Tackling The Sewing Room

Yesterday was another sunny day with a high of 13.5C. This morning it is partly cloudy and 5C. It is to be mainly cloudy with a high of 9C. 

Lifestyle

I was in a bit of a funk yesterday and it has been building up for a few days. It has been coming on as it is spring and I loved doing things outside with the Spousal Unit. It is partly because I have been tired with the pain from my hip and knee. And finally I have been unhappy working in the family and sewing room. Both are getting too messy for me. I needed to deal with it. Which I did. More on that in a moment. 

I did get outside for a bit yesterday and decided to pull the edging up from the road side of the hedge. I got 10 pieces pulled and into the shed. I also did some hand weeding as I went along. My next job is to remove the plastic spikes from the edging and stack them. In the evening my neighbour came over and we finalized what is going to be done under the deck. He and his sons will be helping me one weekend in May. 

I had a fabulous dinner at family's. Smoked baby back ribs and they were tender and tasty. Daughter-in-law did a fabulous job of smoking them. 

Sewing Room

After sitting for a few minutes in the morning, I decided to start cleaning the sewing room. It has been stressing me out as I know I am at that point where I will stop sewing due to the mess. I have hit my clutter threshold in that room (and the family room). It was time to set aside all other projects and tackle the room. 

I grabbed my cleaner, cleaning cloths, and a garbage bag and decided to deal with it. Like one lady on YouTube, I was peeling away the clutter. It was going to be a deep declutter. 

As usual, I started at the little work table and went through everything. Binders, books, and baskets. I was ruthless in what I tossed. I also found a new blade for my rotary cutter. When the table was done and wiped, I did the top of the box my sewing machine came in. Again I was ruthless. What I kept I will use. 

Next up was the corner desk. I went through it and tossed some items I didn't need. The rest was organized and one item will go into the garage sale. I wiped it down along with the chair. 

Next up was the closet. I knew I had to sort fast to get through it. It wasn't a case of mulling over what I had and deciding if I will use it again. I actually was ruthless in that area. Every bin was gone through. I bagged up ribbons, beads, trims, and much more. The Japanese fabric weaving kit is leaving the house. I will sell it. The pleater is going to be sold. Fabric was found and some was put into a pile for the thrift store. Some was going to a friend or a quilting group. The doll's fabric tubs are lighter. The floor was swept and everything was put away. There is empty space on the shelf. 

I sorted the fabric for quilts in the small plastic drawers. I looked at the cardinal fabrics I have and decided to make cushion covers to sell. I retrieved 2 cushion forms from the donate pile and have the zippers, etc for them. A quick sew for me. Once that was done, it was on to the fabric stash. I grabbed a chair and went at it. 

The stash was messy but it had fabric in it I wasn't going to sew. I put it into donate, to my friend, and to the quilting group. I worked fast. Fabrics were folded and put back on the shelves. I know I will sew them up over the next two to three years. As I put aside fabric I didn't want and folded up what I wanted, I could feel my creativity coming back. 

At this point, I had to have lunch and prep for a meeting at the bank. The cutting table is one big mess. 

It will get worse before it gets better. It needs to be sorted and dealt with. The chair is full of items to be sold or donated. 

The big pillow won't be going as I have a cover for it. I need to get fabric for the backing and trim for it. There are two piles of fabric on the floor which need to be bagged to take to the thrift shop. 

Have I reduced my clutter threshold to where I feel happier? Yes to the areas I worked on. I could feel a calmness coming over me as I worked in those areas and let go of items that have been sitting stagnant for years. Have I peel off the last layer of clutter? Probably not. I will evaluate what I have again in late December and do another big clean up then. 

I did take the fabrics set aside for my friend and the quilting group over to my friend last night. She had a wonderful time looking at the fabrics taking what she wanted and putting what she didn't want into the quilting group's bag. I know the fabrics she kept will be used in the wall hangings she makes. 

What did I take away from yesterday's session.

    I have a lot of supplies and don't need to buy a lot in the future. There will be some purchases to finish projects. But, I won't be buying new projects for quite a while unless it is for something I will make immediately. 

    Though I have been careful to tidy up, clutter does emerge over time. I need to remember to spend a couple of days every few months doing a clean up. I loose my creativity when the room gets messy. I also need to remember to use what I have and not stock pile things as I can buy them as I need them. 

    Are subscriptions to things like Sewing With Cinnamon (SWC) clutter? I am working through that at the moment. What I am finding is that I don't have the time to sew the doll clothes I want to. There is always a labour intensive project to work on through SWC. What is good -- I can cancel at the end of the year knowing I will have learned a lot and can rejoin when I am ready to do it again. At this time, my sewing doesn't evolve around the dolls like it use to. The other thing is I am not sewing the patterns like I have and want to sew.

Today

My goal is to continue decluttering and cleaning the sewing room. I am thinking of starting with the cutting table as it is the biggest mess. Then on to the rest of the room. I have to be out to help serve dinner at the community hall at 4 pm. I will need to eat before I go. It will be a late night for me so no knitting tonight. 

Until the next time..........................................................