sumarben

Once a year I purge, sort, and reorganize my sewing room. I used to make a ton of flannel rag quilts and had a lot of flannel. Realized I hadn't made a flannel quilt in years so donated and/or gave my flannel stash to a friend. This year I went so far as to change rooms! (empty nesters with bedrooms to spare). I also have found myself picking up and putting away rulers, tools, when I finish for the night - saves me frustration cause I don't spend precious time looking for things. I also tend to forget about fabric etc if it's out of sight so I've learned to store it on open shelves. I learn something new every time I reorganize - you'd think by the end of 72 years I'd have it all together - Nope!

oksewglad

My dear aunt, when she was the age I am now, told me the older we get, the stronger our personality becomes! She was so right. I'm also trying to put things away...I'm tired of the clutter and not finding things. I wonder if i will ever have it together..PS just a few years younger than you.

SusieQOH

I do a purge about once a year too. I get tired of fabric or like you said I'm done making a certain thing like rag quilts. I love donating fabric I know I won't use. Also my room is always a mess so it needs some attention at least once a year!

toverly

I don't purge yearly but often. When my sewing area gets too cluttered. A good clean out gets me on track again. Recently I have been taking a shopping bag of scraps, ufo's and yardage for the free table at Guild. I decided to rid myself of cuts and prints left over from quilts I have made. I have freed up a tote. It's fun to see what someone else makes of the pieces. Quilters are clever girls and boys.

rryder

Last winter I decided I would challenge nyself to try to find One thing every day that could be either sold, donated, recycled or thrown away. That was after doing a major purge of weaving yarns and crafting materials that had sat unused for many years. I still have too much stuff, but have found that my daily purge challenge seems to be doing a good job of helping me get rid of excess in an unstressful way. Plus, since I have to look for something to get rid of everyday, I think twice about bringing anything new into my space.

Rob

farmquilter

For me it is using up fabrics gathered over the years. Now when I die cut shapes I have been putting in some of the nice sized pieces to donate to a church run store in town. The pieces are too small for my smallest die to make it worth keeping. The gal that sorts through the scraps stated people who applique love the scraps she bags up to sell.
I am not saving every small piece because I have so much of the bigger fabrics to cut up.
I rarely buy new fabric, only if it is for a special quilt gift.

luvstoquilt

I try to stay neat and I put everything away like rulers, rippers, scissors, etc. as I go. When I finish a quilt top, I clean my sewing room and I take my scraps to my scrap bin. I decided I would spend a day or so at the first of each month sorting my scraps. I made that decision when it took me from the first of January until mid February to purge fabric, sort scraps and make scrappy donation quilts. I did it in March and again in April. It worked really well and I haven’t done it since. I am hopeless!

My sewing room stays pretty neat because my fabric is in another room. I store and cut my fabric in that room and while I do my best to keep it neat I seem to make stacks to be addressed. What I really need to do is stay out of fabric stores! Lol

JanieH

I am also getting ready to purge fabric and duplicate stuff. I am really trying to downsize the horrifying amount of "stuff" in my sewing room so I can get back to the basics.

cashs_mom

I'm better about putting things away at the end of the day. I rarely do a big "purge". For one thing, I mostly sew/quilt on weekends and if I spend a whole weekend "purging" then I don't get to quilt. Besides every time I toss things out, I realize I need them and have to buy more and every time I re-arrange I can't find anything. Some things are best left alone for me.

jmoore

Yes, I purge yearly right around New Year’s Day. I don’t get to do much sewing in the summer months but will be anxious to get back into my sewing room right after we get home from this Scotland vacation. I clean my sewing space regularly... especially after each project. I think I’m a little OCD.