124 - The Projects Box: An ADHD-Friendly Way to Deal With "Potential" Crafty bits

Summary

Do you have bits and pieces scattered around your home that you keep meaning to do something with? In this episode, Professional Declutterer and Organiser Heather Tingle introduces the Projects Box. A simple, one-rule system that gives your creative intentions a proper home and actually gets things done. Perfect for creative and ADHD brains.

Chapters

00:00
Introduction to Intentional Clutter

02:15
Understanding the Projects Box

05:57
The Rule of the Projects Box

08:36
What Goes in the Projects Box?

10:50
Making the Projects Box Effective

Transcript

Heather Tingle (00:01.262)
Hello, untanglers. Welcome back to another episode of Decluttering Untangled with me, your host, Heather Tingle. So today I wanna talk about something that's kind of come up with a couple of clients recently. And in all honesty, they were really good sessions with those clients, but I came away thinking I need to remember to tell my untanglers about this and it'd be really good to do it in a podcast episode because it's a pretty short but sweet strategy for you to try, especially those of us with ADHD, especially those of us that have got a creative brain and can see endless possibilities. Okay, so I was working with some clients, great people, really motivated, ready to get stuck in. And as we go through the homes, I've noticed that there's quite a lot of...

things that we come across like ribbon, piece of wood, an off-coat, a pretty tin, some lovely fabric, a mug with a broken handle that's really important, something that needs a bit of super glue and we'd pick it up and look at it and they go I'm going to do something with that or I just I know I'm going to use it for something but I can't quite figure out what yet it's going to be a project. So

This is really important because this is not things that you just want to get rid of. These are important things that you find interesting and unique and you wanna do something with. So there's genuine intention. The problem is, well, a couple of things really, they're scattered all over the house. They've got no home. And without a home, they just become clutter. Because not only do they become clutter, they sit there staring at you.

quietly making you feel guilty every time you look at it because you've still not done something about that thing. It's kind of like a wasted opportunity or it's a someday project. Like one day when I get round to it, once the house is sorted, I'm gonna do this. So today I want you to talk to you about something I call the projects box. So what it is, why it works and how you can use it to finally give those intentions a proper home and how it can actually make you do the thing, which is always really important, let's face it.

Heather Tingle (02:26.218)
and without letting it take over your space and taking over your brain. So I think it's quite important to realise that this is kind of a different type of clutter. I suppose you could call it intentional clutter. It's different from regular stuff. So regular stuff is things that you don't need, you don't want, haven't thought about in years, or it's just not gonna home yet. Intentional clutter is stuff that you genuinely mean to do something with. So it's got meaning, it's got potential, and potential is the word here.

that I think so many of us understand and get frustrated by. And that's what makes it really hard to deal with because you can't just get rid of it. It feels wrong. It's like, well, I'm never gonna get that item again, or, but one day I'm gonna do something with it. Or nobody else will value it like I do. And actually that's wrong. Other people will value it and will be the people who do stuff with it if you don't. But the thing is you're not doing anything with it.

at the moment either. It is just causing you stress and anxiety and it's meaning that when you add it all together along with everything else, it means people aren't coming in your home. So it just sits there and every time you walk past it, there's a little whisper of, really should sort that thing out. I really should do that thing. I really want to get excited about that thing. I still don't know what to do with that, but I know I'm going to use it for something. And over time, it just turns into like a background noise that turns into quite a low level stress. That's just a constant really.

So it comes in two types. So there's the creative. So things you want to make or craft or create it with, and then there's the fixing kind. So something that just needs a small repair. So a bit of super glue, needle and thread, a new battery, nothing major, but it never somehow quite get round to doing it. And you just leave it out on the side, knowing that you're gonna have to remember to do it, but you never actually do it. So it just sits there, broken, taking up space, causing you stress, getting moved about from place to place until you lose a bit.

Both those things are totally usual in my line of work. I see it all the time. So the projects box. This is where the projects box comes in. And I love a projects box because it could be so random from client to client. One client, can have old curtains that just need like chopping the bottom off. Someone else, it might be some scraps of material they want to make into a blanket. For someone else, it might be a trinket box or a really, really pretty box they don't wanna do something with, but they're not sure what yet.

Heather Tingle (04:49.005)
Might be just a random piece of wood, like driftwood that you found or some stones, let's face it, especially if you're autistic, we love a stone. So, know, random rocks in a box, kind of like part of the course in my world. So that's okay. You don't have to justify what is going in this box because it's one dedicated physical container for all the things you genuinely intend to make, fix, create or do something with. It's one box, one home.

You need to find a place for this box, but it's physical. It's an actual container. needs to be relatively big because we don't want to minimize all your projects that you want to do, but a real box, something inside, a container with a finite amount of space. I like the Kallax boxes that you get from Ikea just because they're pretty roomy and decent and you can chuck stuff in and pretty easy. You don't have to worry about having a lid for it. You might have just a cardboard box or a plastic container. That's fine too.

But don't have it a shelf or a corner of a room because all you're end up with a great big pile that just gets in the way and a shelf will end up being very precarious and you'll be having a game of Jenga on it basically. So it's a box and as you come across those bits and pieces, so the random fabric scraps or the things that need a quick repair, you're gonna put them in that box rather than scattering around the house or shoving them in a drawer. Pop them in the projects box and it's gonna have a label on it that says projects box. That is gonna be their home.

So the act of putting something in the box is really quite meaningful because psychologically what you're doing is you're making a decision and saying this is genuine intention. I am committing to this being a project. I'm actually going to do this. And you're separating real plans from the vague, maybe someday I'm gonna get round to it thing. And that distinction really matters because it's only gonna be the best of the best that's gonna go in this box. And the rule that makes it really work for you is,

I think the real magic of it, and it's a really simple rule, like it really is simple. When the box is full, you cannot add anything new until you've done something from it. So you've got to take something out and actually do the thing before you can put something else wonderful in there. So if you're the kind of person that loves going around charity shops or antique centres or loves going on nature walks and finding random bits, unfortunately, when you get back from those expeditions, then if it's going to go in that box,

Heather Tingle (07:16.703)
something else has to come out or you have to do the project with the stuff that you've already got in your home. So that's it, that's the rule and it sounds really simple but what I want you to think about what it actually does, it's kind of forcing you. Same what we do with when we're working with clothes, when we're working with kitchen stuff is it creates a limit. Your intentions can't expand indefinitely and that can feel, especially if you are an amazingly creative person, quite stressful. However, it really does work in your favour.

because you're gonna actually realise those dreams and actually get creative and do wonderful things, which is what we wanna do. That's why we've got the ideas. And if you never actually make anything, then that's fine because all you're doing is putting new things in the box and taking things out that aren't quite as important. So you're still sifting it, you're still prioritising it because it can only hold so much and that's by design.

because when the box gets full and you find the little thing that you want to add, you've got two choices. You either do the thing, you get super glue out or you fix that mug or you sew that button back on and you sit down and do that thing you've been really excited about making or you look at what's already in there and decide that actually one of those things isn't genuine after all and you're not as excited as you were to make it and it's been in there for like two years and it's still at the bottom and you're still never going to do it. And that way you can let it go. But either way you win, you actually do the thing which feels

brilliant or you get honest with yourself and free up some space. So both are really good outcomes with that. So what stops is the endless accumulation of what I always say about my house, it's got potential. It stops that endless possibility potential that just gets bigger and bigger and bigger and keeps you accountable for it. So it doesn't overflow, it keeps contained and then it's more manageable. So what goes in it?

Good candidates for things like craft supplies without a specific home if you haven't got another craft space for them. So the random ribbons, buttons, fabric scraps, know, the beautiful bows that you get off, like blankets and things that, you know, when they're packaged you get a lovely ribbon and you don't want to get rid of it. Interesting materials like a beautiful tin, some nice paper, piece of wood, sentimental bits. I would put somewhere else, not in this, unless you know the project that you want to do it with.

Heather Tingle (09:34.958)
and the little things that just need a little quick repair. So a garment that needs a bit of sewing or super gluing or something that needs a new battery or missing screw, something like that. So the test is when you pick something up and you finish the sentence of, I'm going to, I'm gonna make something with this, I'm going to do something with this. If you can finish that sentence with something specific, it can go in the box. And if you don't know what you want to use that thing for, it can still go in the box, that's okay, but.

you're gonna have to start thinking about it pretty quick when that box gets a bit fuller, okay? And that might end up being a more honest conversation about whether something is within your remit and excitement to actually do the thing or whether you wanna pass it on. Right, one of the other problems that causes so much stress is it's got potential that you can see and you think that others won't see it and you don't want it to go to landfill.

Now all over the place now there are wonderful centres popping up that are scrap centres. So we've got one near us called Scrap Dragon. You might have got one near you. You can also look at your local community craft groups and ask around on Facebook or in your local area or buy or waste, know, zero waste places. Where's the best place to let these kinds of things go because...

In all honesty, if you love that wonderful piece of driftwood, but you really have realised that it's too big for what you wanna do, you're not really excited about using it anymore, there will be someone out there that loves it too. So you can pop it on the oleo or you can pop it to something like a scrap store and give someone else the opportunity to make something amazing out of it. It doesn't have to go in a skip or in a bin. So you've your box, you just know what goes in it.

So how do you make sure it actually leads to things getting done rather than it just becoming another version of a doom box? So first of all, you need to keep it somewhere visible and accessible, not nearly tucked away, not hidden anywhere, somewhere you can see it because it's meant to be an exciting invitation. It's meant to be your exciting thing. And every time we walk past it, it's a little nudge of when are gonna be creative with me? When are you gonna do that wonderful stuff? So the next thing that's really important is putting in your diary, scheduling,

Heather Tingle (11:52.182)
you time. Now we all say you should do more, you know, self care and self care can be doing a project and it might be that you get started on it and you don't want to finish it off because you get bored halfway through and that's okay because there are lots of different companies that will finish off projects for you. Old people's homes are a great place for this. Also like local craft groups as well or nurseries and schools like starting a project and you want it finishing, see if you can get someone to finish it for you. So

put it in your diary to have some time to go through your craft box and pick something out that feels good. And the third thing to be aware of is being honest yourself when the box has been full for a while and nothing has moved. If something has sat there through multiple full moments and you still have not touched it, it's still at the bottom, that is telling you something. So listen to that voice that says.

It's been in there a long time. And instead of feeling bad about the fact that it's been in there a long time and you've had it and you've not done anything with it, you twist it, you turn it the way it was, do you know what? I've given it a really good go and the intention and excitement is no longer there. So I'm gonna give it to somebody else so that they can get excited about it now instead. Okay, so there you go. That's your craft box. It's not about restriction in all honesty. It's about being intentional and releasing.

that potential and being excited about it and doing something with it. So if you're someone who's got lots of little bits and pieces, dots around your house, things you want to make, things you want to fix, things with potential that never quite get done, I hope today's episode is giving you a simple practical strategy to sort it all out really. One box and one rule and suddenly those...

intentions of going to home and a fighting chance of actually happening. And if they don't happen, that is okay because they are not causing a problem in your projects box. So gather all the things around from your home, pop them in there and I would love to know how you get on. So let me know if you have scheduled some time and what you end up doing. I would love to hear from you. So do send me a message either in the Facebook group or via the text option in this podcast.

Heather Tingle (14:05.39)
And if you want to tell me your name, so I can try and track you down and send you a message, please do. If you wanna stay anonymous, that's totally okay too. So there you go. Remember, you are not alone. Be kind to yourself and keep untangling.