Clean Up Time is Done

 It's taken some time,
and taken some decision making but,
when I open my sewing room door

I get a wonderful surprise!

A functional space

ready for a new year of

SUPER fun!

I have this plaque as a reminder.

My daughter's kindergarten class
has a clean up song 

 that they sing at the end of the day.

 "Clean up, clean up,

Everyone, Let's clean up"

I'm thinking that maybe I should 

sing that song,

"Clean up, clean up,

Kyle, you'd better clean up.

You don't want to do this again."

Until maybe next year.

Until Next Time-

There's No Way I Can Get Everything Done

 If I knew how to really manage my time,

always got everything done,

stay focused,

could go with less sleep,

tune out from distractions,

never procrastinated

and could maintain balance in my life,

I could write a best selling book.

Even with all of my planning, 

my lists of things to do,

taking baby steps, 

and positive thinking,

I know I have to be realistic. 

Life is busy and there are bumps in the road and

quilting is just one part of it.

 So

I'm going to just

keep going,

stitching when I can,

 and have fun and a SUPER year.
And I know you will too.

Until Next Time-

I Plan to do What?

When I taught elementary school,
back in another life,
I would have to set goals and expectations for my students.
But it wasn't enough to say,
" A student will learn to read"
I had to plan specific activities so that
eventually they would learn to read on their own.

We do this everyday.
We ask ourselves questions,
"What should I make for dinner?"
Answer: "Something good."
So to get that "something good" on the table,
there are lots of other steps that are
thought about and executed before dinner is ready.

Although, I know many of us would love

to just wiggle our noses and have it magically appear.

If I want to have a SUPER quilting year,

I need to figure out what my goals or Expectations are and 

then Plan how I'm going to:

 work on all those projects,

finish some,

be creative,

 explore new ideas

learn some new techniques

but most of all have fun.

Okay, we know the drill.

We've all read self-help books and articles,

watched Oprah,  and

pinned inspirational  pictures and saying from Pinterest.

But the most important thing right now

is to just get moving and enjoy the journey.

Until Next time-

Time To Get Down and Dirty

Now it's time to get down and dirty and

 Unclutter!

There are lots of websites

and professionals that can help us get organized.

In the end,
you just have to do what works best for you.

I've found cloth bags are a great storage system 

for a lot of my projects.

It makes it easy to put fabric, patterns, and supplies all together.

Then it's quick to pick up and take with me.

The bags don't take up much space and store

easily under my work table.

I love using vintage woven picnic baskets for some unique storage.

They're attractive, fun, large, and stackable.

One manufacturer was Red-Man.

Hawkeye was another.

You can find these pretty reasonable at flea markets, Goodwill, or

other places you like to root around.

Add a tag in case your memory is like mine.

Magazine storage boxes are great for magazines and

larger baskets for books,

Round Vintage sewing baskets with wooden covers

manufactured by Harvey are

 great storage for  buttons, threads, etc.

They're also stackable because the handles are soft cord.

 Old muffin tins are fun too

for keeping small things under control.

There are lots of different approaches to
 sorting through your stuff and
making it easily accessible.
It's a great place to let your personality shine
and surround yourself with things that make you smile.

It's not going to take 10 minutes,
but the time it does take
 will be well spent.

I feel so much better.

Until Next Time-

Take a Peek

Okay. 

Slowly

Open the door.

Oh, no.

What's happened?

It's amazing how in such a short period of time,

things can change.

A clear cutting table gets covered up,

shelves become stuffed with random things,

the floor, (what floor?)

becomes invisible and what is visible 

is a tangle of multicolored threads  and fuzzies.

To find something specific, 

requires more time than I have.

My projects have encroach

beyond the door.

Just standing in the door way,

I could see what needed to be done.

 I needed to take control, 
again, 
and get my space back so I could work and be creative.

Are you ready to take the challenge and 

Survey your workspace?

I faced the fact.

It was time to Unclutter.

It might be hard to do it all at once.

But small steps can get you to the finish line,

 Just ask Running Man.

Until Next Time-