Decluttering Update

 

As expected, this 21-Day Decluttering challenge is taking me far more than 21 days. 

I missed a few days due to aches and pains, and also discovered that doing this according to her categories wasn't going to work well for me because I have everything everywhere in my sewing rooms.

 I started with clearing off the alleged cutting table.  I got it down to just three small piles before calling it quits one night.  The next day, I got those three piles where they belongs, then picked a box off the floor and started sorting the contents into their various homes.  This is working!  I've emptied three boxes of mixed stuff and cleared out at least 10 sq feet of carpet!  I have a large box for donations that is now half full, and can actually see most of the cutting table.  

                                                   A second load plopped onto the cutting mat.

One of the things Karen (Brown) mentions in her decluttering videos is that a sewing room works best if you have a work triangle of sewing station, ironing station and cutting station, and none of these should be more than 12' from the others. My sewing station is in a different room....soooo, once I get a little further along with putting things away I will be moving my sewing cabinet in to the north room where the cutting and ironing tables live.  I'd like to put it all in the south room because of the better lighting, but I just do not feel like moving an entire wall's worth of Elna shelves and their contents. I sew most at night anyway,

Am I thrilled with this decluttering journey?  No.  It's slow going, and I'd like it to be done now, please.

Am I satisfied with my progress?  You bet!  I've been spending at least an hour every-other day up there unearthing treasures and getting things stored in logical and tidy manners.  I've found at least 6 kits that have been "lost" in there for months and months (and years...), and two I forgot I bought.  I have a solid plan for moving forward.  It is well.

de-cluttering?

 

   This year I am taking part, again, in Just Get It Done Quilts' 21 day declutter challenge.

Now, I am fully aware that this is going to take me at least three rounds of 21 days because I've been hoarding so much crap in my sewing rooms.  There is literally not a flat surface that isn't piled with stuff...except for my sewing machine cabinet, which currently has only my machine and a few tools sitting on it. 

   I've started in the North room. My cutting table and ironing table are (allegedly) both in here along with my Cricut and my Scan n Cut and my serger and a bunch of bins of fabric. 

These were taken on Jan 29, and some progress has been made.  Not enough, but at this point any progress is a good thing.  Many of the cardboard boxes are empty, ready to hold like objects as I discover them so I can then put them where they belong- things like scissors, pins, marking pens, measuring tools and other notions. 

  You can see a glimpse of the South room through the doorway.  It's in better shape as I did quite a bit of purging in there before Halloween and haven't been up there much to mess it up again. 😼  Hubby and I moved my loom to the garage, wrapped up in moving blankets and plastic.  I still want to sell it, but nobody seems interested in buying it at the moment. 

  I still have a vision of the wall in the lower photo lined with nice white cabinets that will hold my fabric and my serger when not in use (but with a space to sew with it). I thought that might happen this year, but I needed to have a stairlift installed in able to get up to this floor. A 3 flight, heavy-duty stairlift that goes around 3 curves is surprisingly expensive. (if you're thinking about $5000, you're too low.). When I'm upstairs, the chair parks where the loom used to be, so I still don't actually have more room, it just looks more open.  

My chapter of the smocking guild has been working on a group project called "Just Pin It", which is a sampler of various smocking designs meant to be framed and used as a place to keep our convention pins and the like.  I am spectacularly behind on this project.  I think this is month four, and I'm still working on month one.  Maybe I can catch up before the meeting on Jan 12th!  (ha. fat chance)

I have the borders done and have started the bargello unit ( top center) twice.  I decided I don't like the colors I was using, so went out with a friend and we picks out new ones that I liked better but will still coordinate with the borders so that I don't have to pull those out and re-smock them.  This project was designed by Carol Kick and is available to members of The Smocking Arts Guild on their website.