Words of wisdom for papercrafting...I am guilty of this...

Sometimes it helps to rephrase "cleaning up" as "maintaining your investment".

Because that's what supplies and tools are; an investment in your future joy and hobby time. Mid-craft everyone's workspaces tend to be disasters. That's just the nature of papercrafting. What I've found helped me was as soon as I can't find X (my scissors, my tweezers, my wax-picker-upper stick, w/e) I'll tidy until I find it. Then go back to working. Makes for less cleanup at the very end. Alternatively put on a timer for 30-60 minutes and when it goes off, get up, stretch, and spend 2-5 minutes tidying.

Cleaning up is an act of care for both your supplies and your future self. It's so much nicer to come into a tidy space that's ready to work vs. a disaster where there's a half-hour of chores before you can even begin but you're feeling creative now.

Another thing to consider is are you falling into the "Martha Stewart House" trap? By that I mean are you trying to organize your space like what you see in craft magazines, from influencers and videos? Because while that looks gorgeous, it's often not very practical. It's a TV set, an advertisement, maybe even a lie. Yes, it's possible with enough time and money to have exactly that, but unless you're wealthy and retired it'll probably eat up all your free time just in maintenance unless you have a housekeeper or personal craft assistant!

My #1 piece of advice is always remove as many barriers between yourself and your craft as you can. That means making your space functional and accessible and easy to tidy, not worthy of a magazine spread. Sure that custom pegboard or cabinet looks nice, but does it really beat having a can of your most used tools right on the desk? 9/10 times, it does not. It sounds silly but over-organizing can lead to more mess just as surely as no organization can. If you have to get up, go to the closet, find a stepstool, take down several boxes, pull out your die cutting machine, put the other boxes back, take it over to a workspace, clear off a bunch of other things, unpack it, and do it all again to put it away, your motivation to clean up is going to tank.

Sometimes this can be as simple as moving the trash bin closer (but not too close!) so you don't have to get up to drop something in it. Or having an open shelf that serves as marker/ink storage but can easily be reached while working vs. having to open a drawer, shuffle some containers, take out the whole set and find what you wanted. Count the steps you have to take when doing any given task and see if you can shorten them.

I have never had a space large enough or solely dedicated to only crafting to have the ability to leave things out. I have always just barely had space for a 12x12 layout (one more reason why I switched to smaller formats), so sheer necessity made me put things away as I worked.

In fact it's always been far more likely for me to have to clear my space of work or household related paperwork in order to have a spot to craft instead.

I think the worst habit I have regarding this is not replacing the lid or the pin to seal the liquid glue. I get mad at myself. Make big promises to the glue bottle, and to myself. And then the next time I need detail glue, the nozzle is clogged up tight. Again!!!

I like the idea of a timer... I set mine to 45 mins and then I get up stretch... wander the house... get some more water or whatever... maybe take a little walk to the end of our driveway...

I do that with all my hobbies... scrapping, diamond art and bead embroidery.... if i dont set a timer i will be sitting for wayyyy tooo long and then my back and butt will start to hurt... i need to make myself get up and do something different for a bit... cleaning up whatever i am working on is easier to do during that break time...

I can't leave a mess when I am done for a scrapping session. It makes me crazy.

BUT, at this moment I have too many things piles on a table behind my desk and under the table. I need to find better homes for that stuff!

I just finished watching a YT'r doing 10 videos about cleaning up her scrap room. Granted, she videos a ton of stuff, has a busy life, etc, but she had mounds and mounds of stuff and her floor was filled with stuff as well. I enjoy watching a good clean up and watched her as I scrapped. I think it is a lot in your personality as well. Mounds bother me. Clutter from one project out on my desk doesn't bother me at all. I guess we all have our limits. I always clean up after a layout, but I also have one box of stuff that I allow myself to be an area to toss things. When it is full, or when it bothers me, everything goes into its place. It is usually nw stuff that hasn't been through "the processing" of my room. I am super organized by nature. I taught for 30 years and needed my stuff to be neat and tidy by the end of each day. Each student had a job throughout the day and every admin that was in my room commented on how much help the kids were. Maybe we all need a classroom of kids to come through each night and tidy for us.

i once saw a video of a military officer who said you should always make your bed when you get up.  if you get nothing else done for the rest of the day, at least you will come home to a made bed to slip into. that always stuck with me.

i guess there's no predicting how we will come out of our childhoods.  my mom got us into this mind set not because she was a neatnik. i think she did it to teach us skills for when we were no longer living at home. we know how to clean, dust, do laundry, handwash and put away dishes, regularly and in a timely manner.    i think she dreaded the thought of us living in clutter and not knowing how to do anything about it. for some people, company ready is too sterile and it stresses them out.  for me, it's a sense of order and i find comfort in that.