I'm the neat freek in our house! Except when I'm creating a new item! Seems that when I'm cleaning my room I get more ideas on what my next project should be.

I'm like a hummingbird when I'm sewing, quilting, crafting...flit back and forth from project to project. As a result, I've got stuff strewn all over the house, multiple projects in various stages all over. I'm sure there's probably a better psychological name for this, but hummingbird just sounds so much better and so much less neurotic!!

Wow! You have the same story as my life.
My DH's neatness habits are rubbing off on me, and that's a good thing. But, I'm really getting frustrated by the mess that is made from de-cluttering and cleaning.
Good luck!

got the same kind of hubby--i found a flaw in his philosophy, though. if everything was supposed to be perfect, there would be no need for a "junk drawer", and as far as i know, everybody has one, hidden somewhere! he has a couple of them in his workshop. my philosophy is "cleanliness is next to godliness--but around here, it's next to impossible." a perfect house is one that has no soul, no activity. i'll go to my grave as the "clutter queen"--but i'll never wake up wondering what i can do, today!

Hubby and I have items all over the house. Like I told him, two slobs don't make for good housekeeping. Wish one of us was a neat freak. Instead we spend a day mad dashing around the house cleaning for company and when they are gone we can't find a thing. LOL.

I 'know', I 'know'... how he does it. If money were no object, I would hire someone to follow me all day and pick up after me... but they would have to put things in the places "I" designated OR ELSE how would I know where things are! LOL

Clutter develops wherever I am working on something that is sewing related. And, I am usually too busy trying to make a deadline to clean it up 'while' I am working on it and have to get to trying to make that next deadline to clean up from the previous project.

I like what someone said about creative people work best in clutter. I swear... I can create the coolest things in clutter and the other necessary ingredient is 'at the last minute'!!! LOL :D:D:D:D:D:D

Guys look at projects two different ways: they're either creating OR doing. The doer mode has to have everything organized. The creator type doesn't mind having stuff around, ready to grab and audition and perhaps discard.

There's also a question of project SCALE. My husband loves making miniature clipper ships and small project leather-working. All of his clipper ship stuff goes into a fishing-tackle sized storage box with drawers. The same for his leatherwork; his leather scraps occupy a large drawer he installed under his work table. His tools are on the wall. You just can't do that with sewing and quilting - even miniature quilts. There's also very little variation in supplies and requirements for his ship projects - they're all the same scale. One queen sized quilt (nicely folded) simply requires a far greater volume of material and supplies than one of his ships, and there are far more opportunities for variation in finishes: pieced or simple borders, sashing, binding, quilting thread colors, batting (one package of batting is the same size of or larger than one of his ships). My husband also does not have more than one model ship or leatherwork projects going at the same time; right now I have four lap quilts, a dress-up bridal gown & veil, and eight customized placemats in various stages of assembly to get ready for Christmas.

I clean up after the project is finished, never before. I have a sewing room but it is small so I could never imagine starting another project in a mess.... just me.

Ditto, I feel the same...well said...LOL

How funny that we quilters marry men that are neat freaks. My husband hates even leaving a toaster on the counter. Fortunately I have a sewing room which he totally avoids. But he does want me to sit and watch TV with him, so if I am in a middle of working on a project that requires hand-sewing, it usually will be left next to where I sit until the project is complete. That doesn't bother him too much. It drove him crazy when I would leave my sewing machine out before I had a sewing room. So when our daughters moved out, there was no argument over me turing one of the extra rooms into a sewing room.

I try to have controlled clutter. My husband just closes the door if I am not around. It sometimes looks like a tornado hit the room!

Tell hubby to take a pill and chill out!

He sounds like one of my quilting buddies. He keeps sticking his nose in her sewing room fussing yet she keeps it very clean.

One day while I was there sewing with her he started it up and I told him to take a pill and chill out and while he was chilling out would he show us his man cave where he keeps and plays with all his toys.

He hasn't bothered her since I said that to him.

Men need to chill out, leave us alone, and go play in there man caves so we gals can play as we see fit in our girlie caves. :-)

We must be sisters LOL. Thankfully, though my DH is not a neat freek although he does whine and complain about how can I make such a mess while I'm cleaning! After all these years, I just ignore him. He is getting tired of seeing my sewing stuff everywhere so he is talking about making a crawl space in our basement into a real room for me. I would love to have a room to myself but I'm not holding my breath. We've lived in this house almost 15 years and he's talked about making the crawl space a room before ... but I can dream.

Suzy

:) If that is true I would like you to meet the smartest person I know ME. (Just kidding) My place is so small I have to clean up after each session or we couldn't do anything. Funny post. BrendaK

Clutter....whats that???????????????? lol Honey it is everywhere I look so maybe that is the way life is ...cluttered..lol

I am working on FOUR charity quilts that have to be finished by Christmas. I TOO sometimes wonder who else is making such a mess while I am sleeping ?!?!?!?!?

OMG! I am a mess... No matter how hard i try, i look up from my project and it looks like a tornado came thru. Every time i clean, i swear i am going to be neat from now on... It hasn't happened yet:)

i dedicate one plastic bin with a lid to tidying up....at the end of a session, i scoop up the nearest stack of 'things'...put them in the bottom of the bin, stainless bowl that lives in the sewing area in next, all sharp or small pcs in the bowl, another stack from another spot, notebook in, another stack...i keep on this way, separating each stack of fabric with something hard to keep them separate... lid on, hide in some room or other, when sewing again, i unstack in the reverse order, tuck bin out of sight and go right back to work. in the middle, i am able to get at table and work area...

At the beginning of a project I start out pretty neat. Gradually things deteriorate until I finish the project (if I can hold out that long). Then I put everything away, vacuum, clean the machine etc. I really hate to spend time looking for a tool when I need it so occasionally stop and put away tools.

If you spend time cleaning up, you will have less time to sew..........thats my story..........as long as I can find things, what else matters.... I am lucky enough to have my sewing room all to myself, so no one else has to even go in there...and my hubby would never complain, as he is messier than I ever have been...I do find that, once in awhile, I just have to straighten things up, just a bit.............but not all the time, and not too much straight........

Normally, I am organized and keep things neat, but when I have a project going, I leave things where they were when I finished for the day. I don't have a dog or a cat and DH doesn't go in my studio. It's tiny, but it's mine and no one gets in there unles invited.

I clean up after each project, if not, the clutter makes it impossible to find anything.

Made myself a vow NOT to buy any more fab and then JAs had that great 25% off everying for three days and I wore myself out shopping. Now I have way too much fab and since don't have a sewing room or nook...I have a quilting house. Have run out of people to give a quilt to so now what do I do? No idea. Guess keep sewing tops and when I find a "worthy" person will get rid of one top. Issue tho is I need to sew to keep my sanity. Between my job and Mom w/alz I'd be in the nut house if I didn't sew. Hmmm...nut house..maybe that's the vacatioin I need?

Clutter
 

Cluttler. What is that? I have a room designated as a sewing room/tv room. I can spend hours picking up, separating and organizing, then when I come back in after leaving for a while, it's like eveything is everywhere again. Maybe it's not meant to be organized. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have to search for something when I start working on a project. Thank goodness I have a door I can close so no one else sees my mess.

Thanks everyone, I thought I was the only one that has the clutter issue. I do not have a sewing room so I have taken over my sons old bedroom, which is now the spare room. My stuff is all over and whenever some one comes to stay I really have a chore to do putting everything up. I also use the kitchen table to cut material and for sewing and everything stays out while I am doing a project. Unless I am having company or a big dinner such as Thanksgiving!

Trust me I think we're all there with you my quilting is all over the living room and dining room it's the space I work in, when company is coming over I stack it in one spot the moment they leave it goes back to look like chaos again lol. My husband was a neat freak but he's learned to live with it, I told him don't complain I don't go in your office or work area downstairs lol.

Oh, yes, I have a mess when working on a project. It was always understood, from "day one" , NOBODY touches my stuff in progress, DH is very organized, but realizes I can't work, if I have to pick up every thread etc, as I work. We had LONG conversation about that 45 years ago, and I just close my studio door and the hand work that I do in family area is kept in a nice sewing basket. Its understood if there is a stray thread or shard of fabric that follows me out of my studio, anyone who sees it, PICKS IT UP, without gr-umping. The old adage if Momma is not happy--Nobody is happy, reins here. grin.

I am right there with you!

Oh yeah, I hear ya! If I could change one thing about myself, it would be that I would be more organized and neater. It would save time in the long wrong...all the time I spend looking for scissors, rulers, etc....but I do keep trying, really I do. There is just so much stuff required when quilting, so many gadgets and rulers and on and on .... that is what I want for Christmas this year, to be an organized person...Santa, are you listening????
Michelle

I "stage" mine before I leave- neatly stack the WIP, put all tools away, run the lint roller over the floor. That way if I am away from it for a while, I can find everything just where it belongs. Ask me why I do this.......:) I am not anal, just got tired of searching for things!!!

Yes, my sewing room does look like a tornado went through there - I have all my fabric on foam storage boards but no shelves to store them so I sort of pile them on top of each other - of course when I am looking for fabric - I have to dig through the whole pile.
Hubby and I have an understanding - I don't go into his workshop and complain about his lack of organization and he does not come into my sewing room and do the same - works for us.

MIne is a total mess right now! I have been working on too many projects here and there, and it looks like a tornado hit it! Well maybe not that bad. Add the fact that I have Christmas stuff, wrapping, boxes,decorations, my shopping items from the weekend shoved in there also. I usually try to keep it picked up and somewhat organized. Love the fact I have a door, just close it and leave it. My dh never says anything when he walks thru it to get to his den. Good thing to :)

Nope, no cleaning up here while working on a project. My hubby is a major neat freak too. Thank God my sewing/computer room is ina separate room or he would be pitching stuff out!

I like the way you think! Mind if I adopt "hummingbird as my new mascot" - besides they are cute.

I am there -- and now I am trying to find some Christmas gifts I hid in the sewing room before I moved stuff into it. Sigh!! I want to sew but need to clean -- ugh!!!!

Ha Ha. Yes, my husband is a very tidy person. He stands at the door of my sewing room and takes it all in for a long time - he just doesn't understand how I can make such a mess. I find it quite easy - lol.

I love the "messy, busy look". There is a place for everything, and something else is always in that place! LOL

Both DH and I are neat freaks. I straighten my sewing room every day and put everything away. Whatever the current project I leave it on my cutting table, but everything else is put away. I can't work in my sewing room if it's messy.

I'm the same way, but it doesn't bother me, or my dh, because he doesn't come down to my sewing room.

I clean my sewing room only when it is driving me crazy :)