So, you’re addicted to stationery but is it time to cull your stationery stash? You have piles of planners, notebooks and the like throughout your home and office. You know, deep down, that it’s time to let some go. But how? They’re all so awesome! These steps might help.
Consider what they are promising you
Have a think about what they’re promising you. Understanding these promises might make it easier to let some go. Once you’ve had a think about that, it’s time to organise them and cull.
Separate them into type of product
Go through it all and separate them into types. Like yearly diaries, themed diaries (Your Dreams Diary, Get Organised Diary…), To-Do Lists, paperclips, folders, sticky notes, planners, notebooks, and pens. Pens might even need to be separated out into categories like highlighters, sharpies, ballpoint, glitter, gels and so on.
Once you’ve separated them all out into types, you should have a visual on which piles might need culling more than others.
Pull out your favourites
It can be easiest to start the cull by pulling out your favourite items first. The ones that you’re excited about using. Once you have those aside, it’s time to look at the others.
Next, put in the giveaway pile those that you no longer love, and know, in your heart of hearts, that you won’t use.
This is where it can get tricky, so it can be best to set limits on how many of each item you’re allowed to keep, to help you with this process.
Set some guidelines and limits
Set yourself some guidelines and limits. You could set a number limit, e.g. I will only keep five spare notebooks. Or you can set space limits, e.g. My stationery needs to fit on this shelf. Or, my pens need to fit in this caddy.
Things to ask yourself are:
- How many of each do I really need spare?
- What space have I got to keep it in?
- Thinking back, how many have I used per year on average?
- What limit can I set for myself?
With these limits and guidelines you’ve set yourself, you should be able to maintain your stash too. You can’t splurge on a new notebook until you’re down to four spares.
Lastly, because of your addiction, and over-supply, you could set a – da-da-da (melodramatic surprise sound) – stationery buying ban.
Buying ban
Make a rule that you’re not allowed to buy anything new, unless you have genuinely run out of that item. You must ‘shop’ in your own stash first. No cheating either! Just because you don’t have any lip-shaped sticky notes, doesn’t mean you get to buy them. You have to use your other sticky notes first.
At a minimum, you’ll hopefully make more conscious purchases and become more aware of what’s going on for you.
Have you tried to cull your stationery stash? What’s the stationery item you find hardest to part with? Tell us in the WellSorted Facebook Group.
