17th Annual Final Countdown
Posted on December 28, 2025 by prairiemoonquilts in The Final CountdownWow! Seventeen years, and I’m still not completely organized. Who’da thunk?!
And I’ve worked pretty hard at it! I’ve made some great progress, but a lot of what’s left is hard stuff, and I tend to get stymied by the hard stuff — you know, things that require decisions, or things that I think will take longer than they probably actually will. I like to overinflate the difficulty of some tasks in my head. Am I the only one?
I think 2026 is gonna have to be my year of tackling the hard stuff, so I don’t keep pushing it further and further down the list. It’s annoying, and I know I will feel so much better and lighter once those tasks are completely off my list. Having those things dangling over my head is also stressful, and if you saw my last post, you know I’m trying to get rid of stress in my quilting life as well!
Also, I’m still trying to fit all my stuff into my new studio since moving. I’m slowly squeezing it in, but I feel like I have a long way to go, so I’ll be working on that. It goes right back to having to make those difficult decisions — uff!
So here we are, at the end of another year (that flew by way too quickly), and I want to use these final few days to get a good start on 2026. Would you like to join me?
If you’ve joined me for The Final Countdown before, I’ll be really happy to have you join in again!
If you’re new here, welcome! I hope you’ll join us this time, as we all try to freshen up our sewing spaces for a great start to the new year.
Here’s how it works . . .
- • Beginning tomorrow, I’ll post a task for us to do each day for three days in a row; a different task each day.
- • Your job is to do the task, if you so desire (totally optional). If it’s not a task you need to do, then you can pick any task you feel fits your situation better, and do that one instead. (There’s a list HERE.)
- • After you’ve done the task, leave a comment on the post that you did it, and how it went for you. If you want to write a blog post of your own and link back to it, that’s great — we all love stories, and photographic evidence! If you’re already so organized that you don’t even need to do the task, you can still leave a comment to be eligible for the prizes.
- • I’m offering up a prize for each task, so be sure and leave a comment for each task that you complete. You’re only eligible for the prize for that task if you leave a comment on the post for that particular task. I try to make the prizes something that will help you with organizing, or things that you can use up, so as to not cause you more clutter or disorganization. If you do all three tasks, you’ll have three chances to win. How many you choose to do is completely up to you. Easy!
I’m giving us till January 6th to complete all the tasks, so be sure to leave your comments on the posts for the tasks you accomplish. I’ll post the three winners on the 7th. That should give us time to take a good crack at all three tasks.
I’ll post our first task tomorrow, so be sure to check back in. Or if you’re not subscribed already, you can subscribe to the “News From the Ranch” using the form at top right, so you’ll automatically be notified when the tasks are posted.
Are you ready?
I’m in! I’m hoping that 2026 will be a better year than 2025! Maybe I can get my husband to learn how to use my long arm!
I took this year off from a lot of things, but I’m ready to start joining in again. On your mark, Get set,…….
Maybe a before / after picture is a good place to start.
Having a photo to look at may be better than remembering how it felt to finish a task. For me anyway!
I did not comment on your last post but I do want to thank you for have us clean our flat surfaces. I now clean, my cutting mat, my ironing board and the area around my sewing table (which is the hardest.).
My sewing room as a whole is very cluttered, but I working on projects what are in the floor.
Hard decisions are “just hard”. But we make them in every other area of our life why not the sewing room.
Looking for to the 3 tasks.
I’m in! Let’s get our areas in order! I am in need of a quilt studio reset!
I really need these tasks. My sewing room is a disaster. Thanks for organizing this.
Having taken my before pictures…I feel the safest, cleanest place in this 2 story house is any bathroom!
Thank you for your challenges. This year has not been a year for quilting. I need to clean up the sewing room to be able to get to my sewing machine. My husband just got home after fracturing his femur and clavicle earlier this month. I have been working on the house to be able to use a walker. Maybe now I can focus on the room where my sewing machine is.
Ready to try! Thanks again fir motivation.
My sewing group came over and I was banking that the wood stove on the first floor would keep them on the first floor. Nope, so as people shifted piles here and there I thought , the final count down!!! I’ll really have a challenge this year!!!
I’m in with reservations. I need to organize paperwork, paperwork, paperwork. First is to get a quilt bound and a runner quilted and bound. but I guess the first is to get over this cold that has be coughing day and night
Thank you so much for helping to keep us on track all year. I especially look forward to the Final Countdown. Good luck everyone!!
I’m so glad you are doing this again! I need to deal with the hard stuff, too and quit organizing my stuff…I just need to let some of it go, so I have more room to work in. Looking forward to it!
I find having a box/tub to put the hard decisions in, keeps them out of the way while cleaning. And they a corralled so you can find a place for them. Same idea for those things you are considering letting go. Put them in the box and tuck it away for a couple months. If you haven’t pulled it out, then you can let it go. Thanks for your time in this.
I just got home from a trip to support family. Don’t know if I’ll be able to do all of it, but it is something I look forward to yearly.