When you’re decluttering craft supplies and cleaning out closets, you might have a big question on your mind: should you keep the things you make?
Creator’s Remorse
It seems like we should always like the things we make, right? We chose to make them, picked out materials we wanted to use, spent time and effort to make the best thing we could make.
But sometimes things don’t turn out quite the way we expect, even with all that work and planning.
The sweater doesn’t fit quite right, or the color we loved when it was a piece of fabric looks glaring in the quilt we made with it.
Or maybe you liked something you made for a time, but you’ve stopped wearing or using it for whatever reason. It could be fit or style or just you’re reaching for other things.
Perhaps you made something thinking it would fill a hole in your wardrobe or on your wall but you don’t find yourself reaching for it or enjoying it like you expected.
So should you keep it?
What If You Didn’t Make It?
I think the evaluation for if you should keep things you make should be the same as it is for things you didn’t make:
- Do you use it?
- Do you love it?
- Would you buy this if you saw it in a store?
It’s kind of a variation of what if this was not your stuff. You could also consider the poop test if that’s helpful. Anything to give you a little space and perspective on a thing.
Mourning Creative Missteps
Sometimes thinking about if you should keep the things you make comes with a bit of guilt. Either because you spent all that time and money on a thing you didn’t end up liking or using or because you feel like you’re letting yourself or the materials down by not using that thing.
And here we come back to sunk costs (it always comes back to sunk costs, doesn’t it?). The time and money you spent is gone. Hopefully you enjoyed making the thing even if the final result wasn’t what you’d hoped.
Every project is growth and learning, even if it’s learning something that you don’t like.
Acknowledge any feelings you have about the project, and then you should feel ready to let it go, whether you donate it or sell it, or gift it to someone who might appreciate it more.
I generally don’t have bad feelings when I’m getting rid of things I made, probably because I’ve made so many things over the years and they weren’t all necessarily things I wanted or needed (so it is when you’re a professional craft writer). When I make things and they stay in my office, that’s a pretty good sign that I’m not going to keep them, though actually getting rid of them is usually a longer process.
I’d love to hear your thoughts about whether you should keep things you made.
