I’ve always had a lot of potential-hobby clutter. I like to start new things. I get enamored of a new hobby and get so excited acquiring stuff for it and then I may or may not have a sustained interest in that hobby. I have a box of polymer clay, and a box of yarn, and several boxes of fabric and quilting supplies. And several drawers of ink, paint, markers, and paper. A bunch of collage materials. Beads and jewelry making stuff. And much of it has gone for years without being touched.
But I’ve realized some things today that might help me with it.
It’s OK to keep my hobby options open. Just be honest about it.
The question isn’t “Will I want to start sewing in 20 years?” I have no idea; that question is unanswerable. The question is, if I did decide I wanted to sew in 20 years, what, if anything, would I want to have kept with me for the last 20 years just in case?
Get all hobby stuff in one area before decluttering.
This is a classic declutter advice but it’s really true: you don’t know how much you have until you see it all together. The enormity has a visceral affect on you and you have a natural desire to reduce it! Plus the task is just much more manageable if you only have to sort through one type of thing at a time. So, keep separating out the piles until you have one in front of you that you can handle actually sorting.
Give yourself a real chance to learn the hobby and do it with other people.
When pursuing a new hobby, invest in classes, and take the time to do it until you get to the point where you can create something you like. That’s the only way to give it a fair shot. And it’s much better to get to a “upon further investigation, this is a clear no” than a perpetual “I’m not sure, I might like it if I actually did it more?”. Try to invest as much on training as on supplies. I had a lot of fun learning polymer clay with others; by myself, not so much. When I was in an art-and-talk group, I painted every week. Social hobbying is rewarding (for me); solo hobbying not so much.
Just some thoughts…what about you?
