Declutter Challenge 2026 - Day 6 - Archives

Karen
1 day ago
2 min read

In the previous days, we have been talking about shelf space, or overall capacity. Shelf space is valuable. They give us easy access to items we use fairly often, and the aim is to remove those items that are not used.

Decluttering is not about getting rid of everything. It’s about getting rid of items that don’t serve you. Things that tie you to a past at the expense of a future.

Part 1

Today's category is about ARCHIVES the tokens and memories of your quilting. And it’s not so much about removing them as it is moving them to a location that’s not prime real estate in your sewing room.

Memories are valuable. They give us pleasure and validation of our journey as a quilter.

What counts as an archive?

Your archives might include:

Quilt journals or planners
Notes written on patterns
Fabric swatches clipped from finished quilts
Workshop handouts
Quilt show programs
Road trip souvenirs
Photos or sketches
Diagrams, calculations, and layout plans

So this is the day not only to gather up the memories of the quilts that you have made this year, but you can also bring out the archive from the previous years and go down memory lane. And ask yourself:

What do I need to keep to hold onto this memory?

Part 2

If you are unlikely to make the quilt again, pass the pattern on and keep only the necessary amount of the pattern to trigger the memory you want to have.

Is it a picture, swatches of the fabrics or the notes that you made? I like to keep my hand-drawn diagrams.

Now you may find other tokens in your room that have nothing to do with quilting. If you don’t already have a treasure box, make one for all those memories. It doesn’t need to make any sense to anyone but you. These are your tokens.

Now, decide where your archives will live. These are your memories. They deserve care—just not prime workspace. They should be:

Safe
Accessible when you want them
Out of the way of tools and materials you’ll use regularly

Here are two videos I recommend for today.

If you'd like to watch previous videos in this series, click here.

I hope you had as much fun as I did today going through old memories. And adding to the pile. Remember to post your photos in our Facebook group and Instagram with the hashtag #declutterchallenge2026.

See you tomorrow for Day 7.

Take Care