learning to be more selective
 

I am finally learning to be more selective about what I bring my home.

And more selective about what to keep and what to let go.

With more awareness and knowledge of what products work for me, I am slowly getting rid of the ones that I don't like or don't work well for me.

Also, space is a factor - only so much fits - even though my husband is such a good packer, he can get 9 cubic feet of stuff packed into 8 cubic feet of space - I would just as soon NOT have him doing the packing for my stuff! Besides, I want to be able to retrieve it again!

lol bear....My hubby moved my daughter across the country and her husband could NOT BELIEVE how tightly packed everything was. It was a Chinese JigSaw puzzle for certain.

We only let him do that occasionally. Takes forever, and we never can find pieces of items because he may have "moved" them to gain better use of space. My daughter said she found some of her underwear around the boxes of spare lightbulbs for Pete's sakes! LOL

My hubs is NOT good at packing. Maybe because he was on a ship and I was the one dealing with movers and packers.

I, too, have figured out what to keep and what to let someone else have. Right now I have a big bag ready to go to the next guild meeting and put the unwanted items on the grab table. If I haven't used it for awhile, it's time to get rid of it. I will be happier when I can move around and find things more easily.

I see that the title to this thread has been changed. I don't see any "edit" comment on it, though!

When it's time to move I'll have no problem getting rid of everything except most of my sewing stuff. And I've gotten selective too about bringing in any non-sewing/quilting items.

Nine years ago I moved 6,000 lbs. of my belongings from California to Maine...in preparation of a new sewing room addition over our two car garage (hopefully starting after the first of the year) I spent two weekends weeding through boxes and boxes of my treasures (along with many boxes that my husband also moved from his old farmhouse).

In going through the items, I have no idea why I thought I needed most of the things in the first place...but I am excited that I will eventually have room for a long arm when we finish the room.

Funny, l've gone a bit the ''other'' way,lol. l used to have a very narrow criteria for fabrics that l would purchase( hey, we're on a budget...no spending on weird things, right?) BUT, then l once joined a fat quarter swap...weird stuff showed up. Then l took part in a row by row quilt with 8 others...wow! whata variety of techniques & colour pallets! So some of my ''weird'' stash really fit in. l learned to stretch my self ( quilting wise). l now make more fun and whimsical things..anything goes. Purple dogs, checkered trucks...my grandkids and l'm sure the young hospital patients the project Linus supplies, all love it!

Funny, thought provoking topic. I too have moved a few times in the last few years. A couple of times, only what would fit in my car. So, yes, I too am very selective about what goes into my house. I'm a believer of moving things on that haven't been touched in a long time or a "what was I thinking". Or, I truly enjoyed it and it's time to share it with someone else. It makes more room for things that I truly love having around me. And I don't store things for a better time. I have it on display and it makes me smile. (Exceptions, would be holiday items. And even those are down to a minimum!

A friend once said to me: "Don't buy it if you don't LOVE it." I try to follow that advice when buying ANYTHING. Same could be true for keeping and throwing. Thanks for the reminder to "only take what you can eat" and only buy what you need and will (not COULD) use.

Thanks, llong0233.
This is eactly what I needed to hear today to get me back on track. I started to go through my quilt books........
My favorite quilt books are about history, collections, etc. Those will be retained. The majority of the other pattern/ techniques I have outgrown or lost interest in will be donated! The exception, an applique book, will stay as my next project will be self taught. I will keep/ buy only those things I will use! My new motto: will I use it????