6 Tips for saving upcycled materials (without turning into a hoarder!)

Saving upcycled materials can be a rewarding and sustainable practice, but it’s important to do so in a way that doesn’t lead to clutter or hoarding. Here are some tips to help you manage and organize your upcycled materials effectively:

1. Set Limits: Establish specific areas or containers for your upcycled materials. Once those spaces are full, commit to not accumulating more until you’ve used some of what you already have.
2. Prioritize Usefulness: Save materials that you can realistically envision using in future projects. Avoid collecting items solely because they might be useful someday.
3. Categorize Items: Organize your upcycled materials into categories such as paper, fabric, glass, plastic, etc. This makes it easier to find what you need when you start a new project.
4. Regularly Review and Purge: Set aside time periodically to review your collection. Donate or recycle items you’re unlikely to use. Be honest with yourself about whether you realistically see a purpose for each item.
5. Keep a Wish List: Instead of grabbing every interesting item, keep a wishlist of specific projects or items you’re actively looking for. This can help you focus on collecting materials with a purpose.
6. Use It or Lose It: Challenge yourself to use upcycled materials regularly. If you’re not actively incorporating them into your projects, consider whether you truly need to keep them.
7. Share with Others: Consider sharing excess materials with friends, family, or local crafting groups. This not only helps you declutter but also promotes a sense of community and sustainability.
8. Upcycle for Others: If you find yourself accumulating more materials than you can use, consider creating upcycled items to give away or sell. This way, you’re not only reducing waste but also sharing your creativity with others.
9. Educate Yourself: Learn about the materials you’re saving and their potential environmental impact. Understanding the lifecycle of materials can help you make more informed decisions about what to keep and what to discard.
10. Stay Mindful: Be mindful of your intentions behind saving materials. Avoid collecting items out of anxiety or fear of scarcity. Remember that the goal is to reduce waste and create something new from what might otherwise be discarded.

By following these tips, you can enjoy the benefits of upcycling without letting your collection become overwhelming or turning into a hoarder.

My rules for saving junk

1. Don’t save everything. You’ll turn into a hoarder.

Absolutely, it’s crucial to strike a balance when saving materials for upcycling projects. Hoarding can lead to clutter, disorganization, and a host of other issues. Here are some key points to keep in mind:

1. Purposeful Collection: Save items with a specific purpose in mind. Avoid keeping things just because they might be useful someday.
2. Quality Over Quantity: Focus on collecting high-quality materials that you’re likely to use, rather than accumulating a large quantity of random items.
3. Set Limits: Establish clear limits on the amount of materials you’re willing to keep. When you reach that limit, assess and prioritize before adding more.
4. Regular Decluttering: Schedule regular decluttering sessions to review your collection. Donate, recycle, or discard items that you haven’t used or don’t foresee using.
5. One In, One Out: Adopt a “one in, one out” policy. When you acquire a new item, consider getting rid of something else to maintain balance.
6. Be Realistic: Assess your available space and be realistic about what you can store. Avoid saving materials if you don’t have the space to organize and store them effectively.
7. Avoid Emotional Attachment: Try not to form emotional attachments to every item you save. Focus on the practical utility and creative potential of the materials.
8. Stay Organized: Keep your saved materials well-organized. Proper organization can prevent clutter and help you quickly locate what you need when starting a new project.
9. Share with Others: If you find yourself with excess materials, consider sharing them with friends, family, or local community groups. This not only helps others but also prevents your space from becoming overcrowded.
10. Evaluate Regularly: Periodically assess your collection and evaluate whether it aligns with your current creative goals and projects. Adjust your saving habits accordingly.

Remember, the goal of saving materials for upcycling is to be mindful, creative, and sustainable without letting your space become overwhelmed with unused items. Regular reflection and organization are key to avoiding hoarding tendencies.

2. Only save what you cannot buy (or cannot buy cheaply).

Certainly! Another effective guideline for managing upcycled materials is to save only those items that are either difficult to find or are not cost-effective to purchase. This approach helps ensure that you’re maximizing the value of your saved materials. Here are some points to consider:

1. Rare or Unique Items: Save materials that are rare, unique, or have sentimental value. These may be challenging to find in stores or might contribute a special touch to your projects.
2. Cost Consideration: If an item is readily available in stores at an affordable price, consider whether it’s worth the effort to save and store it. Focus on materials that provide significant cost savings or are not easily accessible.
3. Evaluate Availability: Before saving an item, assess its availability in the market. If it’s a commonly found material and doesn’t cost much, it may be more practical to purchase as needed.
4. Factor in Storage Costs: Consider the cost of storage space for the materials you save. If the storage space and organization effort outweigh the potential savings, it may be more economical to purchase items when required.
5. Research Prices: Research the prices of materials you commonly use in your upcycling projects. If the cost of saving and storing those materials is comparable to or higher than purchasing them, reconsider the need to save them.
6. Focus on Specialty Items: Concentrate on saving specialty or hard-to-find items that enhance the uniqueness of your projects. These items may not be readily available in mainstream stores.
7. Prioritize High-Cost Items: Save materials that are typically expensive if purchased new. This could include items like hardware, vintage fabrics, or unique architectural elements.
8. Consider DIY Alternatives: For materials that can be easily replicated or crafted at home, consider DIY alternatives rather than saving and storing them.
9. Stay Flexible: Be open to adjusting your criteria based on changing circumstances. As your needs and access to materials evolve, so can your criteria for what is worth saving.

By adhering to the principle of saving only what is challenging or expensive to acquire, you can maintain a more purposeful and cost-effective upcycling collection while avoiding unnecessary clutter.

3. Only save something when you have a specific purpose in mind. 

Absolutely, saving items with a specific purpose in mind is a key principle to avoid unnecessary accumulation and ensure that your upcycled materials are used effectively. Here’s an elaboration on this guideline:

1. Project Planning: Save materials when you have a clear and defined project in mind. Knowing exactly what you’re going to create helps you choose materials that align with your vision.
2. Avoid Generalized Saving: Resist the urge to save items without a designated purpose. Generalized saving can lead to a cluttered collection and make it challenging to find the right materials when you embark on a project.
3. Create a Project Wishlist: Maintain a project wishlist that outlines the materials needed for upcoming projects. Refer to this list when deciding whether to save a particular item. If it doesn’t align with your current or future projects, reconsider saving it.
4. Practicality and Usability: Before saving an item, consider its practicality and usability in your projects. Will it serve a functional or aesthetic purpose in the specific creations you have in mind?
5. Avoid “Just in Case” Saving: Resist the temptation to save items “just in case” they might be useful someday. Instead, focus on the materials that you can envision incorporating into a planned project.
6. Inspiration Folders: Create folders or digital collections for inspiration related to specific projects. Save materials that directly contribute to these inspirations, ensuring that they have a clear purpose.
7. Project Timelines: Be mindful of timelines when saving materials. If a project is not in the near future, consider whether the material might go to waste or lose its relevance before you use it.
8. Quality Control: Ensure that the materials you save meet the quality standards required for your projects. Avoid saving damaged or deteriorating items unless you have a specific plan for repairing or upcycling them.
9. Adaptability: While having a specific purpose in mind is crucial, also consider the adaptability of materials. Can they be repurposed for different projects in the future? Versatile items offer more value.
10. Regular Review: Periodically review your collection in relation to your project wishlist. Remove items that no longer align with your creative goals or that you no longer have a purpose for.

By adhering to the principle of saving with a specific purpose, you ensure that your upcycled materials are purposeful, organized, and ready to contribute to your creative endeavors.

4. Save things in a central location

Saving things in a central location is a practical strategy to keep your upcycled materials organized and easily accessible. Here are some tips on implementing this guideline:

1. Designate a Specific Area: Choose a dedicated and easily accessible space in your home or workspace to serve as the central location for your upcycled materials. This could be a closet, shelf, storage bins, or a designated room, depending on the available space.
2. Organize by Categories: Within your central location, organize materials by categories such as paper, fabric, metal, plastic, etc. This makes it efficient to locate specific materials when you’re working on a project.
3. Use Clear Containers: Store materials in clear containers or labeled bins so you can easily see the contents without having to open each one. This helps you quickly identify and access what you need.
4. Consider Accessibility: Arrange items based on how frequently you use them. Keep frequently used materials at eye level or within easy reach, while less frequently used items can be stored in lower or higher spaces.
5. Label Everything: Label each container or section to provide a clear indication of the types of materials stored. This helps maintain order and ensures that items are returned to their designated places.
6. Create Workstations: If possible, designate specific workstations within your central location for different types of upcycling projects. This allows you to have materials readily available for the type of project you’re working on.
7. Regular Maintenance: Schedule regular maintenance sessions to tidy up the central location. This includes returning items to their designated places, discarding damaged materials, and updating labels as needed.
8. Maximize Vertical Space: Utilize vertical space with shelves or storage units to maximize the storage capacity of your central location. This prevents overcrowding and makes it easier to keep things organized.
9. Avoid Overflow: Be mindful not to let your central location overflow with materials. Stick to your designated space limits to avoid clutter and maintain a sense of order.
10. Accessibility for Inspiration: Arrange your materials in a way that allows you to see and be inspired by them. This can help spark creativity and make the process of selecting materials for a project more enjoyable.

By having a centralized and well-organized storage system, you’ll streamline your upcycling process and make it more enjoyable. It also ensures that you can easily maintain and access your collection of materials.

5. But keep ‘like’ with ‘like’

Absolutely, organizing “like with like” is a fundamental principle for maintaining an efficient and easily navigable central storage location for upcycled materials. Here are some tips to implement this guideline effectively:

1. Group Similar Items: Arrange materials in your central location based on their similarities. For example, group all fabrics together, all metal items together, and so on.
2. Separate by Categories: Divide your central storage space into distinct categories, and store items within these categories. This makes it easier to locate specific materials when needed.
3. Use Containers or Bins: Place similar items in containers or bins to keep them together. This not only enhances organization but also prevents smaller items from getting lost.
4. Label Each Container: Clearly label each container or bin to indicate the type of materials it holds. This ensures that you can quickly identify the contents without having to open multiple containers.
5. Keep Tools Separate: If you have tools that are frequently used in your upcycling projects, consider keeping them in a separate section. This makes it convenient to grab the necessary tools without searching through materials.
6. Maintain Sections for Different Crafts: If you engage in various types of upcycling projects, create sections within your central location for each craft. This could include separate areas for woodworking, textile projects, or other specific categories.
7. Consider Material Size: If possible, organize materials not only by type but also by size. This helps optimize space and makes it easier to locate materials of a particular size when needed.
8. Regularly Assess and Rearrange: Periodically reassess your organizational system. As your collection grows or changes, you may need to rearrange items to maintain an efficient “like with like” structure.
9. Prevent Cross-Contamination: Store materials in a way that prevents cross-contamination. For example, keep potentially messy items like paints or adhesives separate from fabrics to avoid accidental spills.
10. Create a Visual Inventory: Arrange your materials in a way that provides a visual inventory. This allows you to quickly assess what you have and can inspire new project ideas.

By organizing “like with like,” you’ll create a central storage location that is not only visually pleasing but also highly functional. This system makes it easy to find and access the materials you need for your upcycling projects.

6) Put a cap on it.

“Put a cap on it” is a colloquial expression that typically means to set a limit or restriction on something. In the context of upcycling materials and storage, this could imply placing constraints on the quantity or types of materials you save. Here’s how you can implement the concept of “putting a cap on it” in the context of upcycled materials:

1. Define Storage Space Limits: Allocate a specific amount of space for your upcycled materials. Once that space is full, resist the urge to expand it. This forces you to be selective about what you save.
2. Set a Quantity Limit: Determine a maximum number of items or materials you’re comfortable saving. This could be based on the available storage space or a personal preference for keeping a more minimalist collection.
3. Prioritize Essential Materials: Identify the essential materials that align with your preferred upcycling projects. Concentrate on saving those key items and avoid accumulating a wide variety of materials that might not be used.
4. Establish a Usage Rule: Consider implementing a rule such as “use it or lose it.” If a material hasn’t been used in a certain timeframe, evaluate its necessity and be prepared to let it go.
5. Regular Purge Schedule: Schedule regular purging sessions to review your collection and remove items that no longer serve a purpose or that you’re unlikely to use in the future.
6. Mindful Acquisition: Practice mindfulness when acquiring new materials. Ask yourself whether each item aligns with your current projects and whether it truly adds value to your collection.
7. Avoid Impulse Saving: Refrain from saving materials on impulse. Take a moment to consider whether the item has a specific purpose in mind or if you’re saving it “just because.”
8. Share Excess Materials: If you find your collection exceeding the set limits, consider sharing excess materials with friends, family, or community groups. This not only reduces your inventory but also promotes sustainability in your community.
9. Quality Over Quantity: Emphasize quality over quantity when saving materials. Prioritize well-made, versatile items that can be used in multiple projects.
10. Adapt as Needed: Be flexible with your limits and adjust them as your creative needs or living circumstances change. Regularly reassess whether your current cap on materials aligns with your goals.

By putting a cap on the materials you save, you maintain a more intentional and manageable upcycling collection. This ensures that your materials serve a purpose, and you avoid unnecessary clutter.