QuiltnLady1

I am in the middle of downsizing right now. We just moved out of a 4000 sq foot house with LOTS of storage and we are remodeling our new 1500 sq foot house. Sigh... We had a lot of art and I have a huge stash. We have 3 bedrooms but no office or other space and not much storage. We decided not to have a spare bedroom so both DH and I could have our own rooms. We marked the furniture and pictures that we decided we could not live without, invited our family to lay claim to what they wanted and planned to have an estate sale. The family took so much that we did not need the estate sale. A couple of Goodwill runs got rid of most of what we did not want to keep and we had the rest put into storage. I did not get rid of much fabric -- we really did not have enough time for me to go through it. I will do that when I unpack. Hopefully everything makes it through storage. The pleasure I have is visiting the various family members and seeing the pictures and furniture that they took in their homes -- I smile when I see them. When we move in we may have to still get rid of things, but we will make those decisions later. Hope we don't have too many regrets.

mhollifiel

The matter of Christmas decorating items is an area where I purged everything. It is much easier and better all round for us to go where the children are for holidays. We don't have room for everyone here and they'd have to travel a distance and overnight at a hotel. No decorating for me! More time to quilt and do the Bonnie Hunter annual mystery if I choose.

What's up at church and in town does the job of putting us in the holiday spirit just fine. And someone else has the job of putting it out and packing it up every year - not ME. LOL! If I feel the need to have something in the house, I'll buy a single poinsettia. That's inexpensive, easy to dispose of and is fresh and nice during the season. My mother hired someone to come in and decorate and then "un-decorate" every year. In my mind that's fabric money!

gigigray032447

Last summer we bought what we hope is our last house. For months I gathered up all the old family pieces/mementos that are part of my children's heritage and told them they needed to pick up their stuff before the move date. I went through everything in my house and gave to the thrift store or to someone who needed the things I didn't. Some things went to the landfill free corner, some things went to the street for pick up, and I brought with me only the things I really wanted. And I wanted all my fabric. The wonderful thing is that we didn't have time to put up shelving in the sewing room until this past winter. For months I sewed scrappy quilts, or unfinished projects, or fat quarter projects rather than opening boxes. Now, I have fabric only and not those pesky ufo's. And I love it.

gigigray032447

By the way, we moved all our furniture to the new house.. As we moved in, it quickly became apparent what pieces wouldn't work. Between our three kids, they took every piece that we couldn't use.

Mousie

I'm all about the downsizing these days!
I can't believe getting rid of stuff is as much fun as I used to
have when I got new acquirements.
The size of my cracker box house is growing and I am one
happy little mousie
I haven't downsized much fabric though.
I'm probably going to sell some of it.
I would do it on here if I knew how.
Some body or bodies would get super good deals, bc I am
trying to do the same as y'all...keep what I love and purge
what I can live without.

Mousie

SO DO I

Mousie

Hello, my nick is mousie and I "buy emotionally".
I am much, much better now, and to be quite honest, I switched from buying
tons of fabric to over eating! grr!
It was cheaper and when it was past the tongue it was gone...
didn't take up um, well...space ~sigh~
Anyway, this is why I love the book mentioned about by Don Aslett.
He doesn't just tell you how to clean or organize your house.
He tells you WHY it got so cluttered and full in the first place.
I had/have issues, but I am overcoming so many now.
This lady completely purged and then became overwhelmed and she
is coping with the anxiety by buying every fabric in sight.
First, I was buying fabrics like that for when my husband retired and
I might not be able to spend $$$ on fabric.
Also, had this notion that i was going to make and sell stuff...too
many health issues for that.
I amassed such an embarrassing amount of stuff, it was, afterall
the first time in my life I had ever "let go" and spent on things bc
I just wanted them.
My excuses were they were for other ppl, and that's true.
I surpassed that amount a long time ago.
Like-how many relatives and friends do i have? all the way back to
Adam and Eve?
This lady would do herself a favor before she gets really depressed
about her spending like I did, and get to the root of why she needs
to shop like that. I wish her luck.

Luv Quilts and Cats

I had to downsize from a 2 bedroom apartment in a house built in the 1870's to the two upstairs bedrooms of a cape. I moved back in with my parents to help them and to save money. I had just started to get into quilting but I had the 2nd bedroom of the apartment as my quilt room. I regret the move still. I had to give up my beautiful brass queen-size bed for a day bed to have more room. Now I do love the day bed but look forward to the day when I can get a larger one. I kept all my fabric. I had a folding cutting table with I sold to a friend who was setting up her own quilt room so I knew it would be used. I do wish I hadn't sold it though. Now, the larger of the two rooms is my sitting/living area. The smaller room is my bedroom. I missed my sewing room so much that I am again reorganizing and downsizing so I can make the smaller bedroom my sewing room and move my daybed into the bigger room. This will make me tons happier. I do miss a nice tall wall where I can hang my design wall. Only 1 wall in the two rooms I am in is large enough but with sloped ceilings in each room it cuts the space. But I will make do. I did the three pile de-clutter, keep, donate, trash and it worked. Just realize that you will come across items that are sentimental and you have to decide whether or not to keep them. It's a question only you can decide. I also used the 3-year rule, if I haven't used it in 3 years donate or trash. Worked great for my clothes closet and other rooms. Just couldn't apply it to my quilting/cross-sticth stash. Oh well, no one is perfect!

After I moved back to the house, I decided I didn't want to quilt anymore! I KNOW, HOW SILLY!!!! I held a fabric sale and told my quilting friends to come by. I think God was with my that day, no one bought much, and I only regret selling one fabric. My friends all laughed and said nobody quits quilting until they are dead!!!! The laugh was on me. A couple of months later I found a place with and open sew on Saturday afternoons and POOF! I was back into quilting and have not left since! I know when I am beaten! LOL!

Mousie

post #67 was supposed to have a quote, but it didn't show up...

ptquilts

well, a month after moving and getting rid of most of my stuff, the two things I find I am wishing I kept - my set of custard cups and a sturdy scrub brush. Time to hit the Dollar Store!!

All the "sentimental" things I thought I might miss, I haven't given them a thought.