Category Archives: Decluttering

Sew My Stash Sunday – 3

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As promised, here is an update on how my sewing from my stash is progressing.  This week I have done pretty well, albeit with a couple of hiccups along the way.

This is the polo shirt for The Duke that I started a couple of weeks ago.

001I have put the collar on and finished the tab front, however, when he tried it on it is way too big.  How did I manage that?  I chose the size of a multi-sized pattern based on an existing polo shirt that fits him well.  Anyway, now I know.  So, it is back to the drawing board with this one.  The sizing does not influence the neckline/collar or tab front so I think I should be able to cut it apart along the side, underarm and sleeve seams and recut the pieces to a smaller size while maintaining all of the neckline and collar.  Here’s hoping!

In the meantime I decided to make myself another pair of boxer shorts for pyjamas.  This was another sizing issue as I could not remember whether I had previously used the medium or large sizing of a multi-sized pattern.  I went for the medium and of course I was wrong but all was not lost.  I went ahead and completed the boxer shorts and a camisole top and have given them to my sister.

002I have now cut out a pair for myself in the correct size but have yet to start sewing them.  It is a quick and easy task so I may do that after dinner.

002A few weeks ago my mother gave me a book and equipment for making your own custom-sized patterns.  It is not for the faint-hearted or novice as there are no real instructions, just an expectation that you are familiar with dressmaking techniques and construction.  There is a selection of nearly 300 designs so there are plenty to choose from.

I decided to start with a fairly simple skirt using a piece of navy/white striped seersucker from my stash.  Once I had created the pattern I checked it for fit and felt that it would be OK.  Today I cut out and made the skirt apart from the zip and finishing the inside of the facing and the hem.

003It has loose inverted pleats off a wide, shaped yoke with side pockets and a centre back zip.  The fit is absolutely perfect so if the other patterns work similarly, I will be very happy.

I also managed to re-fashion one of The Duke’s long-sleeved business shirts into a short-sleeved one as the cuffs had worn out but the rest of the shirt was still in good condition.

I am not sure what my next project is as I need to finish these first but stayed tuned for more sewing next Sunday.

Circumstances Change

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One thing to consider when you are trying to declutter is whether your circumstances have changed.  That item which was previously perfect for your needs may no longer fit the bill.

This was brought home to me last week in a blinding flash as I tossed and turned on a particularly damp and humid night.  I had worn this nightshirt to bed and it was sticking to me and I was most uncomfortable.

2015-01-24 01I made this about 15 years ago when we were living in South Australia.  The climate there is much drier and it was perfect.  However, the weather here is often very humid and even when it is not spectacularly hot this satin nightshirt is not comfortable.  So, even though it is still in very good condition, I added to the bag of goodies to go to the op shop and dropped it off today.

I am in the process of making myself another pair of summer pyjamas from fabric that is in my stash so tune in tomorrow to see them and some of the other sewing I have done this week.

One Thing Leads to Another

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This morning I decided to clean the bookshelves in the office area.  I knew that they were quite dusty and that there was some stuff lying around that really didn’t belong there.

As I started to remove and clean the books I decided to sort them out and see if I could cull any more.  Getting rid of books seems to be fairly difficult for us but in the end there were nearly 60 books that have not made it back onto the shelves.

We have 2 identical tall shelving units from Ikea and it now looks as though one of them may be able to go to a new home.  I am confident that we will never need more shelf space as we both have Kindles and buying a physical book is a rare occurrence.

Here is one shelving unit cleaned and all of the shelves filled with books.

2015-01-17 01These are the 2 boxes of books which will be finding new homes.

002The other unit is a work in progress.

003As you can see, there is quite a bit of spare space on the other shelf which is the reason I think that it can go.  The random books are ones that I am unsure as to whether they should stay or go.  I intend to re-read them and in fact read some for the first time.  Why didn’t I read them when I first got them?  Maybe I did not really like them.  Anyway, I will be working on this pile over the coming weeks and deciding which ones I want to keep long-term and which can go.

The collection of Australian Geographic magazines will need to go elsewhere – probably the bottom shelf of the shelving unit in the lounge room.  There is 23 years worth of them – we stopped subscribing at the end of 2011.  I have never read them all so maybe it is time I did.  I used to joke that I would read them when I retired!!

There is also a shoebox of stationery items which can probably go in the cupboard.  Then there is the pile of photos that need to be sorted any scanned…………one day!!

004This is the cupboard which holds the 4 drawer filing cabinet.  I am in the process of trying to source a 2 drawer one to replace it as we have condensed the contents into 2 drawers.  When this eventuates we will use the top of the cabinet as a shelf and add another shelf a bit higher up.  There will then be plenty of space for the stationery box and photos.

If I had to nominate one room that is difficult to declutter, then the office would be it.  Mind you, we have managed to get rid of quite a bit over the past year but there always seems to be more.

Do you have a particular room or area that is your nemesis when it comes to decluttering?  Please share your stories.

Sewing My Stash Sunday – 2

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I don’t usually get much sewing done during the week and it took until this afternoon before I did any.  I was determined to achieve something as part of this challenge so here it is.

003I have made a start on a polo shirt for The Duke.  I bought the fabric about 14 years ago for this project and it never got made.  I have made the tab front, stitched the shoulder seams and done one sleeve and side/underarm seam.  I had not done a tab front for well over 10 years, but like riding a bike, you never forget.

004With striped fabric it is important to match the stripes.  You can see the matching on the tab front in the picture above and the side seam in the following picture.  It is impossible to match the stripes with a set-in sleeve due to the shaping.

005Next week I hope to show you the completed polo shirt and what I am doing next.  It feels good to know that I am using up materials that have been hanging around for years.

Sew My Stash Sunday – 1

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I do not usually read heaps of sewing/craft blogs because they often feature projects or items that I am simply do not interest me.

However, I stumbled across this idea here and seemed almost too good to be true.  Basically, I can sew or make whatever I like as long as at least 50% comes from my stash.  I had pretty well intended to do this but had not thought of articulating my ideals quite so eloquently.  I love sewing and am working towards decluttering more stuff so this challenge will definitely help.

003My personal plan is to post each and every Sunday about what I have done in the preceding week which fits the challenge.  This will help to keep me accountable and will also be an interesting future record of just what sewing  I achieved in 2015.

002To see what I did last week see my previous post.

Thanks to the lovely Leasa who decided to run with this germ of an idea and also StitchnSewCreates for linking to the original.  Please check out these blogs if you are interested in this project.

001Then when the pieces are too small for much else there is always the ongoing patchwork!

I know that my fabric stash is not huge compared to what some people have but it is getting to the stage of frustrating me because I have so many plans/ideas for a lot of the pieces and I simply haven’t got around to doing it.  2015 is the year.

Filing Friday (on Thursday)

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Welcome to 2015!  A brand new year for you to make of it what you want.

I have been gradually decluttering for several years so there is generally only a few things here and there to leave the house.  However, there are a couple of hotspots that just seem to invite clutter to hang around unless I am constantly vigilant.

In the lead-up to Christmas I was particularly busy at work so things got a bit neglected at home.  Also, our car was badly damaged in a hailstorm at the end of November and was declared a write-off by the insurance company.  So, as well as everything else we had to buy a new car, organise insurance, liaise with the towing company to collect the old car and so on.  All of this resulted in paperwork, notes and phone messages on the desk. Everything was finalised on Wednesday – we have a new, insured car and the old one is gone so this morning I got up and decided that I had to sort out all of remaining paperwork.

I started with the desk, followed by the other hotspots which are the end of the kitchen bench and my dressing table.  It then turned into a major clean-out of the filing cabinet and other folders so The Duke and I spent several hours working through it.  Some papers had been carefully filed for up to 10 years without ever being looked at so we were really ruthless.

Apart from clearing the papers that were in the previously identified spots, I actually have nothing to show for our efforts except that the contents of the filing cabinet have been reduced from 3 drawers to 2.  Everything was relatively neatly stored – it was just that much of it was no longer relevant.

001The desk is mostly cleared – there are just a few more things that I need to put away.

002I just need to set-up the pedometers so we can actually use them rather than be lurking in the bottom of the filing cabinet!

003This end of the kitchen bench is one of the most frustrating hotspots – the pile of papers never seems to go away completely.  It may seem counter-intuitive to put a basket here to dump “stuff” in but my theory is that it will be contained rather than expanding and spreading its tentacles across the bench.  I have also designated Friday evening as “Filing or Fling” so everything that is in the basket by Friday evening will be dealt with accordingly.  In a perfect world the basket would be empty but I will be surprised if that happens.  🙂

So, beginning next Friday (not tomorrow) the blog post will be about the filing or keeping the paper clutter at bay.

I would love to hear of any systems you may have in place to help you manage the clutter hotspots and filing.

More Material

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Last weekend I spent a fair bit of time in the sewing room.  I am working on a project that I cannot show you for another week so more details then.

I have also been cleaning up and sorting out material – yet again.  Much of what I have is relatively small pieces so I have prepared some of them for future patchwork projects by cutting them into 5 inch squares.  The remaining pieces are bundled according to colour so that I know where to look if I need a specific colour.

001

Today I was given a couple of bags of material.  It is mostly substantial sized pieces which will be suitable for making entire garments so I am off to have a closer look at them and dream of some future creations.

002

Patchwork – 5 Months Later

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I have finally made it back to my patchwork that I first showed you here and here.  Well it is 5 months later and I have finally got back to doing some more.  I now have 31 blocks completed and here they are laid out on the floor in a totally random order.  None of the fabric was purchased specifically for the project.  It is all offcuts from dressmaking projects or small unused pieces from my stash of fabric.  That stash is a bit smaller now.  🙂

2014-11-02 01
By my calculations these 30 blocks should cover the entire bed but I am not too sure how much overhang I want at the sides and the end or how much I will lose when I add the wadding and quilt it.  I think I will sew all of these together and see what I think.  Then I can add another row or two of blocks if I feel it needs it.  I am also wondering whether to put a plain border of 6 – 8 cm all around the edge.

Please share your thoughts or experiences on patchwork/quilting in the comments.

I have also cut out another 80 squares for a smaller rug using the same technique but more about that another day.

The Culling Continues

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I have not written much lately about my decluttering efforts but that does not mean that it isn’t happening.

Today we finally got around to collating the documents we needed to have our tax returns done.  The Duke scanned these and emailed them to the accountant.  On thing led to another and I ended up cleaning out the filing cabinet as well as sorting and tidying the shelves in the cupboard.

We have one completely empty drawer in our 4 drawer filing cabinet and the others are sorted and tidied up.

2014-10-25 01There is a lot less stuff in the top cupboard.

2014-10-25 02The desk is spotless.

2014-10-25 03It is difficult to see but you will have to believe me when I say that we got rid of quite a bit of stuff.  All of the paper has been recycled.  Some went in the recycle bin but most was torn into strips and added to the the leaf litter in the new raised garden bed.  We topped it with a layer of mulch and watered it in well.  This will break down over time.

Things that have gone include:

Tax returns more than 5 years old
Bank statements more than five years old
A huge pile of scrap A4 paper from my old job for which I will never have a need
Old mobile phones
Old phone and computer cables
Empty boxes
Old ‘things’ that add no value to our lives
Warranties and instructions for appliances we no longer own
Information relating to previous jobs
Etc, etc, etc…………………….

Paper is one of the most difficult types of clutter to keep under control so it requires constant work to win the battle.  There will be more to do but I feel that we have made some real progress today.