I admit, I have a clutter problem. I get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of supplies I have. Maybe I am afraid if I put it away "too well" I'll never find it again. That's been known to happen. Then, I buy another one....... However, after our two moves in three months this winter and new wood floors in my sewing room (and the rest of the house), I am motivated to declutter my life. Throughout the whole house as I have unpacked our belongings, I have tried to rid us of as much stuff as possible.
It is simply amazing, isn't it, how much stuff we can accumulate. What is important to keep for sentimental reasons or as future treasures for the next generation to cherish? I think of my maternal grandmother, who didn't like to save anything. This fact is amazing in light of the fact that she was raised in the Depression. However, I couldn't begin to count the number of times I've heard my mother say, "Momma threw that out. She didn't want to keep that old stuff." She gave away her grandmother's treadle sewing machine, all the tatting that my great-great grandmother did, even all the hand-carved fishing lures her husband made over the years. Where is the balance between getting rid of simply everything in favor of "new" and ending up like one of these people on Hoarding: Buried Alive, the new show on TLC.
What will my kids treasure after I am gone? Will they value the antique garments I have collected? Those precious articles were not valued by someone else's child as they ended up on eBay! Now, I also know stuff is just stuff, it won't go to Heaven with me ('cause I'm not moving it again!). But what criteria to determine what to keep and what to give? Someone gave away a precious Ayrshire christening gown or this lovely, hand sewn bonnet from a shop in New Orleans.
Under the guise of organizing my sewing room, it is taking me longer than I anticipated to get everything put away. I question every piece, spend too much time wondering about the most efficient way to store everything and ultimately, get frustrated and tired, and go do something else.
So, my question is, how do you organize your sewing room? How long should it take to get it all picked up and put away? What is vital and to be kept, and what can be given to the next appreciative owner?
