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 1. Make time for your hobbies.
Hobbies are wonderful for helping you de-stress and re-energize. Whether your hobby is scrapbooking, collecting coins or making crafts, it should be something you regularly schedule time for when you're making your
weekly To Do list.
2. Designate your hobby headquarters.
Designate a consistent, quiet space in your home to work on your hobby. By doing this, you can store all of your hobby materials in your hobby headquarters, so everything you need to use is easily accessible. Also, if you prefer to work on your hobby alone, try to make this space an area of your home where you can get some peace and quiet and you can work on your hobby without too many interruptions.
3. Organize your stuff.
Many hobbies require lots of materials. For instance, if you scrapbook, you're probably overflowing with scrapbooking paper, photographs, stickers, decorative- edge scissors and tons of other stuff you use when you work on your hobby. Scrapbooking paper can be stored in a filing cabinet, or in a portable file box, organized by type of paper, color or category. Photographs can be stored in photo boxes, organized by year or category, until you're ready to use them. Other supplies can be stored in clear, plastic containers so they can be seen at a glance.
4. Have a memory box.
The longer you live, the more memories you're going to have. If you're not careful, you can fill your home to the brim with your memories, and you won't have space for anything else. Have one or two plastic containers to store your memorabilia. It's then time to determine what you truly wish to keep, and what you can do without. When these containers are full, the rule is to remove and get rid of, or give away, one item before you put another item inside. This will ensure only the most precious memories are stored in your Memory Box(s). Of course if you take a picture of the item you are discarding, you'll always have the picture to remind you.
5. Hang it up.
If you don't have a whole lot of room to organize the things you need for your hobby, use your walls. Most hardware stores have shelves you can easily attach, and you may be amazed at how much extra storage space you never knew you had.
6. Put it away.
When you're done using your hobby supplies, put them back in their designated homes. Leave things strewn about and they're bound to get lost. Your hobby area is going to look chaotic--which has a tendency to reduce creativity and increase stress.
7. Use an organized shopping system.
Make a list of the supplies you use when you work on your hobby. Then, make copies of this list. As you run out of a particular item, just check it off on your list. On your next trip to the supply store, bring the list with you and get everything you need. Use this system religiously and you'll always be well-stocked, and ready- to-go when the mood strikes.
8. Shop Online.
Wasting lots of time running back and forth to the store when you need something? Tired of getting to the store, just to discover what you need is out of stock? If so, save yourself a bunch of time by shopping for your hobby supplies online.
9. Get your kids involved.
Why not use your hobby as a way to get in some quality time with your kids? If you're scrapbooking, have your kids create their own pages too (you can always give them some photographs you weren't planning to use). If your hobby is writing, perhaps your kids can be enticed to do some writing of their own and they can share what they've written with the entire family after dinner.
10. Show off your memories.
If you find your home is beginning to look cluttered with memories--photos from past vacations, a knickknack you love from Aunt Sue, a pretty music box you received from your spouse, etc.--don't display everything at once. Have a Swap-Box. Display some things prominently, while you store others in your Swap-Box. When the season changes or the mood hits, move some items that are currently being displayed into storage, and move items currently in storage to your display shelves. This way, you can enjoy everything you have throughout the year, but at the same time, your home won't have that cluttered look.
by Maria Gracia - Get Organized Now! http://www.getorganizednow.com FREE Get Organized Now! Idea-Pak and E-zine, filled with tips and ideas to help you organize your home, your office and your life, at the Get Organized Now! Web site.
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