Ready, Set, Go!

"Progress is not created by contented people."

Frank Tyger

As I start this reorganization project I will be posting my progress and I hope that some of my ideas and suggestions will help and motivate others.  I am not striving to find a solution to a "cleaner" space just a more organized and less cluttered one.

The plan is to start on my sewing studio and over the next 3 months toss, give away and put away as much as possible and still have time to find inspiration and be creative.  Starting today I will dedicate 45 minutes a day to sorting out one area of my sewing space making unemotional decisions to get rid of as much as possible so that my life and creative vision will become clearer.  Some of those items may find their way to the destash section of my Etsy shop where they will be for the next three months.  If at the end of the 3 months these items have not sold I will donate them to a local charity.

To start with I need 3 containers to use for sorting items into three categories, "throw away", "put away" and "give away".  I already have a trash can with trash bags in my sewing room so one was taken care of and in the interest of time I decided that for today I would use large totes for the other two categories.

 The key is to not overwhelm yourself with things to do, but to break each area up into small increments that are large enough to complete easily and to give you a sense of accomplishment, but not so large that you get sick of the process and end up discouraged.  I chose 45 minutes because that would give me enough time to do small areas and not take up too much of my day.  The first area to work on will be a book shelf that is the first thing you see as you walk into my room.

BEFORE

I decided to start on the top and first two shelves and this is what they looked like when I first walked into the room.

AFTER

This was the result after 45 minutes of work.  I took everything off the top and kept only a small doll stroller basket filled with a collection of kaleidoscopes in different shapes and sizes.  This collection spans over 20 years and was not something I wanted to get rid of.  The other item was a vintage hoop on a wooden base that I purchased at a flea market in Germany while stationed there when DH was in the army.  Eventually I would like to use it to display a miniature quilt on my shelf.  I sorted projects into containers and labeled them with pink labels and stored supplies into containers and drawers labeled in green.  Some items were put into the give away bag and others needed to find new homes in other areas of my house or my sewing space. 

I feel really good about this small accomplishment and being able to see a big difference in this space makes me excited to continue with this project.  Tomorrow I will continue with the bottom 2 shelves so that this one shelving unit will be done.  If any of my readers have any suggestions or tips please feel free to leave a comment.