Crafts are so much fun!  Wrapping beautiful gifts for the special ones in your life.  Creating a memory album.  Quilting that unique baby quilt.  Needle working for a friend’s wedding.  Painting the next masterpiece for your home (instead of buying someone else’s).  Creating beautiful jewelry everyone you meet admires.

Aahhh! Ooohh! The rewards of creativity.  The creative process.  The sharing of your beautiful works.

BBRRRRIIIIIITTTTT!  (that was a needle scratching across a record)  You think, “Look at that mess left behind!  Who’s going to clean that up?  Well, I’m too busy now.  It will have to be done later.  I’ll just do a quick stuff & go for now.”

If you want to keep your craft fun & easy to delve back in to when you have time, then you have to keep your workspace tidy.  There are several different times you can pick to keep that workspace inviting.

1.Right after you finish a project.  This is the easiest time to clean up your space.  How nice your finished project will look in a clean & organized workspace.  And, you’ll feel more successful with the project complete & the tools put away properly.

2.When you buy new supplies.  Whenever you bring in the new, it is always a good time to move too-tiny scraps to the kid’s supply box or donate items you don’t use or care for.  Better yet, have a swap session with your fellow crafters.  Then, store newest items on the bottom so you will use the older first.

3.Seasonal Changes.  Because new seasons mean changing the colors we are using in our crafts, this is a great time to edit & organize your tools & supplies.  It will let you know exactly how many holiday stamps, paper, colors, etc you really have before you buy new.  You’ll discover the items you bought on-sale at the end of this holiday last year.  Then, create a “Need to Buy” list.

4.When you get someone else started in your craft.  This is a perfect time to find the items you no longer use or need that you could pass on to your friend.  You’ll make a friend for life!

5.Rainy Day.  Yep, this one works too.  When the craft clutter stops nagging, you will really enjoy that buttered popcorn with your movie.

1. When do you like to tidy up your craft workspace & supplies?  How do you feel when your brain starts percolating a new crafting idea, but before you can begin you have a major cleaning project to tackle in the craft area?  Feel free to comment on myFacebook page or Twitter.