100 Ways To Be Creative: Collect Something Specific

#8 on my 100 Ways To Be Creative list is to collect something very specific. For this, I kept thinking that I needed to pick something to start searching for at thrift stores, like cat jars or whatever. But then I realized that this list doesn’t have to be all new things. It can be things that I’m already doing that are creative. It also doesn’t make much sense to bring another set of stuff into my life when I’m already overflowing with material items and clutter.

So, today I want to share with you three collections that I’ve been keeping for the past few years.

A long time ago, Michaels used to have these large bags of buttons for around $5. They were a collection of what seemed to be everything that fell off the sorter in the factory. As you know, Michaels generally has a 40% off one item coupon each week, so I abused that a little bit, and bought multiple bags of buttons.

I wrote more about buttons here, where you can see more detailed pictures of them inside the jars. I keep the jars on the top shelf of one of my book cases.

This is my drawer of postcards. It may not look like a lot, but there’s over a thousand in there. That purple container has three drawers that are full, and I have another identical container in another spot.

The great thing about this collection, though, is that it’s slowly getting smaller. I’ve been doing mass mailings every so often, and it’s been really great to send some of the things I have out into the world. I used to have this drawer packed, plus a huge unorganized pile on my desk, as well as two packages of 100 cards.

So, I’m proud that I’m using this collection, instead of hoarding it (like the buttons).