Utter Clutter makes me Mutter!
 

I'm so disgusted with the condition of overwhelm in my sewing room. When it's tidy, it's picture worthy and inspiring, but it seldom stays that way. I have too much stuff and I'm ready to give up quilting.

Not really.

But tonight I did consider that for a few minutes. One thing's for sure: January of 2019 is gonna have a big theme: Purge. With a capital P.

I think you must have been reading my mind. My sewing room is so out of control it is cringe worthy. My plan is to take my main machine in for it's yearly service and clean and organize while it is gone.

I'm guilty of being a clutter type person too. Not a hoarder. and I clean regularly, but seem to neglect the throw out, give away chores. Putting things in their proper place isn't my first priority. Always feels so good when I do. Hope to be retired in the near future, and those neglected duties will be my "job" for the foreseeable future!

I get that way too. Right now I have too many patterns printed to do at a later time. I did make a break thru about the middle of this year and finally got rid of most of my prints left over from quilts. I decided I don't really like prints mixed together and if I had already made a quilt out of the set of prints, I had used them enough. The bits and pieces and sometimes yardage went to the Quilt Guild free table. Larger sets went to Community Quilts at the Guild. After 6 months, I haven't missed a thing. But that doesn't apply to my batiks and 30's fabrics.

I also come to this conclusion a few months back.....have sold off what I could live without. Yes, I bought some new fabric too. But I've also gone in a new direction of making Project Linus quilts and table runners and toppers as they are smaller and quicker to finish. This fall I'll do a couple of shows and sell some of the runners/toppers....otherwise everyone is getting them for Christmas in 2019....LOL

I'm on the yellow bus with all of you too. Yellow for caution please. I move projects from one pile to another as priorities change depending on time limits. I managed to finish the EMB reading pillow for grandson just in time.

At least the iron is shut off and the rotary cutter is closed.

I declutter every January and put my scraps in order. I have decided to donate the scraps left over from last year before I organize the ones from this year. Next, I will attempt to organize scraps as soon as I finish a quilt so next January I can just sew and enjoy my hobby. My stash is large but I love it and would go buy more today if one of my cronies calls. I am trying to be good but I am sure you know how it is! Merry Christmas!��

I also organize my sewing studio each January...I make a list of the few UFO’s I have and set goals for 2019. Since I have a dedicated room and it’s just me...it doesn’t get too unruly. I made note of a suggestion that Rob posted a little while back...now as I come across fabric that I no longer want or need, it goes in a box or bag to get donated.

Zozee- I cleaned up my shelves and didn't realize how much fabric I have. Next year I have a goal to use it and stop buying so much.
My room is a disaster and my sweet DIL will be here for the holidays. I want to be able to sew with her so I'm going to get cracking, hopefully today.
It's too much!!!! Story of my life.
I've done a great job purging a lot of my house but this room is a bugger!

For a reward I'm getting gel nails tomorrow :)
My husband purged the garage so tomorrow he's getting a pedi !!! :)

Here's my pennies worth....I finally got my playroom fixed to where I think I will be happy where things are(for now anyway....next week----who knows!) For the last 6-8 mos. I have been diligently putting away anything I use once I've finished using it!!! You know, who knew the words 'if you take something out put it back where you got if from' would come to haunt me worse than 'Grimm'!!!!! moreover.....IT WORKS!!! My room stays so much more organized!That is my only best suggestion I can offer-but it does work. And now I enjoy being in my room more!!

Sew Freak, you are so right. This year I made a lot of quilts but failed to clean up between each project. Major mess!

I’m with y’all- seems like I go through periods where I’m good about putting things away and then, next thing I know, it’s all pulled out again and covering every horizontal surface. :shock:

Guess I’ll keep plugging away with my year round mini-purges...and trying to revamp my storage system. Right now I’ve got a system that works but it requires me getting down on my hands and knees to pull my thread storage bins out from under my Sweet16 table. and I am quickly getting to where My fabric storage system needs some tweaking as I work through some parts of my stash. And Since I have come to the conclusion that I will always have UFOs and multiple works in process I am toying with the idea of devoting a single area to UFO/WIP storage rather than trying to keep them separate- that way I can feel like there is a place to put my WIPS rather than having them strewn all over my studio...

Rob

I am holding out for a larger room! I have to do most of my cutting at UFO's; fortunately, I have one every week plus a sew day. It is not an ideal arrangement, but I am able to make it work. I do have two machines setup for use.

My problem is getting interrupted by outside forces...yeah when farmer MrOk comes inside and needs something, etc...then I leave my room as is as I see what he wants. Or when Grands drop in..I'm waiting for the day when life slows down! but we can at least try in the interim.

I purged big time, and called the City Mission truck for a pickup.
There's still so much! Even with good organization I could not move in my sewing rooms.

Our area has healthy LQS and I'm taking credit for part of it!

I'm a visual person, so need to have things visible. So, it's hard to tuck things away in a corner...I'll forget about them!
I do usually clean up stuff and dispense of left-overs once I'm done with a project. Scraps are cut into usable pieces or put with the original fabric. Smaller than 2" gets sub-cut into stuffing for dog beds. I've always got a collapsible hamper bin thingie that collects the scraps. When it gets full......a dog bed is made. I vacuum almost every day in my sewing room.....the work surface, the carpet, the ironing board and my design board......the most vacuumed room in the house! Do you think that our sewing rooms get so "dusty" because of all the fabric and batting and stuff going on in there? If you sew in a dining room or other living area, do you find that it gets dustier? I'm thinking that's why my house has so much dust.....and I'm sticking with that!

If you are thinking of getting rid of some things, there probably are a few on this very board who could use it. I sent a box out to someone just two days ago.

I have been on a down-sizing mode for a couple of years. It is only this month that I figured out how to open up the space in my sewing room. My tools are in the appropriate drawers and books are in the bookcase. I've taken down the tv tables (yes, plural) and removed all stacks of projects from horizontal surfaces. Fortunately, I can store my numerous UFOs and stash in another area. Even the 5-foot long quilting frame has a bright and cheery cover of home dec fabric covering the rollers. Now, when walking into the room my spirits are lifted because I don't see clutter everywhere. It is much easier to work on projects whenever a few minutes pop up as available! The bonus: now I decide what I want to bring in the room and purge more easily! Thank goodness you've shared so many tricks that helped me reach this point. Thank you <3

My problem is I have too much other sewing stuff in with my quilting stuff, and right now I've got very little interest in doing anything but quilting, so it's in my way. I have several large totes of stuff I inherited as I was the only one with any interest in it at all. It's been several years now and I think I may be able to toss it without feeling guilty. A lot of it is stuff my mom stored for 30 years as she had lost interest in it too, but felt bad about tossing it.

I'm the same! I did re-organize some things because I got some plastic boxes when my husband moved his dad and stepmom into assisted living. I was all happy because I put things in the ones with little drawers, labelled them and put them on the shelf. A month later, I couldn't find my seam guides. Looked all over. After 15 minutes, I realized that I put them in the drawers on the shelf! Every time I re-organize, I spend way too much time trying to figure out where I put stuff and whenever I toss stuff out, I immediately need it for another project and have to go buy it again which really annoys me.

You are so right about the dust..I work in an LQS that has a long arm business as well. Lint like dust accumulates everywhere. I keep a small scrap of leftover batting in my apron pocket to use as a quick duster as needed...then toss it when dirty

Rhonda K- this made me laugh! Yes- we should celebrate the small victories!

Zo: You've had a good reason not to do some things. The grandbabies.

I feel your pain. SO 2018 was my year of "COMPLETION", like in UFO's. Quilts sandwiched but not quilted. etc. AND more fabric than the law should allow. I'm a "SABLE" kind of gal. I got 11 quilts quilted. But the fabric..I stopped buying anything I could. Then started printing patterns I wanted to make etc. Matched them w/fabric AND CUT THE PARTS & binding strips. Put the parts w/printed pattern in very large baggies and got a separate clear bin to stand them upright in. I'm amazed at how many "quilt kits" can fit in one of those suckers. Really helped settle the herd of pile. Any leftover from the quilt kit was stripped out or put in baggie for the free table at guild. The Key is to keep working at it and keep a list on your fridge of "completed" projects. YOU CAN DO IT.

I'm with you zozee! I have found that I am/have been taking on too many "other" projects than ones I planned to work on. I clean as I can, and cut up scraps into usable sizes, and in appropriate containers. But still have to find space for things cluttering my horizontal areas. .. sigh... am making plans to start 2019 with more cleaning, and working on ufo's until I see good progress.
Merry Christmas everyone!

Oh, yes, my grandbabies occupy my every waking thought, almost! But since they don't actually LIVE here, I can't really pin the blame for my mess on them. LOL I'm so happy you've made good on your UFO resolve. KEeping a log of Completed Projects is a great idea--keeps you motivated, I'm sure. Too easy to keep focusing on what we still have to do and not pausing to take a moment to celebrate the accomplishments.

Is there another seat available on the yellow bus because I need at least a roundtrip ticket. The only time my sewing room looks good is when I'm not doing a darn thing in there. Open that fabric storage closet door and all bets are off. Brought a table in for needed work and organizational space and all I do is load it up high with fabrics, kits, etc.

Utter clutter described my Diva Den too. So I decided to purge a bit. I had an empty guest bedroom to use....no one coming to stay. It hasn't been used in more than 6 months.
I could drag things into it & sort through them, then only move back the things I wanted to keep in there. It was working so well. Really. I had lots moved into the bedroom. I was on a roll... just beginning to sort.
Yes. You guessed right. My brother called. He wanted to come visit. That means stay....for about 2 weeks. Until after Christmas. That room is always his when he comes.
So....everything went back to the Diva Den.
Now, there are 2 decorative little signs hanging on the Diva Den door:

1. Quilting fills my days. And my closets. And the dining room and the space under the bed(s), and behind the couch...

and

2. This room will not tidy itself, so let's just close the door.
:D
Santa should just stay out or I will end up on the naughty list. Again.

FYI: Retirement means you actually have less time to do the things you've been putting off until you retire..not more. The good thing is, you can still put them off a bit longer.

Occasionally I use Flylady's "27 thing fling boogie" and get rid of 27 things at once. I start with obvious trash. (I count a handful of trash as 1 thing, not every scrap of fabric, pin, or wad of thread.) Then I find things to donate. When I get to 27, I pat myself on the back. Sometimes it's enough momentum to keep going; other times it puts the needed brakes on overwhelm. Either way, it's another smart game I play when I don't know where to start.

Oh, and I move clockwise around the room so I can see where I've been. Visual progress is motivational.

Oh, y'all, I am so with you!! I have stuff everywhere! As you heard before from me, I have big bins, medium size bins, small bins... shelves, totes, boxes, stacks on the floor, tables, closets, etc. all over the 2nd floor of my house! It looks like a couple of dump trucks unloaded their loads here.

But, I joined the fabric moratorium last Feb. and was so super good, I now have a patch of floor in my spare bedroom that I can see the carpet!! Yipee!

In an attempt to organize I tried cutting squares, sorting by colors, etc., but that only created new stacks,.. So I decided to stop buying any fabric at all and sew quilts like a crazy lady! Mostly baby and kids quilts for donation. ... And will join the 2019 moratorium as soon as possible!

Let's all sign up and encourage each other!

I usually set aside one day a week (usually Sunday) to straighten up my sewing area, put everything back in it's place, and cut scraps. I like to bounce between projects, so I pick out two projects to work on for the upcoming week, at least one of which has to be a UFO. Knowing where everything is supposed to be and what I am going to work on has helped a lot, and my scrap pile is slowly getting smaller.

I have tamed my stuff; however, I have too much of it. I plan to give at least 10% of it away to my guild (children's fabric in particular) and to the senior center. There is a group of ladies who quilt there every Monday. (I wish I could join them but I just have 'too many irons in the fire'. I plan to line up my UFO's and make a schedule for the year. If I don't get them done (one way or another) I will give them away at the end of the year. We also have books, antiques, dishes, etc. in our house that we have loved over the years; but, our kids (guys) don't want in the future. So, I plan to purge. I just don't want to be responsible for this stuff anymore.

I can totally relate. I am in for a major purge in the new year. I either have to use some of this older fabric, or just pass it along. I'm a scrap lover, so I have little bits that I've saved... even after making a couple of log cabin quilts using strips as small as 1.5". I EPP with squares as small as 2" and save bits smaller with intention of making a Ticker Tape Parade quilt. Did I mention I have 20+ quilts in progress ? I need to buckle down and work on some finishes.

Best thing I ever bought was a Brother P-touch labeler. Now everything has a place and there is a label on it's tub.

How about everyone's books? Do you file them by author's last name? Do you file them by subject: i.e. Bargello, stars, baby, etc. I'm on "Mylibrarything" and my list says I have a book, but I do not remember seeing it or buying it.

Love those labelers and even bought a second one! Did you know there is lime green and also pink tapes for them?

I use Evernote for list. It works across different platforms, i[ad, phone or PC. I keep list of EMB threads, rulers, stabilizers listed so it's easy to check.

Oh gosh I am with you all 100%. About a week ago, I started pulling my sewing room apart because I'm tired of not being able to find what I need, when I need it. I'm using an inventory spreadsheet to keep track of exactly WHAT I have and WHERE it is. Hopefully that will help.

I will be doing a cleanup right after Christmas. I spent this year trying to complete UFOs. Unfortunately, I discovered that some of them were in the pile, because they really don’t suit me. Thus, they became tops. This year, they will become donation quilts. Whenever I work on two or more projects at a time, the tornado comes through my room. I enjoy quilting much more without the clutter.

Oh this sounds like me!

Does anyone else get too overwhelmed with too much stuff- specifically fabric? I do and it thwarts my creativity.

It's not hoarding, if your stuff is cool.

Watson