Project Management Madness

This past year was very productive. Lots of progress was made and I've had some reflection on my spending habits. A small space feels a lot smaller with clutter. Organizing and interior design was never my forte, you should see how rough my Sims houses are. 😂 Making plans comes a bit easier so I've been working on new ways for me to keep track and make progress on the myriad of projects rotting on the backburners. 

My new promise or maxim is: Do not keep supplies that are not attached to an active project.  

Let's try to keep this promise.

 

Organization

The first thing I did was find all my scattered lists of project ideas and put it in one place. I put things into categories because that's how my brain works. 

Evaluation

Going through the list, I checked the projects and evaluated certain aspects about the project like if I have the supplies, how long I think it will take, and how interested or passionate I am about the project. The passion is an in the moment thing that will be revisited when I do reviews of the list. 

Determination

Now, I determined what projects are the "active" category for a certain period of time. Currently, I check my list monthly. I pick things that are long term, some that I'm really excited about and things that I can get done quickly so it's off the list. 

Last year, I devised a weekly crafting schedule for myself. And for me it has accelerated my progress immensely. I get stuck with indecision and figuring out "what should I work on today?" This was how I was able to sew 7 kimonos in 6 months when in the past it would take months to make just one. Similarly, the game I have been chipping away at since 2017 has made leaps in programming progress. It took me a whole year to roughly program one character's route. With the schedule, I finished the remaining character's routes. Yes, 4 characters in a year. Significant!

Keeping to a schedule may not work for everyone. I update my schedule every so often as I finish major projects or start new classes. 

The second half of this equation is inventory management, so I'll explain what I do for this too. 

 Inventory Management

Leftover supplies, supplies for new projects, and Unfinished Objects (UFOs) contribute to the stockpile of stuff I have. I took a course on how to manage UFOs in my Yarn Stash from Maryna's 10 Rows a Day. (A good course if this is an issue for you too!) 

Root of Overstocked Inventory

Part of it can't be helped, it's is the nature of purchasing supplies for crafts or costumes. I may only need a few yards of yarn in hot pink, but I don't have the option of buying a single tiny ball of yarn. I have to get a skein or a pack of small yarn balls with colors I may not need. Even if the pattern calls for 2 yards of fabric, after cutting the pieces there will be scraps leftover. 

Outside of this natural occurrence, identifying "shopping triggers" can help reduce how much you get at a time. 

For example, if I'm excited about a project and "in the moment" of really wanting to do it, I want to buy the supplies so I can start even if I don't have time to do the project right now. 

I also tend to not be able to pick just ONE project. I can't just make an amigurumi of one character, I need the whole cast! 

Can't limit myself!

Then when I do actually work on the project, reality sets in, my hand cramps and I get frustrated with my results. So I finish one character and skip the rest but I still bought supplies for every character. 

This is one of MY behavioral shopping problems. And honestly, I don't know how to fix it. I'm trying to create the active project list to help. 

The other root is advertising and marketing. By its nature, marketing plays on the more emotional or fight-flight instinct. Playing on insecurities about time limits and scarcity. Limited time only! Get them before they're gone! Only available at this sale. 

It can also easily convince us to purchase surplus. Buy one get one free. Buy 3 for 20% off. 

Typically yes.

To help combat the marketing effect, avoid shopping when hungry, angry/anxious, lonely/need the loo, or tired (HALT). This applies to in-store and online. Removing yourself from mailing lists can help with online thing and a list can help you keep on course.

The last behavior thing is shiny-object. I see it, I want it. The inner toddler that never seems to be satisfied. Browsing stores and such may lead to purchases in this way. Or even starting new hobbies. Ask me how my punch embroidery is going. Ha ha! 

Inventory Reduction

To reduce inventory you need to either: 

• Use it
• Redistribute it (sell/donate)
• Dispose of it (recycle preferably)

Using it in a project or for a random thing around the house, is the obvious way to reduce inventory. That's what you bought the supplies for in the first place. But let's talk about the other two. 

Redistribute

Re-homing the supplies to someone else who will use it is a great way to reduce inventory and still have it serve its purpose. Selling or trading your supplies can help offset some of the cost of originally buying the supplies. The downside is that it takes time to find buyers or recipients for any give supply item. It's unpredictable. 

Donating gets things off your hands quickly, but there's no cost offset monetarily speaking. But you can say it goes to a good cause...most likely. At the very least, it's no longer your problem. 

Disposal

It's easy to just dump things in the trash or recycling bin. However, it may not be appropriate for all supplies. If you are doing a large purge of inventory, check about how to properly dispose of items if they contain chemicals or come in a spray can. (Those explode.) Once you know where to recycle or dispose of the items, you may need to make an appointment to drop things off or schedule a pick-up. 

Process of Reviewing Inventory Surplus

So this is a bit of what I got from the online UFO course. First, make time on your calendar to do this for about an hour or so. Do your research for disposal or redistributing before this day so you have a plan on what to do with unused items. Then on the day of:

1. Take all items out of storage and place them on the floor (or bed or dining table), somewhere slightly inconvenient so it semi-motivates you to make progress on this. 
2. Put things back that you KNOW you're going to keep or are attached to a project. 
3. Find items you know are unusable to anyone. Expired, damaged, or mostly used items. Put them in a pile/bag/box for disposal. 
4. Evaluate your other items individually. Determine what you'll keep for a bit longer and what will need to go into redistribution or disposal. Put those in another pile/container. 
1. If you struggle with deciding what to keep, create some arbitrary limits for yourself like: how long have you had it?  Is it expensive or rare? Is it easy to replace? Does this have sentimental value? Is this part of a project I'm starting in the next 6 months? Will I use this in the next year? 
5. Put away items you are keeping. Create a plan for the things you are not keeping.

It may be a good idea after finishing a project about what to do with your leftover supplies. I tend to hang onto scrap fabric for far too long but sometimes that's worked out! 

Or set up a yearly event for yourself to go through your supplies again but maybe this time it's not as daunting a task. 

You may also think about tracking inventory similar to a store. There are apps available but keeping a list can also help. I suggest having it accessible for when you start feeling tempted to shop and buy more than you need of a supply you already have! 

Conclusion

This is mostly a thought dump of what I myself am trying to do as a bit of a new year's resolution. Reduce my unused crafting supplies, organize things better so I can make way for current and upcoming big projects. I'm getting a better camera and camera set up for Christmas so I can set up a little photo shoot of my kimonos and costumes and crafts. 

Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! Let's see what this next year brings!