Let’s face it – these days, we are all busybusybusy. Soccer practice and dance recitals and church and work and dinner and playdates and game night and on and on and on! Taking time to MAKE something? Ain’t nobody got time for that! Not to mention how easy it is to just run out and buy stuff instead of taking time in our busy schedules to create. It feels like it’s just not worth the time and effort.
But I want to convince you that creating is an important part of our lives, that you do have time, that you should make the time.
That it’s totally worth your time.
1. Creating things is a valuable learning experience – When you create something, not only do you gain a new skill, or strengthen a skill you have, but you learn about yourself! You learn patience…or you learn how little you actually have. You learn to persevere when things aren’t going exactly as planned. I certainly learned a lot about myself when I ripped that zipper out of that dress for that third time! Painting a piece of furniture, trying out a new recipe, or creating a piece of art brings out the best in us, and shows us things about ourselves that we never would have known if we hadn’t tried to create.
2. Creating things is useful – We all need stuff, right? We need clothes, we need shelter, we need food. Of course, we can just go out and buy all of those things. But I think deep down, we all have a desire to provide for ourselves, to be able to create things to make our own lives, and the lives of those around us better. And often times, the things that we put our heart and soul into are simply better quality than what we can run out and grab at the closest mega discount super save mart, which makes them even more useful in the long run. Which leads us into number 3….
3. Creating things helps us break the cycle of consumerism – Women used to have three or four dresses, tops. Granted, materials were much more expensive, and time was more limited (Gotta milk those cows!). Today, the average woman purchases about 60 new items of clothing a year. That’s more than one item a week! And I am certainly not exempt from those statistics…especially during an Old navy clearance blowout sale. We live in a sort of disposable culture, where we get bored with our clothes, or our home, very quickly. And now it’s so cheap and easy to replace the stuff we are bored with. But when we make the effort to create things we love, we are much less likely to get bored and replace them. I have a lots of stuff around my house that I wouldn’t really be sad to see go, but there’s no freaking way I would ever get rid of my Faerie Tree. The same goes for my handmade clothing. That Old Navy clearance blowout becomes less tempting if I have a few things that I truly love.
4. Creating things allows us to be totally unique – Have you ever seen something in a store and thought, “That’s perfect, except…” When you create, you get something that’s totally you. I love those “House Rules” signs at Hobby Lobby, but how much cooler would it be if I could make a sign like that that’s perfectly tailored to my family, with just our “House Rules?” When you make pillows for your couch, you can choose the color, pattern, shape…the possibilities are sort of endless! You are a unique individual – you shouldn’t be limited by what you can buy in a store.
5. Creating things brings such an awesome sense of satisfaction – When my niece Abby was 3 she used to say all the time in the cutest voice “Yeah, I did dit!” with such pride. Remember that feeling? It sure was a great one! being creative takes time, energy, and it can be so frustrating. There can be tears and cursing (Me? Noooo never) But in the end you have something that’s totally yours. No one else could make it quite like you! What you’ve created bears your heart and soul and fingerprints, and people, that sure is something to be proud of!
Are you convinced? I hope you are. Junk in the Trunk Vintage Market exists because of people who are passionate about creativity!
Happy CREATING!
