Most of my friends would tell you that I am queen of scrapbooking idea books and magazines. I can never seem to get enough. In fact, when I think about organizing my scrapbook room, those are often the first items I start with, because it just seems like there are so many.
Over the past few months though, I have taken time to really minimize my collection. I removed any magazines that were more than two years old and freecycled them. Then it was onto weeding through the hundreds of idea books. Some were very easy to just give away, because of their age. I’ve been scrapbooking since 1994 when my son was born, so some idea books were made before the great products we have now, were out. They don’t really inspire me to the way the current ones do.
After I had removed the majority of what I wanted to get rid of, I set a goal for myself that for every new idea book that I came home with, one had to go. Let’s see if I can keep that goal. In addition, I remembered something else.
Our local library has loads of scrapbooking idea books. In fact, they have everything I used to have and several more. Each library branch has different books, so there is always something new. And there just must be a librarian who scrapbooks, because they keep getting the new, popular ones in. Check out your library and see if you cannot find something that works for you.
Of course, everyone knows that sharing with friends is the easiest way, but have you considered looking into freecycle or classified ads. People are constantly selling off their things. Online auction sites, as well as Amazon are two great places to find scrapbooking idea books and even scrapbooking supplies at a great price.
Don’t forget garage sales, flea markets and tag sales. I’ve seen scrapbooking items at all those places. Used book stores are also a great location to get books for less. You don’t have to give up your idea book habit. We need them for inspiration and well, it’s just fun to look at them. But if you are looking to expand your knowledge and your wallet doesn’t want to shrink with it, check out the places I’ve mentioned.