Why I'm Decluttering...Again

It’s amazing how the clutter gets into our homes. For the past 7 weeks, while my 10-month-old puppy Mando has been mending, I have had 49 days of reflection on all the extra stuff in my home and sewing space. So, this year's declutter challenge could have not come at a better time.

I have spent many hours looking at my room. Truly, I am very happy with my sewing triangle and my organizational zones. This past year I have made 17 new quilts projects and completed 12 old ones. By making the workflow easy, quilting has provided me with so much joy and re-energized my spirits.

But I have not been successful in keeping my counters clear. They have become a dumping ground for everything that comes in, and it drives me crazy thinking about how much more useful this area could be if I maintained it.

Last week I finally dug out my #100day100blocks to figure out which blocks were missing. I had so much fun mixing and matching blocks for the layout and playing with amazing fabrics in the colours that I love. During the process, I wondered if I would have returned to it sooner if it hadn’t been buried under a pile of fabric and quilts.

This is truly the root of my current problem. Stopping the influx of goods into my sewing space. A month ago, if you had asked me , I honestly had thought that this year I had I done a pretty good job of not purchasing too much. Though I was sorely tempted many times, no fat-quarter or ½ yard bundles ended up in my shopping cart. But it appears, plenty of other fabrics did. And of course, I needed supplies for longarming too, like thread and widebacks. So, for next year, changes will need to be made.

Inspired by a friend of mine, I did try to keep track of my outgoing and incoming fabric, but it was too vague, and I lost track numerous times. So, I am working on a new bullet journal page to do a better job of managing my fabrics. I’m not sure at this point if I want 2022 to be fabric neutral or to reduce… I think I’m beginning to twitch.

And there is a pile of fabric kits I organized nicely at the beginning of last year and I didn’t touch one of them again. And the rulers I thought that I might use. And the patterns I kept, just in case. And etc.

If this strikes a chord with you, and you want to join me in the 2022 Declutter Challenge, you can sign up here. It’s 21 days of taking back your space 15 minutes at a time. So, you can get back to creating quilts that you want to make.