Creatively, I did not accomplish much this week. However, record breaking temperatures all week meant that a lot of other things were accomplished! We raked part of the yard (we have a HUGE yard - it's an ongoing process over a few days), painted the picnic table, found a bike for our daughter (definitely an answer to prayer!), made repairs on the bike for our daughter, finished some spring cleaning, wondered if it was too early to rotor till the garden, made our weekly trip to town and had a birthday dinner for my husband! All of this activity made me think about one of the the biggest reasons people say they don't scrapbook, "I don't have the time!"
I understand the time crunch! It is a perfectly valid reason for not scrapping. Between work, chores, church, homework, playing taxi for your kids (and their friends!), and attending games or plays who has any time? When you get ten minutes to yourself you'd like to relax with that book you bought... how long ago? Being a super-mom (or super-dad, or super-grandparent!) is exhausting!
So here it is - you will never find time. Yep! That's what I said. Never find time. It's not going to sneak up on you, "Oh! Hello, Time! There you are!" You need to make time. I know. "How am I going to do that? Did you see my to do list?" I saw it.
I used to hate when my sister would tell me to schedule things. She's very organized and I have often suspected her of having bathroom breaks scheduled in that day planner of hers. I don't know - I'm just saying! Me? Not so much. I'm more of a fly by the seat of my pants kinda gal! I don't like keeping a day planner at all. I bought one once, but only used it for about a week. If you're into that kind of thing, great! For the rest of us a wall calendar will work just fine!
Pick a day. Any day. You don't have to scrapbook every day. You don't have to scrapbook every week. You don't even have to do it every month, if you don't want to. My friends and I would scrap the first Friday of every month. We made it into a girls day out. We would head to the scrapbook store in the morning and scrap until noon. Usually we would only finish one or two pages because coffee and conversation would often take over!
Pick a time. If you're going to be scrapping with friends, pick a time that will be convenient for everyone. We always found mornings worked better for us because evenings were full of our childrens' activities and church events.
Be realistic! If you have decided that you can only devote two hours, once a month, you're not going to be able to scrap every detail of your life! Pick a few pictures of one or two significant events or moments to scrap. You will only be able to complete one or two pages in that time frame. You don't have to fill dozens of books every year. If you complete one - and you enjoyed doing it - it's a success!
Plan ahead. When time is limited, I find it helpful think about what I want to scrap ahead of time. If you keep your scrapbooking date written on your calendar it will be a lot easier to remember to do this! If you're a paper scrapper, make sure all of your supplies are ready the night before. Prepare a tote bag if you're heading out to scrap, or have one area (even a shelf in a closet) where everything is kept together if you're scrapping at home. It saves so much time when you aren't running around looking for something!
Consider going digital! I know there are tons of gals out there who would never, ever consider crossing over to the dark side and joining us digi-scrappers! I find digital scrapbooking so much more convenient for my lifestyle. I can scrap whenever I have a few free minutes. There is nothing to drag out or clean up which is a real time saver! If I have to divert a catastrophe (I'm a mom - it happens!), I simply click "save" and run to the rescue! If you are worried about losing the social aspect of traditional scrapping, you can always plan a scrapbooking LAN party! (If you're not a geek - Google it! My husband and his friends will be so proud of me right now :D)
I hope some of these tips/suggestions might help someone out there! The biggest thing about scrapbooking isn't how much you get done, or how fancy it is. Just enjoy it!
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