December Studio Organizing
Posted on December 15, 2021 by prairiemoonquilts in Studio Organizing ChallengeThere’s only gonna be one organizing task for this month, because at the end of the month, we’ll be doing The Final Countdown! Woohoo! (It’ll be our 13th Annual, can you believe it?)
Did you get your chosen work surface cleaned off last time? I did, altho you may not be able to tell.
Here’s the before:
And the after:
The things that are left are projects I’m working on. While there are more of those out there than I’d prefer, I’m working to get that number lower over the next couple months.
I will say that cleaning my main work surface off at the end of each month, and giving it a once-over every Sunday, sure helped me keep it cleaner and neater than in years past. I hope to keep that habit going, and improve upon it even more over the next year.
So . . . for our December task, what shall we do?
Here’s what I need to do, in preparation for The Final Countdown, so that I don’t have to put this task IN The Final Countdown, as I feel the need to do just about every year:
Put away stray fabric where it belongs
There’s a massive pile on my ironing board I don’t have a place for. My bins are all full to overflowing. I could actually use another bin, but I don’t have space for it, so I’m resisting getting one. I want LESS overall, and filling another bin is not the answer.
What is the answer?
I don’t know exactly — get rid of it or use it up — but I’ve been doing that all year, and I still have more than I can comfortably store at the current moment. So I’m gonna go through it all again, and make some more decisions. Maybe I can clear enough space in the bins that I can finally get it all put away before the end of the year.
For starters, I will see if there are more large pieces that I can use for pillowcases, backings, or bindings, and also sort out any pieces I’d like to either give away or sell. You know, over at Feel Good Fibers, you can actually sell your destashed fabric and get money back for it! That kind of eases the pain of having paid good money for it, and then not wanting to keep it.
And this will give me a good head start on The Final Countdown, where I hope to make really good progress to end the year and start out with a fresh 2022. How about you? Do you have any stray pieces laying out that need to find their way back into your storage system?
Will you be joining me for The Final Countdown?
I like the idea of using large pieces for pillowcases to clear out fabric you don’t have a use for anymore. I am also bursting with fabric, and need to clear out some that I no longer am as interested in as when I first bought it.
Oh my goodness! I looked back at last years count down to remind myself….It looks worse now! I am stepping into the improv world to see it I can belong there. Zac Foster just had a Soft Goals workshop, so last night I pulled out all of my grunge fabric to use. No visual of the cutting mats or the ironing surface, not even the table top…I best be getting at it!
The ironing board is getting stacked up again, ugh. Time to stop that and find homes for them. I need to reorganize my stash so Jan 1 will be clutter free in my mind. I have 3 quilts to finish and 10 started projects to finish or forget. January will be busy!!
I like your Organizing Challenge, and I like to see some kind of progress every day, even though I might not be working on the specific assigned task. Monday I finally got rid of an old printer that’s been hanging out in there for months. I gathered some old towels and pillows ready to go to the pet rescue soon, and two wonky kid quilt tops from eBay to go to Goodwill, along with a few other things. The big box of polyester stuffing that I used to use for arm pillows for breast cancer patients is going to a different storage building. (I’m keeping it in case I decide to make more for the cancer center where we now live.) I have a lot of nice floral fabrics that are no longer appealing to me that are being kitted with backgrounds and accent fabrics to make nice quilts for the women’s shelter and the palliative care patients at the hospital. (A few of them already made.) I have a whole box of quilt patterns that will go to the guild free table after a friend picks out the ones she wants – after she gets back from her Christmas vacation. All that should make a big difference in the messiness of the sewing and quilt rooms.
My surface for the last task was the floor (again 🤪). But I did get it clear. I have a basket of fabric that got collected during that cleanup so it’s very appropriate for me to put that away next! Not my favorite task…
However, for those that have excess and not enough storage here’s how I’m approaching putting fabric away. First I ask myself where does this belong? And then I put it there. If there is not enough space for it to fit, it either gets donated or relegated to scrap management OR something else that is occupying that space goes to make room. Slowly I’m making what I have fit into the space I have for it by keeping what I like best. My fabric is sorted by size, color and collection.
Looking forward to the final countdown. Hopefully this year I can see my way thru it!
My work spaces are all cleaned off. My table top is totally cleaned awaiting either for borders to be cut or layout a top to be sandwiched together. My sewing cabinet is totally cleaned and I hope to be able to keep it that way, putting my machine away by the end of each day. I am now working in the storage room to finish cleaning it all up, but Christmas got in the way as all the boxes are waiting for their decorations to return. Also have a couple of quilt tops setting out to be finished. My new space and cabinet is nice and has helped me organize. I feel much better about the space now, so hope I can pick back up and making blocks in the New Year.
Yes, I didn’t clean my top yet, but I do it regularly… I have been pushing to get ufo’s done. Ye I am up for the final count down. And Somebody..( no names) got me making a leaf quilt which is not even on the to do list…
This is my hardest thing to do😄. When I’m through with I project I just want to rush into my next project!
I accept the challenge to at least get some project boxes cleaned out. 👏🏻
Thanks Shelly
I currently have a quilt in need of binding sewn on is across my work surface with the binding pinned on the starting point. I just need to take time to sit and sew. I do have fabric lingering in spots it’s not supposed to. I think since Mother Nature dropped the temperature like a speeder seeing a trooper I’ll be inside more.
I have some scraps to put away, and a few items to put back, but working hard to quilt 2 quilts. I will put stuff away tomorrow so can have fresh start for the new year.
I just did that earlier in the week. I had my pile of fabrics in the laundry bin and the bin was overflowing. So, I’m ahead on this one.
I think I’ll try and stop procrastinating on the binding on the one quilt. LOL
Well I do have my area clean as they were here the other day to put in my new cutting table. I am in hopes that they will finish up today and I can get all the fabric moved and put away this weekend, that is till I find more fabric to be put away haha.
I try and keep things put away and keep it ready for the net go around.
And now you got me singing the final countdown by Europe…..
you all have a fabulous day and happy quilting one and all
I’m so glad to hear you’re going to do the Final Countdown again. Yes, I’ll be joining in, for sure. It’s a fun way to tidy up for the coming year.
I don’t have fabrics about, but paper clutter that I’m working through, has taken over my sewing tables. So I’ll work on that. Looking forward to the final challenges, now!