Repurposing Joy: Five Dollars + Five Minutes = Infinite (& Priceless) Creative Happiness

Posted on the 29 March 2014 by Juliejordanscott @juliejordanscot
For only $5 + a little ingenuity, recycled paint and a bunch of unfinished projects seeking my attention, I have created boundless joy

Don’t you love finishing a project faster than a speeding bullet?

Well, I will confess, I don’t complete things as fast as any superhero might, but I do love when I can get a job finished and when my time is spent well, I am a very happy Julie-of-many-trades.

I found a secret to doing this, too.

Every day when I get back from my Morning Momschlep (for you it might be running errands or working out or coming home from work) I go to my stash of stuff and I create for a maximum of five minutes. This is not, I repeat, this is not on my computer or my smart phone.

Sending out an Instagram photo of myself walking through the door doesn’t count!

This has worked so effectively for me I even repurposed an old Encyclopedia Set Shelf I got for five dollars at a yard sale into a “What’s Next Creative Staging Station.”

Another secret about the Staging Station is this: it is purposefully undone.

Did you know the United Nations General Assembly meeting room is also purposefully not finished?

The work of peace and the work of a Mom-Artist-Entrepreneur-Writer-LifeCoach-Speaker is never finished. I actually like it that way. The staging station with its slightly geeky, definitely gawky “What’s next” stamped on the top shelf just reminds me I can pick up one of these in process pieces and make exceptional happy progress in five minutes or less.

I know within a day or two or even in that five minutes I can do a victory lap.

This just feels so good!

It only cost me $5, some recycled paint and a decade or so of hit-and-miss to make this fabulous discovery! Aren’t you glad I’m here to lessen the learning curve for you?

There isn’t a secret combination to put in your Creative Staging Station - in fact, I know I will mix stuff around. The important thing is to have a variety of choices and be sure all you need to work is close by so you can just grab grab and go.

I made what you see below on Tuesday.

I made progress on this today. It’s a kitchen cabinet door I am repurposing into a lap desk.

Watch for that blog next week.

For now - what piece of inexpensive shelving do you have sitting around that you don’t use that you could repurpose into a What’s Next Creative Staging Station?

I can’t wait to see what you come up with next!

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 Julie Jordan Scott is a writer, creative life coach, speaker, performance poet, Mommy and mixed-media artist. Watch for announcements here about upcoming Writing Camp programs: both virtual and in your community! Check out the links below to follow her on a bunch of different social media channels, especially if you find the idea of a Word-Love Party bus particularly enticing.

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