"I don't have time!"

I hear this a lot! "I would love to scrapbook but I just don't have time!" Its a pretty common theme in today's world. While I can't tell you how to get more hours in your day (I wish I could) I can give you some tips for finding a few minutes here and there to scrapbook (or make cards, or do whatever else you would like to find time for).

1. For scrapbooking, don't look at the big picture, only focus on the page you would like to finish next, the big picture will eventually fall into place. So if you are working on baby pictures get out paper that goes with your theme, the pictures, and the accessories that you want to use, but ONLY get out those that coordinate. Then keep it all in a large ziplock bag, a folder or a notebook so that when you have a few minutes its all right there where you need it, (don't forget cutting supplies and adhesive). This also makes clean-up easy as you just throw everything back in the bag until your next few minutes!

2. Don't get hung up on how "behind" you are. Who says that you have to have your child's baby album finished before he/she is a teenager? It gets done when it gets done, prioritize your projects and then work on them, it won't get done if you leave it in a box and talk about how behind you are. You aren't behind, you are where you are, and working on it a little at a time will get it done. A baby album is still a wonderful thing to have when your kids are older-perhaps even more wonderful then when they are still little!

3. If you have space to set up a scrapbook room or corner somewhere that would be great. Then you can leave your current project out and pop in when you have a quiet moment to work on it. If you can't do this use idea #1 above. you can even use the boxes that albums come in to store your current project.

4. Set aside a "scrap night" it can be as often as you can squeeze it in, for instance weekly, monthly or every couple of months. It could be all day once a month or just a couple hours. However it fits into your schedule. Make sure your family knows that you will be scrapping on this night, put Dad in charge (or an older child) and let them know that it's "mommy time" and you are to be left alone. Better yet find a shop or a group of friends and hold crops away from home if possible so there are less interruptions.

Remember you won't make progress if you do nothing, but if you do a little bit on a regular basis you will start to complete your projects. You don't have to have hours at a time, a few minutes here and there can give you the opportunity to make some great pages/projects.

Share your tips for finding time to scrapbook!