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I can't wait for the girls to get their first box!  But please don't tell them.  It's a Christmas present!  :)

It is Finished!

Well, I didn't think it was possible, but my sewing/craft room has been decluttered and organized!  I totally did NOT think it was possible!  And all in one month!  I can't wait to sew (I have several projects waiting on me) and scrapbook (again, more projects waiting)!  I didn't have the space before, but I do now!  Woo hoo!

As part of the 31-Day Organization Challenge, I have some questions to answer.

1.  I decided to organize my sewing/craft room.  It tends to be the room where stuff is placed when we have people coming over and we need to clean up quickly.  Or, we didn't know what to do with something, so it ended up in here just to get it out of the way.  However, this room was so junky, that I couldn't sew or scrapbook!  It just made me sick and tired to even look at it, let alone go in there!

2.  To ensure that I met the deadline, I tried to work on the room a little every day.  There was one whole week where I didn't touch it because I had another project to work on, but I just tried to spend more time in there on other days.  I started with the easy stuff....the trash.  I had no idea that I would collect 2 trash bags full of trash!  We moved a year ago, and I still had boxes that needed to be unpacked, and there was stuff to throw away in there!  Couldn't believe it!  After the initial trash, I just started taking one box or one space at a time throwing away trash, putting away items, and placing other items in the donate box.  I didn't have a keep box.  When I found something that needed to go somewhere else in the house, I took it right then.  I knew that if I put those items in a box, I might get sidetracked and they would never find their homes.  (I know this from personal experience.)  :)

3.  The hardest part of this challenge was when I was nearing the end.  My sewing desk was covered with things that I just didn't know what to do with.  I refused to just put them somewhere to get them out of sight. I had to make myself go in and really think about an item.  However, once I got on a roll, everything seemed to fall into place!

4.  I purged a lot of stuff from this room.  I threw most of it away, but several things found a home elsewhere in the house.  And it went there as soon as I found it.  :)  I just asked myself, "Where would I look for this?" and I put it there!

5.  One of my proudest moments during this challenge was when I found the floor behind my sewing desk.  I didn't realize all the stuff that had accumulated there.  It just became stuff I didn't see anymore.  When I found that brown floor peeking through, I just about jumped for joy!  It was then that I realized that I really could do this and it inspired me to keep going.

6.  I'm not sure what organizing tools I used in this space, but I did learn something about boundaries.  Well, first, as I emptied boxes, baskets and totes, I saved them so that I would have them ready when something needed to be organized.  (My 4-yr-old daughter even got involved.  She found a little basket in my stash and put all of the cat toys in it beside his food.  They had just been thrown on the floor.)  I bought a stackable drawer to match one I already had, and when I unpacked a box of school supplies, they went in those drawers.  Oh, and what I learned about boundaries.  I used to think that if I had too much of something to fit in a drawer or a box or whatever, then I should just buy another box or whatever.  Now I realize that if I have too much stuff to fit in a particular space, I need to get rid of some of the stuff so that it fits inside those boundaries.  That is why I have neat shelves on the bookcase now instead of stuff crammed on top of everything else.  I did re-purpose some tote bags to organize my sewing projects by hanging them up in the closet.  One project per bag.

7.  The one piece of advice I would encourage someone else with is what I learned about boundaries (mentioned in #6).  It seems like it makes so much sense, yet I never thought about it like that before.  What an "Aha!" moment!

 Remember all of these plastic bags that I'm saving to crochet into a plastic tote bag?

 I sorted them out and saved the colors I want.  I put them into 2 larger bags and found space in the closet for them.  Now when I have plastic bags, I recycle them instead of saving them because I'm sure I have enough.

 I wanted to clear out this bookcase so I can use it for homeschooling next year.

 I found art supplies and other things I can use for homeschooling next year, so I placed them on this bookcase.

Hung up the ironing board, hung up the picture and decluttered all that stuff on the floor!

 How can I sew in a space like this?  There's no room!  I even found a towel laid out under all that stuff that I used for changing diapers.  I haven't changed a diaper since November!!

 Now I have space to sew and cut out fabric, or I can move my chair to the other side and scrapbook!  My white bookcase that my husband made me would be right behind me and easily accessible!  I can't wait to get started!

 This is much more pleasant to walk into...I can't wait to actually USE this room for its designated purpose!  Oh, see that little pink basket on the floor over there?  That's the one my daughter used to organize the cat toys.  :)

More Progress!

Today I made more progress!  I filled up a trash bag full of trash as I unpacked a box (from our move almost 1 year ago!) and decluttered boxes.  A box that I thought might go into storage was unpacked!  Woo hoo!

See that towel on the sewing table?  That was there for changing diapers.  I haven't changed a diaper since November!  Glad to get rid of it.

This is what it looks like now.  I emptied those 2 brown boxes on the floor and started putting give away items in the cardboard box.  So much fun!

Week 1 Progress!

Well, so far I haven't worked in my sewing room as much as I would have liked, but I did get something done!  I started by hanging the ironing board on the back of the door and putting the iron away.  I threw away 3 plastic grocery bags of trash.  I have a "Give Away" bag started, but I did not start a "Keep" bag.  When I've tried putting things in a "Keep" bag in the past, the things never get put away.  With two little girls around, I get interrupted a lot and projects just don't get finished.  So, as I found something that needed to be put away, I put it away right away and ran right back!  It may not be the most efficient way of doing things, but things are getting cleared up and put away, and that's the point.  :)

Before...

 After putting away the ironing board...

 Sewing machine desk before...

 Sewing machine desk after...

 There's actually some table top there!  And that box of stuff is probably going into storage so it'll be gone soon!  Making progress!

31-Day Organization Challenge!

I am going to be taking this challenge to declutter and organize my sewing room.  By the looks of it, it would be really hard to sew in here!  We are going to be homeschooling the fall, so I also need some room to store stuff in here.  So, I have the rest of this month to get rid of stuff and organize what needs to be in here.  I will keep you posted!

 (Below)  I was saving these plastic bags so that I could crochet a bag with them.  Maybe I should get rid of these and when I have time, get some more....ha!

 (Below)  This is my sewing machine table.  Can you even see my sewing machine?  It's under there somewhere...I promise...

Kylie's birth story

Happy Birthday, Kylie! In honor of Kylie's birthday, I will recount her birth story for you. One year ago, right now, I was wondering what was happening with the coming baby. At 9:44 PM, I handed Mike some ice cream and felt the baby drop. Mom was staying with us and told us to go to the hospital, but I wasn't sure if that's what I felt, and we had just gotten a $500 hospital bill from Memorial Day weekend, so I didn't want to rush to the hospital for nothing. However, in hind site, I realize that being 4 days overdue, they wouldn't have made me leave the hospital. Oh well... At about 9:55, I had a contraction....the same kind I had been having for at least a week, so I didn't think anything was happening. However, at 10:02 I had a hard contraction and we started moving. We were in the driveway at 10:15, rushed to the hospital, and arrived around 10:35. Mike rushed in for a wheelchair, and I barely got into it from the truck. We rushed upstairs, and Mike said that I was alerting the entire hospital that we were there with my labor siren. They barely got me entered in the computer, if that, and rushed me to the back. They rushed me to the initial room to get me ready and then rushed to the delivery room. I was ready to push, but there was no doctor! Mine was 15 minutes away, another one at the hospital was in a c-section, but they finally found someone. As soon as they found her, I pushed twice and Kylie was born...at 10:55!! It was soooo fast! We are so thankful for you, Kylie! We love you!

Backpack

I just finished making this backpack for Hannah. She also has one for her Bitty Baby. (Thanks to Bizzy Crochet for her pattern!)