How to Organize When You See Potential in Everything

Sep 28

If your first thought when picking up any object is "but I could use this for a project," you're in good company.

Creative brains are wired to see possibility. That broken picture frame? Perfect for a mixed-media piece. Those wine corks you've been collecting? Maybe a sculpture someday. That piece of interesting fabric? Could be just what you need for the art quilt you're planning.

This vision is your creative superpower. But it can also turn your home into an art supply warehouse where you can't find what you actually need for current projects.

The Possibility Overload Problem

I see this with almost every creative client. They can't throw away anything because they see how it could be useful. Their studios become museums of potential instead of workshops for actual work.

The issue isn't your vision — it's that you're trying to store every possibility at the same time.

Bay Area Story: The Fabric Avalanche in Sausalito

Claire, a costume designer, had fabric everywhere. Her studio closet overflowed with bolts of velvet, stacks of cotton, rolls of silk that were beautiful but had been sitting there for years.

When she needed specific fabric for a current project, she'd spend twenty minutes digging through the "maybe someday" pieces to find what she needed today.

We used what I call the "container reality check":

One bin for current projects
One shelf for "next up" projects
One area for "someday" ideas
When the "someday" area was full, that was it

"I'm not saying no to creativity," I told her. "I'm saying yes to being able to find your current creativity."

[Kayla: Link to The Jane Way De-Stuff Kickstart Checklist.]

The Creative Archaeology Method

Think of your supplies in layers:

Active layer: touched in the last month
Recent layer: used in the last year
Buried layer: hasn't been touched in over a year

Start with the buried layer. If something's been out of sight and out of mind that long, it's probably not fueling your current work.

Bay Area Story: The Paint Tube Excavation in Oakland

Janelle, an illustrator, had a drawer full of paint tubes dating back to art school. Some were completely dried out. Others had never been opened but the caps were stuck on.

We kept paints she'd used recently and let go of the ones that had clearly expired. The space this freed up let her organize her current colors by temperature and opacity — much more useful for her actual work.

"It's like clearing mental cobwebs," she said.

Questions for Creative Decision-Making

Instead of "Could I use this?" ask:

"Have I used something similar in the past year?"
"Do I have three other things that could do the same job?"
"If I needed this for a project, would I remember I had it?"
"Is this inspiring me right now, or just taking up space?"

Why Storage Limits Help Creativity

Limits force you to choose your best materials instead of keeping everything mediocre. A painter doesn't use every color on the palette for every painting — they choose the ones that serve the vision.

Your supply storage works the same way. When you can only keep your favorites, every supply you reach for is something that genuinely excites you.

Bay Area Story: The Bead Box Revolution in San Francisco

Sandy made jewelry but had accumulated beads for fifteen years. Plastic containers filled an entire closet shelf. When she wanted to make something, she'd get overwhelmed by choices and end up not making anything.

We consolidated to three containers: one for beads she loved and used regularly, one for special occasion beads, one for basics she always needed.

"Having fewer choices made me more creative, not less," she told me. "I stopped spending time sorting through maybes and started making actual jewelry."