Love Your Hobbies but Not the Mess? 3 Ways to Keep Supplies in Check

Hobbies are a great way to wind down after work or on the weekends, and participating in them provides incredible benefits for your mental health—until they become a cluttered mess that takes over your space. We get it! It can be hard to stop adding more crafts to your to-do list or buying more and more supplies to feed your current obsession.

If you live in an apartment or only have a small area to yourself, this hobby clutter can take over quickly. Here are a few ways to organize and declutter your hobby supplies so they're easy to manage and store.

1. Store Everything in One Place

One of the best (but maybe one of the most difficult) ways to consolidate hobbies is to force yourself to keep them all in one specific space. If you are really passionate about a few hobbies, buy a three-tiered rolling cart for all of them, or use a bin that fits in the closet or under the bed. Maybe you can even use an extra-large bin, depending on how much space you have.

When you have boxes and boxes of supplies overflowing into your office space, it might be a sign that you need to prioritize your favorite items. Recognize which items you never use in your projects, and put those in the donate pile. Use up your current supplies before buying more to keep everything contained in the one bin.

If you opt for the three-tiered cart, keep one hobby at each level. For example, put your scrapbooking paper, scissors, tape, and stickers on the bottom, your cross stitch sheets, thread, and needles on the middle shelf, and your yarn and crochet hooks on top. If you're into reading, allow your non-fiction books half of a shelf, and your fiction books one shelf—or vice versa if you wish. To keep things from getting out of control, don't buy another book until you donate two.

2. File Every Paper

If you're into drawing, painting, coloring, or any other hobby that includes piles of paper taking over your dresser, consider investing in a filing bin. Make a file folder for empty papers and sketchbooks so you can see exactly how much paper you have left to avoid buying more simply because you thought you lost one. Designate another folder for projects you're working on, and another for completed ones. You can also frame some of your favorite pieces of art to remove them from the clutter and fill up your walls instead.

3. Toss the "Just in Case" Items

Many "serial hobbyists" are guilty of keeping random craft items and tools "just in case" they want to use them one day. If you have a bin of paint brushes and watercolor paints that you haven't touched in years, maybe it's time to say goodbye. Getting rid of "just in case" hobbies as a crafter can sometimes feel like a rip to your heart, but it's important to clear up the clutter that's filling up your home.

If you keep shelves on shelves of books, really think about why you're holding on to all of them. The books that have been sitting there for years should be donated. Especially if you're in your 20s or 30s, chances are you've outgrown a handful of genres or topics. Only keep the books you genuinely will get around to reading, or the absolute favorites that you'll love to revisit someday.

A good rule of thumb is: if you haven't touched it in a year, get rid of it. If in two years you decide to get into watercolor painting, you can buy the supplies again. Some hobbies cost a lot of money, so don't just donate everything you're not using. Try selling some of it on Facebook Marketplace or Etsy, then you won't feel as bad about maybe buying the same items a few years later. Whatever you do, clearing the unnecessary supplies will free up vital space in your home, mind, and, of course, a new hobby or two.