The Great Purge Begins

1/13/2013

For almost ten years I was a Stampin' Up! demonstrator. I taught many a class in the Magic Basement and I taught many a person how to stamp and scrapbook in their own homes.

Over the years I accumulated an insane amount of crafting supplies. Frankly, it borders on hoarding.

For nearly FIVE years I have been saying, "I need to purge, clear-out, get rid of, sell the millions of items in the Magic Basement."

All that "stuff" was literally weighing me down.

The single step started last night.

Of course I procrastinated a little by writing about it on Facebook (and then responding to comments). It was nice to know others are in the same boat as me.

So now, there are giant piles all over the floor of the basement, and on tables, and on shelves...

I will offer it up for sale on Facebook and via email to local people. I will package most of it up and put it on eBay. Somewhere there is someone who has been patiently waiting for whatever it is I am going to list.

I am keeping a teensy portion of what I have.

It's a relief to have started this.

My Facebook picture of the day is listed HERE. It's how I really feel.

Your turn...

16 Comments

Pam

1/12/2013 08:50:33 pm

Good MORNIG Maggie. I do hope that the teensy collection of what you do decide to save will be the good stuff for vision board making..it was so special to create money will co e to me effortlessly and easily with you on your computer too.....my board is framed. Now to hang it up....

Maggie

1/12/2013 09:48:47 pm

Pam ~

No worries! I will absolutely be keeping everything and anything I love, need, want & desire for the projects we will create here. :-)

It was MY pleasure to have you here and a delight to be able to share what is here with you.

Get that baby hung ~ you've got a huge season with it.

xo

Dawn Davis link

1/12/2013 09:04:27 pm

Girl, I did the same thing a few years ago. I had the Creativity Zone, which was my garage. I too did classes and accumulated waaaay to much stuff. My true passion was my sewing and designing and the Stampin' Up was keeping me from pursuing my passion. I started selling off the same way you are doing. I had a huge garage sale for SU stuff only. Sent the invite out to all my SU customers for the private sale. I sold about 80% of it that way, and what was left over went on ebay in lots. It was so LIBERATING! I was now able to truly focus on my sewing, designing and commercial embroidery business. I sold the embroidery business before we moved to the keys and now my only focus is my sewing/design business. ahhhh

Maggie

1/12/2013 09:51:10 pm

I don't have my giant email list of customers anymore ~ so I will go by word of mouth and hope and of course, the universe! LOL

Right now, it is utter chaos down here, BUT, I just had two cups of coffee and a protein shake...I am ready to rock and roll.

Can't wait to design a few aprons with you! We'll talk offline.

xo

Dawn Davis

1/12/2013 09:55:25 pm

Can't wait

Stephanie Burkland

1/12/2013 10:02:19 pm

Everywhere you look in my house there is yarn, fabric, patterns, half finished quilts etc. I know the feeling. My daughter always threatens to call the hoarders people! I do make money on the side and what I do keeps me out of the psych ward. I"m not ready. to disperse the stuff Good luck to you I am sure the stuff will find a good home.

Maggie

1/12/2013 10:56:21 pm

Stephanie ~

Crafters are some crazy people. ;-)

We will *always* use it someday. Until we don't. I am at the don't portion of the show. I am literally just going through but a quarter of the stuff stored down here.

Thanks for the comment!

xo

Meredith Jordan link

1/12/2013 10:55:16 pm

Several years ago, maybe longer, I wrote an article called "Twenty-eight Things," which may still be circulating on the internet. It's in the second of my two books, the one called "Standing Still: Hearing the Call to a Spirit-Centered Life."

Anyway, it's about a practice recommended by an important teacher of mine, the anthropologist Angeles Arrien, who instructed us to give, sell or throw away at least 28 things per day for some period of time. I hauled books off my bookshelves, ut them in a basket by my office door and told clients to take whatever they wanted. I gace items to people who had drooled over them. I sent clothes to any of the centers that get them into the hands of people who need. The hardest to get rid of was my extensive collection of music, which---like Maggie---I love.

This resulted in a simplicity I found myself loving, and a lighter heart as I went about each day. Now I do this every year. I take a week or so and give away 28 things every day until my heart whispers, "Good job. That's enough."

Good for you, Maggie! I salute you.

Maggie

1/13/2013 12:06:54 am

Meredith ~

Last year I did something like that ~ I got rid of 15 things a day. It was very liberating. But this basement has been hanging over my head since July 2008. It's time.

AND, I was literally JUST looking at all my CD's - I have well over 600. And let's face it, I use Pandora and iTunes the most - I could easily upload the music I like the most (& I have) but I think I could be very excited by sharing it somehow.

If I get rid of 2800 things does that count?! ;-)

xo

Meredith

1/13/2013 07:46:45 am

Twenty-eight thousand things? Def!

Margo Kelly link

1/13/2013 04:17:19 am

Love your blog. Love your header. Love your picture. LOVE YOU!! :) I wish you all the best.

Maggie

1/13/2013 07:42:42 am

Margo (!!)

THANK YOU so much for stopping by! Now you can subscribe and never miss a post. ;-)

Love you too!

Chat soon,
xo

Cathi Dunne Pokalsky

1/13/2013 07:10:37 am

You just made my Sunday, sipping a glass Pino Noir and Herb Albert!

Maggie

1/13/2013 07:51:47 am

I do what I can Cath!

xo

Pam

1/14/2013 07:51:31 pm

When you mentioned that you got rid of 15 things were the 15 individual items? Gail Blanke wrote a book about riding 50 things and a book counted as 1 two books couldn't count as two. As li g as we are purging whos counting.. I have a basement and garage that I have been journaling about wanting to clean out for the past 7 years.......

Maggie

1/14/2013 09:35:45 pm

Pam,

I don't care WHO wrote the book; YOU make the rules for YOUR purge, The only expert on you IS you.

Now - get cracking. Find 15 things today you can toss. And if it's more, bonus!

The Great Purge Begins

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