How do you shop?

[argosulp]

So... I haven't scrapped for a while and was going through my EHDs and HD to try and tidy my supplies up a bit and I have hundreds of kits that I have never used.

I know I buy too many - I usually just visit the shop and buy what I like - and I will probably never use them all.

Does this happen to everyone else? How do you decide what kits to buy? I feel I should reign it in to save space!

[YepBrook]

I do the same thing... I like to have choices when I sit down to scrap. I didn't always feel this way, but now I have no problem deleting something that I never used. If it has been sitting on my HD or EHD for 2 years I'm probably not going to use it. If it has a nice alpha or a few unique elements I love I will often save those in a misc. folder and delete the rest of the kit. Delete, make space, and buy newer stuff that will inspire you.

I have also changed the way I choose what to buy. If I know I have photos that I can use the kit for right away I buy that one over, say, a super themed kit that I don't have photos for YET that I love and want anyways.

[rach3975]

The first step in getting past kit collecting might be setting a budget. When I know I can only buy 1 kit a week (or whatever it is for you) it makes me a lot more selective and limits me to buying an amount I'll actually have time to scrap with. Other than that, I buy things I have photos for and think I'll use relatively soon. There are a lot of kits I want but know I probably won't use, especially very themed kits or kits that are beautiful but don't match my style; those I wishlist and just keep drooling over.

[scrap2day]

I have tons of unused kits too. I usually buy a lot of "theme" kits. Now what I do is look at the new kit and decide which elements I am most likely to use. Then I search through my old kits and see if I already own similar items. If I can make the old kit work then I don't purchase the new kit.

I will purcase a new kit that is similar if it is a family topic that I scrap a lot and I don't want to always use the same kit for years on end (for instance, holiday, season, or sports).

I don't delete a lot of SSD kits because I still like them. I just buy bigger EHDs (I know. It's a problem).

[lauren grier]

Buy all the things! lol

A lot of times I scrap with super themed kits w/o using the themed elements. Kits are so huge nowadays that there's always so much to use within them. I usually just pick colours I like and go from there. Every once in a while word art catches my eye.. but I have trouble using it on my actual layout. I fail at word art

What I would do is go through your files and delete the things you certainly won't use (really old, different style etc). THEN if you have some kits that are on the borderline.. maybe just go through and pull out the pieces you absolutely love and could use with other layouts. .. Then go back to shopping like normal. haha

[scrap2day]

P.S. I was also going to suggest to start scrapping with some of your collection. It might make it easier to delete and will help you to realize what you already own. Then when you do go shopping you can make better decisions for what you want to add.

P.P.S. Now I just need to take my own advice.

[carriesmom]

I'm with La. Buy all the things. To be honest, I buy a lot of stuff and I do collect it to some extent. I also like scrapping with new stuff right away. I have a 2 TB drive that is not even half full and it has all my supplies and photos and what not on it so I have not been tempted to purge lately. I do agree with setting a budget to help the hoarding. Here are some other things I have heard from people that has helped.

1. Keep a folder filled with just unused kits. As you use the kits move them to a used kit folder. For every kit you use, you can buy a new one. Kind of like the one out, one in philosophy with a wardrobe.

2. Only but product for photos you have right now or will have in the next 2 months. So don't buy a Disney kit if you have never been to the parks. Buy a Christmas kit in November for your Christmas cards.

3. Buy products that truly speak to you. While I say buy all the things, I am being silly. Buy products you know you will use. If you don't like art journaling, don't buy art journaling stuff (unless you have a specific use for it in mind). I don't have any boys, so I rarely buy a boy kit. But I load up on girl kits, soccer kits, and holiday kits.

4. Organize/scrap your stash. Make sure your current collection is organized. That way you can tell what you already have. and then use the kits. Get to scrapping and get creative! Use themed kit off theme. Mix and match kits. Have some fun. Do some challenges!

[mariewilcox]

I don't shop anymore - LOL - seriously. I realized how many kits I have that I've never used and then looked at my wish list and realized that the things on my WL didn't differ so much from the kits I had already. I have so much stuff that I don't even feel the urge to shop anymore. Budget is also a factor and with being a single mom of a high schooler (aka going to college before I know it), I know my money is best saved these days. If there is a huge sale then I MIGHT set myself a very modest budget and splurge on some themed kits that don't look like other kits I have.

[meejay]

I have a budget, and I look at as a mental health expense. LOL I quit smoking years ago, but if I was doing that I'd be spending $30+week if I did that now, and scrapping makes me happier and less stressed and I'll spend $10 a week or so to keep myself happy and do something for just me.

I did spend quite a bit with my 50% off coupon and that will cut into my DSD budget in November, but it was worth it.

[kristijoy]

The main thing I try not to do is 'impulse' buy. I put things in my wishlist for about 1 month. Then once a month I go through my wishlist and buy some goodies when my 'Out of the Box' coupon comes out. Giving it a little 'wait and see' time helps me pick up kits I'm going to actually use. Then I scrap like crazy with them (and other stuff I have) for a month!

[adi&co.]

I wish list everything I like in the new releases each week and look at them over and over and try to decide if I need them or not, lol! I will usually only buy one right off the bat if I know I could use it

[Nixenkind]

I mostly wishlist to give myself some time to think about it (or wait until there's some kind of sale, since our budget is tight), but sometimes, I just buy when I like something.
I have lots of kits I never used, but: this year, I started marking the kits I already used for my diary, so that I wouldn't use the same kit twice. That helped a lot, and I used many kits I never had before.
Plus: I now have an extra folder for my newest kits, and recently started using these FIRST if possible... before that, I always tended to save the kits I liked most for a special occasion... which often meant I never used them, because no occasion seemed special enough . That had to stop, and it did. Now, I use new kits as soon as they fit... no more waiting for super special days.

[argosulp]

Thank you lots of good suggestions there.

Ummm.... Think I need to delete some. And not feel bad. They do mostly seem to be either brightly coloured kits or kits with the same colour scheme (autumn kits and we never really have autumn here)so maybe I need to try something new too. I've looked through my books and I seem to use the kits I like over and over. Maybe I should write a list and hide them somewhere just in case I move.

[JennNtheBoys]

I give myself a budget ($20-$25 every other week)....unless there's a big sale (that's when I let myself splurge). As much as I "want it all" every time the new releases come I have to look at everything in terms of usability. I know what pictures I have and what themes I need to look at.... so I try to only buy items I know I WILL use. For those kits that I have not yet used, I find challenges help me the most in finally putting them to use, being inspired by things I normally wouldn't think of on my own makes me look at kits I have that I normally would scroll past. I also find organizing my kits helps me to quickly look through them and get more use out of them too..... I guess the real challenge is finding the best method that works for you and go from there.

[renatasluis]

i Always look at the new releases and buy things that i can use like halloweentheme fot my halloweenpics.
i went to ireland last summer, end then i look fot holiday kits or kits in the colors that i need for my scrapping.
so just buy the kits, comparing the foto's that i made

[nesser1981]

I always make a not used folder/tag for kits I haven't used yet. I also mark whether they were free or purchased. And then I check that folder first, to see if any of those kits will work with what I'm scrapping.

Originally Posted by argosulp

So... I haven't scrapped for a while and was going through my EHDs and HD to try and tidy my supplies up a bit and I have hundreds of kits that I have never used.

I know I buy too many - I usually just visit the shop and buy what I like - and I will probably never use them all.

Does this happen to everyone else? How do you decide what kits to buy? I feel I should reign it in to save space!

[fifilur]

I don't buy nearly as much anymore as I did a year ago. Both because I can't afford it and cause I already have SO MUCH. For me to buy a kit it has to be versatile and have several unique elements. A good variety of flowers in it is also important, and it should work for a boy page even though that might not be the theme. I mostly buy stuff that I can combine with any kit these days, like stitches, painty borders and alike or unique templates.

[NeverendingJen]

I only buy something I truly love and know I will use. I have very few unused kits on my ehd, minus things like FWP and some store collabs. If I think I might use a kit and like it but don't NEED IT ASAP, it gets wishlisted for a big sale, knowing there are a few a year. If my stash is so big that I can't find things to use in it, it just gets overwhelming. I know which designers I love but can't use their kits because it just doesn't suit my style, which designers I love and can easily use their kits, and which designers are somewhere in between- I love some of their stuff and others are just meh, and depending on which one matters if I can use it. Giving myself a strict monthly budget also helps keep me in check. I get a certain dollar amount for shopping and a certain amount for printing. If I don't use the shopping amount up, I add it to the printing amount, which means I can print that much sooner and see my awesome layouts.

[KristinCB]

[LeeAndra]

I go through the NR every week and wishlist things that I know I already or will very soon have pictures for & then I wait for a big sale. Unfortunately, I don't have a scrapping budget most weeks, but the time between when I wishlist it and when I might actually purchase it does give me the ability to be much more objective abt what I end up buying. Only kits I still really love and have a use for will still appeal to me 3 or 4 months down the road.

I also have a 'To Be Used' folder on my EHD where all my new shiny kits live for awhile. I always go there first if I'm not doing a CT layout because I often forget what I have.

If I know when I'm DLing the kit what photo(s) I will use with it, I have a folder for that, too, and will make a subfolder within it with copies of my photo(s), a copy of the kit, and a Notepad file with my idea/journaling/what have you. Once the page is complete, I delete the folder (since the photo(s) and kit is a copy and not the original).