2021 Final Countdown, Task Three
Posted on December 31, 2021 by prairiemoonquilts in The Final CountdownHere we are at the final task already!
I hope you’ve been accomplishing a lot of good things in your sewing spaces. Every little bit helps — trust me, even when it doesn’t seem like it, it WILL eventually add up. I look around at how far I think I still have to go, but can look back and remember when it was so much worse, and realize it just takes time. But time is not unlimited, for any of us, so I know I need to keep chipping away at it.
Our final task is to:
Organize one area of your sewing space
This could simply mean cleaning up an area that needs a good cleaning, but it could also very well mean RE-organizing an area completely. If you have an area that is not quite set up the way you want it, take a good hard look at it, and decide what would make it work better for you.
Do you need to rearrange your room a bit?
Do you need to swap out or get rid of some furniture pieces?
Do you simply need to clean up the area around your sewing machine?
Clean off your cutting table?
Do you not like the way you have your notions stored?
Do you want to reorganize your fabric stash, sorted by a particular size or by color? Or in different containers?
How about your thread storage?
UFO storage?
What’s on your shelves?
What’s in the drawers/closets/storage areas? Is that working for you?
Several years ago, my ironing station looked like this:
Then I realized that I had a small chest of drawers my sister had given me that needed a place to live, and found that it would work to do this!
Now I have lots of enclosed storage beneath my ironing board, and it’s wonderful. Those drawers hold a lot of stuff!
Back in March, I cleaned out and reorganized the closet in my sewing room. Now all my large yardage pieces and backing fabric is in one location, stabilizers, pillow forms, and spare irons on the shelf above, and I have some organized project storage in here as well:
Also back in March (I must have been in a spring cleaning mood!), I decided to reorganize how I stored my pre-cut scraps. They were in tubs on a shelf in the end of my cutting table, but still kind of inconvenient to get to and use:
Now they’re in this rolling cart’s drawers, and so much easier to access, both to put in new cut pieces, and to use out of when making a scrap quilt! I love it.
And that’s just a few ideas . . . I’m sure you can come up with several others that might make your sewing space feel so much better. This could be a big project that may take a while, or it could be something quick and easy that makes an instant change for the better — it’s up to you!
For me, this time, I think I’m going to reorganize the bookcases on the ends of my cutting table. One of them is full of odds and ends and I need to rethink what I’m going to store there for convenience and ease of use. The other simply needs to be cleaned out and rid of dust bunnies (how do they get so bad so fast?). So my task isn’t super hard, but also won’t be super fast, either; but I know it will sure feel good to have it done!
I’m interested in hearing your plans and ideas for this one.
And that’s our last task for this year!
Don’t forget to leave your comments on the three posts to be eligible for the prizes. We have until the 7th to keep working on these. I’ll draw for the winners then.
I hope this has helped you make a good start to your new year, and that you had some fun while doing it! Thanks so much for playing along with me!
I’m really enjoying this fun challenge. It’s funny how small changes and a bit of regular tidying make such a huge impact. There is always room for change & improvements. Thanks
I just did a reorg on my zippers. I’ve been looking for a way to store them where I could see them and use them easier. So, I found some plastic bins that work on the lower part of the bookshelf where books don’t fit. 🙂 So, that is done. But, I needed to get the pressing table cleared off and the back of my long arm was collecting bags. That is one thing I’d like to figure out this year. A different way to store my bags and totes.
Meloney
I bought 2 racks with hooks (each has 6 hooks, like mud room racks). I hung them behind the door because they only stick out about 3 inches. Now I have 24 places to hang bags. And I enjoy seeing the names on the bags from different shows.
nice… off to organize a corner.
I’ve just found your blog and look forward to starting your challenge next week. Yesterday was my last day of work and I will have lots of time to organize now that I’m retired!
I just reorganized my UFO’s & what projects i want to get done next year. I am still going thru papers & patterns. Need to continue laundry & cleaning the house. Happy new year!
All year I kept pulling another UFO bin off the shelf and tried to finish it. A lot of progress made. I have made more than 20 community service quilts with leftover blocks and scraps this year. So those are almost every one gone now. What I need to do next is to pull all the scraps out and sift through them. At times it seems like I have more scraps than yardage. I am going to wind down those scraps. There is one big bin and 4 small bins. The small bins are cut up into blocks or strips. BUT this is way too much. Gotta find a way to get this down. Probably take most spare time for the first 3 months of this year. But down size!!!!
I love this challenge but I’m going to have to wait a couple of months to do this step. I’ll be getting a quilting studio once our basement remodel is finished and I’ll have so much reorganizing to do. But I will definitely start doing the planning today. I think finding a new-to-me bookshelf is definitely on the agenda.
Actually, two “organizing” things are planned for today. I need to get the big leftovers from battings stitched together into Frankenbatts. I also plan on getting some of the quilt kits I have out of the quilt room into the storage building, where I have some other kits and sewing things. I’d like to squeeze some sewing into one of these days. Looking forward to 2022 and getting lots of donation quilts made.
I probably need to do all of them! Will need to pi k and choose to see what I can accomplish. Too bad my hunn6 isn’t leaving fir a few days until after this task challenge is over!
I actually have this one done as I cleaned off my cutting table yesterday! Since Mother Nature has this area in the bullseye for the approaching snow storm I should have plenty of time to get a lot done. 3 to 9 INCHES of snow before the bottom falls out of the temperature so I’ve got plenty of supplies on hand. As long as the power stays on I’m good.
Get all my thread together in one place. Organize by colors (shades) and make note of what I need to purchase to have on hand. Also get bobbins filled with the most used threads so they are all ready to go. That should help and save some time!
A couple of months ago I reorganized my fabric by wrapping them in the Comic book boards. It was such a simple thing to do, and has been such a help when I need to find a certain fabric or a certain color.
Scraps! They are the joy and challenge of my life.
https://weddingdressblue.wordpress.com/2022/01/01/final-countdown-task-three-4/
I am organizing the shoe holders full of notions on the two closet doors in my sewing room. I am throwing away junk and putting like things together. I may actually have some empty pockets when I am done. 🙂
I have everything pretty well organized in my sewing now. But oh boy has my scrap basket is overflowing. That’s my last job to cut put away and the rest go into dog beds I make for a local none kill shelter.
Second day working on re-arranging the stash. I need to cut 5″ squares for charity quilt projects. Quilt room is finally just about ready for the new year’s projects!
I love how your precut scraps are stored. I have one of the single towers like yours and it is overflowing. Could use another but I’m out of space. That’s where your post hit it right on the nail for again! I’ve been thinking about getting rid of an extra sewing machine cabinet that used to come in handy for a friend to come sew with me. Since the pandemic that hasn’t happened and we all sew via zoom now. Im thinking about replacing it with a high low table…for cutting and using the accuquilt. And a machine could be used on top too. The drawback is that plan doesn’t create more space.
I reorganized 4 bookcase units and a tv cabinet doing my inventory of projects. Im entering the inventory into a spreadsheet this time so I don’t loose it! (May have to redo the inventory of tops needing quilting because I can’t find it🤪).
I’ve got a bunch of fabric to put away from abandoned projects and such and my books and patterns to organize still, but took the day yesterday for zoom sewing, and I think I want to get some finishes in before more organizing. I feel so much better having a concrete idea of what I have to work on!
Thank you so much for hosting this challenge and giving me the nudge.
I choose the hoosier that ended up in my sewing room. I can’t do the closets because I gave them to my daughter for storage as they build their house. One closet she added right on top of what was in there. I won’t be using what ever it was for a year or two.
I really need to do ALL the things on the suggestion list! I’m gonna chip away at it over the coming year, one container and area at a time.
I did one large bin, sorting everything out, and putting the contents in better places (including the garbage can). The big bin was then handed of to my hubs to use in the garage. Yay!
I love your ironing cabinet! I cleaned (and it needed it) off my bookshelf and organized my binders and pattern books. It looks so much nicer and cleaner! Thanks for the challenges!
I have cleaned and organized my little rolling cart that sits by my sewing table. I had realized that it had become a catchall for anything and everything with no organization at all. My goal was to have the top basket for my current projects. My second tray is for those tools and metallic threads I use occasionally. The third tray now holds my next WIP or upcoming projects in their bags or baskets. I think everything is in its proper space now and I’m as organized as I’ll ever be. Thanks for giving me the motivation to get these chores done! 😉
Cleaned up sewing room after finishing UFO. Also been working on quilting books. After putting Christmas away, craft room will be looking good. 2021 a good year of cleaning out and organizing.
Since I’d like to focus on more of my needlework projects in the coming months, I removed fabrics from a cubical-type of storage unit, and put all my needlework supplies in them instead. I have a desk next to it, so hopefully with having a designated spot to work, with good lighting, I’ll be more inclined to do it.
Thank you for all these fun challenges! I’m so pleased with getting these things done!
I cleaned up around my sewing machine. Swept the floor, found those bobbins that sometimes fall and roll under the table! Even cleaned off the cutting table. These 3 tasks were good! Thanks
I have a daybed in my sewing room. It’s a great place to browse books or just relax. It was so cluttered with stuff, I can’t recall when I last saw the quilt and pillows that create this lovely space. Today’s the day!