metric ton of notebooks. So many notebooks.
I know a lot of people will do a no buy month or year, but I’ve decided to frame it as a Use It Up Year. The rules are simple: I can’t buy more of anything until I use up what I already own. Part of this is just to lessen the load of what I own, but a bigger part of it is seeing what I have and using it.
I always get ideas when I look at what I have, but when I have too much, I get analysis paralysis.
I have a few goals for this year.
One: fill at least 12 notebooks. At one of my previous jobs, I had access to buying notebooks for stupid cheap. I have boxes of them now and want to start using them up. I write most of my stories by hand for the first draft, so I should get through a few that way.
Two: use up at least half of my stickers and washi tapes. My boxes and drawers for my stickers and washi tapes are overflowing. I definitely don’t use them as fast as I buy them.
Three: use up all the little bottles of lotion and chap stick that I have laying around. While not crafting or planning related, I have a ton of little things of lotion laying around that I get at Christmas. I always say I’ll use it when I travel, but that’s a lie. I also was gifted a bunch of chap sticks, so I should be set for most of the year.
Four: reorganize all of my craft storage. As I whittle down my excess, I’d like to start thinking about how I interact with my supplies because it’s obvious what I’m using isn’t fully working. Once I get a bit of breathing room, I’ll go through and get things set up so I can better access it all.
What other ideas do you have for looking at what you already own in a different way? Let me know! I’m always on the look out for new ways of doing things.
