Article: 17 Ways to Find Time To Scrap!

As I sit here this morning, kids are off to school, I'm eating my whole wheat bagel and trying to plan my day. I came across this article I found a couple years ago. It has given me an idea that my day doesn't have to be filled with just laundry, cooking and errand running. I'm going to fit some scrapping in of some sort. Lynne

17 Ways to Find Time To Scrap! by Cynthia Townley Ewer, Editor OrganizedHome.Com

What's the biggest challenge facing would-be scrappers? Finding time to scrap! (Don't believe me? Check the poll results!) The scrapping process is partly to blame. From snapping photos to picking them up at the developer, planning layouts to purchasing supplies, creating pages to embellishing them, scrapbooking takes time and requires attention to detail--a tall order for those of us with busy modern lives. Fight back with 17 ways to find time to scrap:

TIME MANAGEMENT TRICKS

To find more time to scrap, turn attention to these time management tricks:

1. Schedule scrapping time! The scrapper who waits for large blocks of unclaimed time to drop into her lap will wait ... and wait .... and wait. Be proactive, and schedule scrapping into your normal weekly routine. Even if it's only a single evening a week, planned "scrap time" will make it happen.

1. Make scrapping a priority! Do you wait to scrap until all the work is done? Don't be surprised if your albums stay empty. Assign scrapping a priority in your life, instead of placing it at the bottom of the time-management barrel. Knowing that scrapping is a higher priority than, say, watching reruns of "The Sopranos" on television, will help you get more layouts completed.

2. Pull the plug on the tube! Better still, give up television for scrapping, if only for a night or two a week. TV viewing is addictive and depressing ... and scrapping is a lot more fun!

1. Commit to a class! Students of human nature know that where money is spent, motivation will follow. Sign up (and pay for!) a class in stamping or scrapping techniques. You'll learn new skills, and the financial commitment will spark motivation and interest in your hobby. Reward: more layouts!

2. Each one teach one! The converse is also true: where we teach, we learn. Mentor a new scrapper and share your skills. In the process, you'll make time for scrapping in an atmosphere of companionship and energy.

STREAMLINE THE SCRAPBOOKING PROCESS

How you scrap can be as important as how long you scrap! Try these tricks to get more done in less time:

1. Break it down! If you expect to scrap a layout start-to-finish in a single setting, you're doomed to disappointment. Analyze the scrapping process, and break it out into smaller routines: sorting, organizing and selecting photos, selecting supplies and embellishments for layouts, cropping and assembling pages, embellishment and journaling. Work on one area at a time to maximize spare minutes.

1. It's in the cards! Index cards are a scrapper's best friend. Buy them in the 4-by-6 size to file neatly along with photos. Use them to sketch layout ideas while waiting at the dentist's office, to jot journaling notes, or to index great layouts in this month's scrapping magazines.

2. Perfect your page kits! A page kit is a pre-selected grouping of photos, background papers, matting supplies, stickers and embellishments. Spend an hour assembling several page kits. Next time spare minutes appears, you'll be ready to grab one ... and crop!

1. Develop the tidy habit! Even naturally-neat scrapbookers can become disorganized when faced with the sheer overwhelming number of tools, supplies and materials used in scrapbooking. A messy scrap desk is a big obstacle to short-haul scrap sessions. Get in the habit of tidying your scrap area after you finish a layout or project. A clean scrap area means ready, set, scrap!

2. Coordinate crop supplies! So you love to crop at the local scrap store ... but it's a hassle to find and pack the crop tote! Keep the crop tote near the scrap area, and replace any tools or supplies as you use them. Make it easy to grab your tote and go!

1. Don't over-organize! Tempting as it is to wade into the scrap area and box-and-label everything, too-precise organizational methods inhibit scrapping. Who wants to haul everything back out of those labeled boxes? Instead, look for easy grab-and-drop storage solutions: hanging file folders for templates and cutting guides, at-a-glance storage in wire cube shelving for cardstock and paper, revolving organizers on the desktop for scissors, pens and cutting tools.

2. Develop a filing system. Tracking cardstock and printed stationery gets wooly somewhere around the 6-inch point--and who can find anything buried in

6 inches of paper? Develop a simple filing system that makes sense for you. Sort cardstock according to the rainbow (red-yellow-orange-green-blue-violet); divide patterned papers into sensible categories (baby, holidays, abstract, nature, geography). Make it easy--and fast--to find the materials you need.

1. Shop smart: with a list! All of us know that blissful daze that falls inside the door at the local scrap store--but hours spent wandering the stacks fondling papers and dreaming of die-cuts isn't an efficient use of time. Keep a running scrap list and shop from it. You'll make sure you have the materials you need when you sit down to complete a layout, you'll speed your shopping trips and keep your budget under better control. It's a win-win!

2. Keep the camera happy! Photos are the raw materials for great scrapbooks. Make sure it's easy to capture that shot. Keep a supply of film and batteries on hand for conventional cameras, so you're never caught short. Recharge digital cameras after each use, and keep replacement media at hand, or download photos promptly after each session. No more last-minute trips to the supermarket for film!

HARMONIOUS HOUSEHOLDS

Scrappers with organized homes find it easier to make time for their hobby. Find more time to scrap by streamlining these household activities:

1. Create a scrap area! Whether it's as small as a cleaning tote filled with beginner supplies, to a stand-alone desktop, all the way to a dedicated scrap room, create a scrap area for the most efficient use of scrapping time. Getting out and putting away materials is time consuming; a dedicated scrap area means every minute goes to scrapping. Projects-in-process can be left until the next session. It's time-smart!

1. Try freezer cooking! A tried-and-true way to make time on a daily basis: freezer cooking, a method of bulk cooking that makes and freezes many meals in a single cooking session. We've got tips, recipes and a beginner's guide for freezer cooking at OrganizedHome.Com Freezer Cooking Guide. That's an hour a day in the scrap room, not standing over a stove!

2. Make it routine! Organized homes run on the basis of daily, weekly, monthly and seasonal routines--but more important, routines save time each day. Develop daily and weekly chore lists to speed the work of cleaning house. If you're not "always cleaning", you can be scrapping! Find more help at OrganizedHome.Com Clean Sweep Guide.