Tips for Decluttering the Sewing Room
Don’t seamstresses just have a way of collecting? It’s funny, because I have spent a lot of time thinking about only buying things I need to get by. The truth is, as a creative, I’ve adapted some mindless habits of collecting materials and just plain “junk” that I don’t really need.
Every single time I start getting into the flow with sewing, a new wave of junk manifests in the sewing room. I’ve slowly started decluttering! I gave away some clothes to upcyclers, and still have three trash bags of clothes that I’m not wearing! I’ve set them aside to upcycle and alter. The thing is I have nowhere to put them! I was going to donate the clothes, but the struggle is real! When you can think of ten ways to alter or upcycle each piece, it feels wasteful to get rid of them.
Here are some tips for decluttering in the sewing room!
Everything was purchased for a reason, but pretty quickly you can find yourself swamped with supplies you never got around to using. What is with Amazon selling sewing supplies in bulk?! Gone are the days when you can just buy one zipper or button. Every time you need one buckle, you wind up with ten! Do you feel me?! If you bought multiples of an item, but still haven’t used a single one, keep a few and then get rid of the rest. You can sell the extra or donate them. When in doubt just throw it out!
Accuquilt GO! sounded fun, but I literally only used the thing ONE TIME! Get rid of any flashy equipment that didn’t live up to the hype.
I have a bad habit of hoarding scraps! When I sew I cram the excess material and scrap fabric into my polka dot bins, and they sit there for eternity. Go through your hoards of scrap material and only save what you will actually use. Also, if you have scraps in bins from quilting days gone by, it might help to go through that material and pitch anything under a certain size. Let’s say you love working with 4 inch squares. Cut the scrap materials into four inch squares, and pitch anything smaller.
Stacks of old magazines and paper products…anyone?! I save all my old magazines…to a point. Eventually it comes time to thin the herd. I got into bookmaking and bought a bunch of old magazines and a vintage catalog. The thing is, it isn’t doing me any good just sitting on a shelf never to be used. Put things where you will use them, and if you don’t plan on using the magazines within the next year, give them the heave ho. For quilt mags and project magazines, scan the pages with projects you want to remember and then recycle the magazines. If you are an artist, keep a collection for collage and put it where you can easily get to it. Then get rid of the rest.
My sewing room also doubles as a closet, and all my handbags and random stuff goes in there! You can only fit so much into a space before it is no fun to be in there! Make space for life, and store or donate the things you don’t plan on using again. If you need money, throw a garage sale. Or share the wealth and gift things to family and friends.
Summer is here, and I have a bunch of new projects coming to life! But first, I need to get a handle on my stuff. The best time to declutter is at the start of something new. It opens up room for fresh inspiration to come in!
