Congratulations! You’ve made it all the way to Step Five of your Create Room Journey. Let’s look back on how far you’ve come. You discovered your creative purpose in Step One, your creative barriers in Step Two. You set goals to overcome those barriers in Step Three and you created an organized craft haven in Step Four.
In this final step, we’ll share our best practices to help you maintain your new found crafting joy and create room everyday. The journey doesn’t end here.
The importance of good habits
It is human nature to slip into auto pilot. Without intention, we can easily fall back into our old routine— the one without room for our creativity. As we’ve worked closely and studied creators over the last 12 years, we have observed the importance of good habits. The little things you do each day really do make a big difference!
Below, you’ll find the best practices we’ve collected over the years for daily, weekly and monthly habits to maintain your crafting joy. We know some of these things will not come naturally, so before we begin, we wanted to share three basic habit-setting tips.
Start simple and grow over time - It's easy to get excited and want to do it all at once, but best to take it slow. Building a habit requires time and consistency. If your ultimate desire is to spend time crafting every day, first make it a habit to carve out time to craft two to three days a week and build from there.
If you slip up, get back on track - Things won't always go according to plan. Don't throw in the towel when it happens. If you are trying to maintain a clean workspace, but a particular project puts you back into complete chaos, don't give up on your system. Set aside time to reorganize and get back on track.
Celebrate small wins - Take pride in the strides you are making step by step, rather than just waiting to celebrate the end result. Progress is progress, no matter how small!
Daily Practices
We recommend creating the following daily habits to maintain your crafting joy.
Give everything a home
When you purchase a new type of supply, give it a home right away. If your DreamBox (or storage system) is full, remove some less important supplies and put them in a secondary storage area. Replace them with your new supplies for upcoming projects. For more overflow storage options, go check out the Create Room Cubby and DreamCart.
Tidy as you go; put things back
A clean table is the best invitation to craft. Always put your tools and materials back in their homes (their designated DreamBox Totes). Every project-in-process should have it’s own dedicated tote. Litmus test: Could you close your DreamBox? If not, finish putting things in their designated totes.
Keep a dedicated crafting planner
Use a planner to track your goals and projects. From learning new skills to completing projects-in-process, timelines and milestones will help you accomplish your goals. We designed the Create Room Planner to help you do that and more!
Set your creative intention each time you craft
Creating fulfills deep human needs. You discovered your core creative purpose in Step One. Knowing this will help you stay motivated. Additionally, each time you create you can set your intention. What are you seeking? By focusing your mind on a specific intention, you will help bring it into reality and make your crafting experience more meaningful. Our new Create Room Aromatherapy Kit is a great way to do this.
Weekly practices
Plan ahead
Pick a day and time for when you will plan your projects and plot out your craft time for the week. This should stay consistent. For example, each Sunday evening after dinner. Planning in advance will help you to be efficient, giving you more time to craft. And you’ll have things to look forward to.
Here are a few tips to make your planning sessions more productive:
Tip 1: When possible, don’t plan all of your creative sessions for the end of the week. If there are urgent last minute interruptions, you’ll have no alternate opportunities to reschedule your crafting time slot.
Tip 2: If you want to create with a friend, reach out ahead of time. There’s a better chance you’ll be able to find a time that works for both of you.
Tip 3: When you've planned your projects for the week, gather the supplies in advance into a DreamBox tote. If you’re short of any supply, you can pick it up while you’re out and about during the week.
Monthly practices
Serve
Use your creative skills and abilities to serve others. Use the Create Room For Good page as a resource to find and share crafting service projects and opportunities. Create good at least once a month. Teach your children and grandchildren to serve with you.
Stay curious
At least once a month, try a new kind of craft. Something new that gets you thinking outside of your regular crafting routine. This will stimulate more creativity and spark new ideas.
Surround yourself with new inspiration
Once a month, refresh your craft space. Perhaps some new photos? Books? Colors? Share and receive inspiration from other crafters in the Create Room Family Facebook Group.
Share your success
Congratulations! You’ve made it all the way. Remember, the journey doesn’t end here. This is just the beginning!