Yesterday I worked hard and got my sewing room cleaned up and things put away. However, it still looks very, very cluttered. I'm having to think about incorporating the daily ditch to this room as well. My first reaction is that of course I need everything in here. After all, I've spent the last 10 years seriously collecting all this stuff. How could I possibly do without it?
I have a friend that has a policy that she obsessively adheres to. OK, she definitely has OCD when it comes to keeping her home clean. Her policy is that if one item comes into her home, one thing needs to go. She even keeps one cabinet in her home empty so as not to feel like she has no room to put things. She also lives in a small two bedroom town home with two other people while I live in a four bedroom single-family home with two other people. I'm sure if I asked, she'd be deliriously happy to come over and help me throw things away, and of course I won't ask. She might get rid of something I need, but she's not a sewist and wouldn't understand why I need these things.
So far, I haven't been able to throw away anything from this room, but just look at how cluttered it is, even though it's clean and everything is put away. How about it? Is there a point where every little nick nack and dodad that you've collected over the years needs to be cleaned out? Do I really need 7 or 8 seam rippers, 4 hem gauges, and 4 yardsticks, 2 metal and 2 wood? Do I need 4 Singer 500a vintage sewing machines? How do you decide what to keep and what to donate or trash? Please, if you have any advice for me, let me know. There isn't any room left in my house so things have got to go.
Last year I went through a purge and learned a few things about myself. I missed the patterns I purged, I had to rethink that collection. I didn't mind the fabric except for maybe 2 pieces (I still think about that navy polkadot with the orange stripe border....). I got rid of lots of fabric to keep what looks like your stash shelf size. My fabric looks less cluttery folded in stacks. I put my patterns on a database and boxed them up, put them out of sight. I just take out a few at a time to work on. Of course you have TNT's on high rotation, you would keep those out. I am working on mine. My house is cluttered again. If you start a rule like one in one out, it is better to stick to it or change to one in, two out to make a discernable difference. It is very hard to continue this when it comes to other family members' belongings. Unclutterer.com is helpful.
ReplyDeleteI really don't see clutter, so I guess clutter is in the eye of the beholder. The only thing I see is wonderful shelving full of fabric. If it looks cluttered to you, make a pretty curtaiThe on around it. 4 500as? Msybe one to keep, one for parts and the rest gone, but if you are talking those beautiful cabinets in your room, yes, you need all 4.:-)
ReplyDeleteIt looks pretty good to me. Maybe a curtain or blind covering the fabric shelves might make it visually less distracting?? If getting rid of an unpicker or 2 would help you feel better about it, why not do that.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to try to ditch things weekly. The two areas of my house that need the most thinning are my basement storage room and the garage. When you have to move things to *get* to the lawn mower, it's time to ditch! For the longest time, I kept feeling guilty about throwing things in the trash or not finding another use for them. I'm at the point now where my sanity will suffer if I don't get rid of some of this stuff! Let's encourage one another!
ReplyDeleteIf you have things that need to go have a look at joining freecycle.com (they are all over the world) ... you post what you want to give away and someone who needs it gets it. If you are looking for something you can post that up too ... keeps everything out of the rubbish and makes someone else not having to buy something new (and probably inferior quality).
ReplyDeleteGood luck ... hope it rubs off onto me!
Your description of your friend made me LOL in recognition. I, too, have several empty cabinets and shelves in my home so I'll have a place to put things if I need to. When I was pregnant, my raging hormones intensified my desire to get rid of stuff. I once asked my husband where the salad bowl was. "You donated it when you were pregnant."
ReplyDeleteAs for your sewing room, my initial response was not to get rid of anything. I still have the remains of a huge bag of zippers I bought at a tag sale 25 years ago, and I still use them. BUT, I would never find myself with 5 sewing machines. Perhaps you could cull a bit.
Once you get started getting rid of stuff the easier it gets. Anyway that is what happened to me. As I touched each item and had to think obout keep it or pitch it, my mind got tired of the process and so I ended up pitching a lot more than I thought I would. So far I have not missed anything that went out the door.
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice, neat sewing area. An inspiration to me to get mine straightened up!
ReplyDeleteI think your sewing room looks really nice and inviting. As long as a work room is functional, with adequate workspace and organized materials and tools, it shouldn't be compared to interior design photos of rooms where no one really lives or works.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that's really cleared out my sewing "clutter" has been a tight financial budget. It's really forced me to think hard about each new project--do I need to buy fabric, pattern, thread, tools, or can I improvise with something I have already? These days, my mantra is "Play with the toys you have already."
Of course, if I had the fantastic fabric shopping opportunities you have, I'd find that mantra more difficult to follow. If there are no stores, it's easy to avoid shopping.
Good luck choosing a strategy!
I don't think it looks too bad, the question is if you can find and use what you have? White or cream opaque containers, or things with doors that shut somehow seem less cluttered than having everything in the open. I really miss the built in cupboard I had in my last sewing room, but my place is rented so I can only use freestanding furniture. Personally I like having multiples of things as I can grab one when I need it, and not have to go hunting for where I left the last one. I do keep a backup sewing machine and a backup serger (and have needed to use them), but wouldn't have more than one backup. Its hard to throw sewing stuff away, and I'm quite glad of my stash of fabrics and notions.
ReplyDeleteVery timely as I have been organizing the past two days in my studio. I think your space looks pretty good and very inviting as others have said. I think you need more of a culling if you have that many of items you only need one of. Can you perhaps do a donation to a women's shelter or such? That would put a bit more of a spin on the process, perhaps. I bet they would love to have a machine or two and you could get a tax deduction.
ReplyDeleteLast night on OWN there was a "Clutter" show and this lovely lady had a "craft room". In it they pulled out 147 totes of craft and fabric stuff. The totes were stacked floor to ceiling 3 and four deep. There was no way, just no way, you could do anything whatsoever in her space. It killed her to decide what to chuck but once she found out it was going to a charity she was much better about it. I guess if you have so much that you don't know what you have you really have way to much and need to share the wealth with others. JMO. Again, I think your room looks pretty good and a great place for productivity.
Oh my what I wouldnt give to have a space like yours, I have a corner in the dinning room that I have blocked off. I dont see a mess at all just a nice clean room. As far as the extra stuff, I have like areas where I work, cutting, sewing serger so I have things at all 3 areas so that way I dont have to stop and go look for something. Another idea besides the donation do you know a little girl that want to take up sewing make up a sewing basket for her. I have given some fabric to the local hospital auxiliary they make blankets for project linus.
ReplyDeleteI don't see anything extra in your sewing room. It's beautiful and perfect the way it is. It's physically impossible for me to have an empty shelf. I would get rid of the self. There's no reason to have useless furniture around. In fact there are shelfs and stuff in my sewing room that I'd like to empty out just to get rid of them.
ReplyDeleteHi Sherril, I think your area looks tidy, but I understand what you mean by cluttered. There is a lot of visual distraction, but it's not messy. How big is your closet? Some of my fabric I keep neatly folded and hanging on hangers, the dry cleaner pants type with the round cardboard piece. The home dec stash and blanket stash I keep in plastic bins. I keep the bins hidden but accessible, under the cutting table, and behind a curtain. I liked the suggestion of a curtain or cover for the shelf. It helps with dust also.
ReplyDeleteHi Sherril.... If you do want to get rid of sewing items, I'd be happy to take things for the teen sewing group and the boys and girls club. I clean out my room occasionally, and it always feels better knowing that it's going to a worthy cause instead of the trash. The teens love anything we give them! sue
ReplyDeletePS: your sewing room doesn't look that cluttered at all!
Sue, I will certainly keep your group in mind.
DeleteI'm not ready for one of those "Hoarders" TV shows, but I do have too much stuff! I've been trying to get rid of the junk in my basement for years. For me, it's not as easy as it sounds. (Hmmmm …… maybe I do belong on one of those hoarder TV shows.º
ReplyDeleteI found that when I went to the trouble of purging fabric, I got into serious trouble. I donated two boxes of cotton (scraps and yardage) to my local quilting group and two boxes of 'the rest' to my local thrift store.
ReplyDeleteShort-term - more space.
Long-term - gave me permission to haul more stuff into the house. I ended up with more in my house.
I found selling the excess in my Etsy store to be more helpful than donating a large amount.
Oh - and I also have a friend who teaches 4-H sewing. If I have extra sewing tools or hit a knit fabric bonanza at a garage sale then it is boxed for her to deal with.
ReplyDeleteFinding someone worthy enough for the donation helped.
Anonymous donating doesn't have as much impact.
Four sewing machines? hmmm... I have 3 under a shelf in my laundry room, 2 in my rec room, I gave each one of my three daughters a sewing machine this year (part of my stash) and 2 sewing machines and one serger in my sewing room. At times I think I need to purge, but then I just rotate which ones are where and in use at the time. Some do a great stretch stitch. Others do a great straight stitch. I use at least three machines on almost every project. That way I don't have to change thread color for top stitching so often. Your sewing room is beautiful. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteActually, I have 10 sewing machines. I just have 4 of the singer rocketeer 500a machines, a vintage Kenmore, a tredle, a featherweight, a Japanese delux zigzag Revere, Bernina 170, and my favorite, a Morse 4400. Plus I have a serger and a coverstitch machine.
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