Decluttering and Organizing

The advantage in not being too good a housekeeper is 

that your guests are so pleased to feel how very much better they are.  

- Eleanor Roosevelt

I had several requests for the decluttering and organizing blog posts that D.J. sent me...  and I'm happy to share. 

• Handy Dandy House Cleaning Notebook - A great idea imho!
• 40 Bag / 40 Day Challenge - I put this right into play.  Two days decluttering for me = 4 big black trash bags out to the trash!   
• Projects - Scroll down to "Organization"

Even though I read the blog posts Wednesday afternoon, there are a number of points that have stuck with me and will be used in my attempt at whipping the house into shape! 

1. It's easier to clean an uncluttered surface (kitchen or bathroom counters, top of dresser, etc.) than a cluttered surface. 
2. A cluttered house didn't happen overnight and decluttering will take longer than just one day. 
3. Decluttering is not just taking stuff out of the house but also giving serious thought to what you bring into it.

 

My house may never be this decluttered but it is something I can work toward!

On a Rainy Wednesday

Knowing that today would be cold and wet, thus making errands a royal pain in the kazoo... I did the errands yesterday afternoon when it was sunny and warmer.  Warmer... not warm...

The plan was to clear out the left side of the closet in the sewing/computer room and GET ORGANIZED!  Somehow, the impetus to do the errands continued when I got home so, instead of waiting until today, I started yesterday.  Thankfully, the shelves fit perfectly... as in "not an inch wiggle room" once they were both in there.

Then, the first stages of organization began...

Looks good so far... but there is a ton o' stuff on the bed in the room next door that will need dealing with today.

I discovered that I had way more fabric than I thought...  yes, the fabrics were purchased for specific projects; however, looking at it all I realized that I need to stop planning projects and get these done!  Now that everything is together instead of some in this location and some in that location and... oh wait... there's more over here... everything is in one spot where I can find it... and I won't forget that I have it!

Did take a little time to make a couple of mug rugs as a pick-me-up...

 

Both will be gifts...

The Sewing Room: Almost One Year Later

The reorganization of the sewing room much needed and, thanks to the many, many sites showing redone/reorganized quilting/sewing studios I found online, I was able to make good decisions about what I needed from the get-go.  Of course, there has been some tweaking as I discovered what worked and what didn’t work so well.   To keep things honest here, I did not clean up before taking the photos.  Please note that I’m in the middle of working on a pink & white double-four patch quilt top…  that’s why you’ll see a bunch o’ pink fabrics!

Former beading table, now cutting table with bins for scraps underneath. I used bed risers to lift the table to a better cutting height for me. Long but "short in height" plastic bin on top of the scrap bins to put fabrics I'm currently using.... sometimes...   

I moved the beading storage to the right of the cutting table, which comes in handy as an additional surface to place stuff (for example, rotary cutter and rulers) when cutting.  I purchased another taller drawer unit to go on the right of the sewing machine where sewing notions, tools, and supplies were place.  It is much easier to look for a particular sewing item there than having to go over to the closet all the time and look thru plastic boxes.

Sewing table... put narrow folding table behind it to help support quilts being quilted... it’s turning out to be more of a "handy storage area"...  *lol*   ...actually, the table is earning its keep as a sewing table extension.

Opened closet doors w/ growing fabric stash...

Other part of closet w/ more fabric stash...

To the right of the cutting table w/ several UFOS on top of the “bead storage tower” and some of the stash and scraps I pulled out for the pink quilt I'm working on now.  To the right of the filing cabinet is my computer/desk.

A mess to be sure but a workable mess where I was able to tackle and complete The Grandbaby Quilt Project!

Let’s Get Organized!

In March of 2010, I decided that if I were going to be serious about the Grandbaby Quilt Project, something needed to be done with my computer/sewing room… then known as “the dumping ground” or “The Black Hole”….  things went in the room never to be seen again.  The walk space was tiny because of the clutter and all sewing supplies were impossible to get to without breaking one’s neck!  I had a beading table that was essentially inaccessible.

I broke up the project into steps because the reorganization would never happen in just one weekend…. not only would it be impossible, it would be overwhelming!   First, I tackled the beading table... where there was way more than just beading stuff...

The beading table became a cutting table.  All my beading stuff went into the new white drawer unit to the left of the table.

 Then, the Bermuda Triangle of a closet…  how embarrassing!

Just removing everything was a chore.  The guest room next door became home to all the stuff until I had a chance to sort things into categories.  (The boxes in the bottom of the closet are from grad school; two of which contain the research part of my thesis.)

 At last, the bottom of the closet was cleared!

A trip to WallyWorld for drawer storage... and then some major sorting... et voila!

What a project that turned out to be… but oh so nice afterward!   And what a difference it made to both the sewing AND finding stuff processes!   

Are you wondering if the reorganization project held up over time?   Check back tomorrow… and I promise NOT to clean up the place before I take photos!