Can You Scrapbook If You Don’t Have Kids?

Sometimes the only reason to scrapbook seems to be to document your children’s life. In fact, scrapbookers without children often face other people’s questions, like “Why would you scrapbook? You don’t even have kids. And you’re not even married. What if you and your boyfriend break up? What will you do with the pages?” Apparently, there are still people out there who believe you can only scrapbook if you have a husband, a couple of kids, a house in the suburbs and are a stay-at-home-mom.

Let’s be very clear: Yes, you can scrapbook if you don’t have kids! Husband or no husband, children or no children, there is so much value in documenting life! Whether childless or childfree, don’t get discouraged from documenting your memories by short-sighted people.

So, what are some of the misconceptions about scrapbooking out there?

“You scrapbook for your children”

If you have kids it is, of course, important to document their early childhood en development. And as a parent, you are the one to do it! But even though you may pour your heart and soul into your favorite hobby, there is by no means any guarantee that your children will want all the rows and rows of scrapbooks you’ve created over the years. As one avid scrapper put it: “I feel like my kids don’t want to wade through book after book after book. I could be wrong, but maybe not. I do think they’ll like looking back at stuff, just not everything they ever did.”Another scrapbooker, who recently got married and became a stepmom of two stepsons, jokes with her husband that “I’m creating these elaborate scrapbooks of trips and memories that neither of his sons are going to care about when these books get handed down to them. What a way to bring me down to reality. Either way, I enjoy scrapbooking. It keeps me sane!”

This last sentence brings us neatly to the next misconception:

“There is no reason to scrapbook if you don’t have kids.”

Or, in question form: “What is the reason to scrapbook if you don’t have any children?” The answer is really pretty simple: For most of the same reasons those wíth kids choose to scrapbook! Let’s take a look at some of the possible reasons for ANYONE to scrapbook:

Scrapbooking is a wonderful creative outlet.
Even if you are not the most creative type out there, scrapbooking can help you to get those creative juices flowing. Scrapbooking is all about getting inspired to tell your story, to share your life. You don’t need to be creative or a designer to glue a photo to a page and journal about it. You just need to do it. Systems like Project Life provide an even easier and quicker format to get your life down in photos and on paper. Let yourself get inspired by your photos, by the cute supplies or by your own story and be creative, even if you don’t consider yourself a creative type of person.

Scrapbooking is a great way to reflect.
Flipping through old photos and memorabilia will bring back many memories. What a great starting point to reflect on your life, the things you have done and the people you have met! Everybody could use a little trip down memory lane every now and then. Documenting your past stories will help give you perspective on life and even think about the future.

Scrapbooking will help you focus.
Scrapbooking will help you focus, not just on your life and the stories you have to tell, but it will also help you focus on the “right here and now” as you are trying to find the best way to put those photos and stories onto paper. As one scrapbooker put it: “When I’m working on a creative project (…) I get in a zone. When I’m working on the album – choosing photos, cropping images, selecting items to tuck into the pages – I’m fully immersed in what I’m working on. I feel a sense of energized focus, in which I’m fully involved in (and enjoying!) what I’m doing. As an incessant multitasker, any activity that allows me to experience this deep sense of focus is a worthwhile pastime. When I’m deeply involved in an activity, I’m 100% in the moment — which is one of the best benefits of working on the album.” Scrapbooking can help you to stop multitasking and just be in that one moment.

Scrapbooking can give a great sense of fulfillment.
Documenting your memories, even the very recent ones, forces you to slow down a bit and really concentrate on all those things you have been doing in the past few days, weeks, months. Rather than just living your life from day to day, scrapbooking can help you to consider all the things you have done, seen and accomplished. Looking back on your adventures and accomplishments will make you realize just how much you do in a week! Don’t just gloss over life’s events, use scrapbooking to pause and take note. Really noticing your accomplishments will leave you greatly fulfilled.

Scrapbooking can give you great insights into yourself.
Tracking your activities and documenting your life will give you a lot of insight into yourself. Scrapbooking can help you to see what things are really important to you. It can also identify some areas of your life that perhaps you could focus on more. Documenting your life will help you get to know yourself better, and by knowing yourself better, you’ll be able to love yourself more. One scrapbooker put it like this: “Project Life has helped me make time to focus on me, to pay attention to the things that happen to me and the things that matter most in my life. (…) There’s something about creating your own album (…) that gives you a deeper insight into who you are and what matters most to you.”

On the surface, scrapbooking may look like just another crafty diversion, but if you look closer you’ll see all the benefits that documenting your life can bring. And these benefits are not just available to the scrapbooking moms out there, they are available to all scrapbookers, whether with or without children!

“If you don’t have kids you have nothing to scrapbook about”

It is understandable that when you are a mom, a lot of your life revolves around your children. It might even give you a skewed view of the world at large. There are so many other stories to tell! Here’s a list of what “real life” child-free or childless scrapbookers are scrapbooking about!

• Family
• Friends
• Your boyfriend, husband, relationships
• Your home (and/or past homes)
• Your job or business
• What you eat and drink
• Who you spend time with
• Your pets (yes, by all means, get those cute puppy shots documented!)
• Everyday life
• Likes and dislikes
• Travel
• Events (concerts, theatre performances etc)
• Nature
• Random musings or thoughts
• Life anecdotes
• TV shows or movies you watch
• Childhood memories
• Your scrapbooking buddies
• Your shoe collection
• The first day of snow
• Your garden
• Your first car
• Music you love
• Poems
• Heritage photos
• Your hometown
• Your hobbies
• Your coworkers
• Your weight loss journey
• Surgeries or other health issues

This is by no means a complete list, but it does show a great variety of subject to scrap about!

Document YOUR life!

What it all boils down to in the end is that scrapbooking is about embracing your personal story and documenting it in the way that you want. You are entitled to tell that story and it deserves telling. Nobody’s life is boring. There are always awesome stories to tell. And you are the best person to do it.

Scrapbooking was not made to tell stories about kids alone. It was made for you. Record your life. You’ll be glad that you did. After all, creating a scrapbook has less to do with the person you plan to hand it down to. It has everything to do with capturing and documenting those stories of your life today. Your life right now is just too great to not record.

Let’s end this article with a quote from a very enthusiastic scrapbooker. It really says it all!

“I used to think “I don’t have kids so why should I bother?” I don’t have kids and don’t plan to, but why the heck shouldn’t I still have an amazing scrapbook?! This is the most exciting time in my life! I have lost a bunch of weight, I am starting a business, I feel like I am on the edge of some fabulous years and I want to make sure I get every piece so when I’m old and crotchety I have something cool to thumb through while I sit on my porch and yell at kids in my yard.”