What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

Excellent news this morning! Yesterday was the winter solstice, meaning the sun rises a little earlier each day! I also have to be thankful that I live south of where my parents live, so the sun rises earlier than in Saskatchewan!

While I had "stuff" to do yesterday, I took the day off and sewed all day! I'm working on my UFO, which is due tomorrow, but despite having a specific goal, I'm doing something else—the same project but another part. You'll see it after I show it to the group tomorrow. All I can say ...

Oh boy—this paperwork is going to be the death of me! I spent the entire morning at the computer, and I swear the desktop doesn't look cleaner! Emails and phone calls got done, but I don't think any physical paper disappeared. I'll try again this morning, but I also have a lot of sewing/embroidery to do, and I need to be downstairs! 

But any progress is progress, and we just keep moving forward. I tackled a few more CDs, and the pile is almost gone. What did I find? I found three photos that I ...

As much as it was nice to be away and sew with friends, it's nice to be home and get back into the routine! 

The Zooms went well, and there was lots of great show-and-tell, some of which I'll share later this week. Then, it was back to cleaning up the stuff. 

I still had all this that needed to be put away. Again, it was slow and methodical. It's not enough to just shove it on a shelf. A lot of stuff needs to be dealt with, and if I don't do it properly, I ...

You must go back and read Elle's answers to my questions. It sounds like she had loads of stuff, but it was all neatly organized. A "catastrophic" event (needing a new carpet) was when she realized that she had too much. 

For me, the moment was when we had a water leak in the basement. Nothing was damaged (we were blessed), but the walls and floors had to be redone, so everything had to be moved. That was my moment. 

She was much faster at resolving the issue than me! But I'm getting there—I'm a turtle ...

I don't know if any of you read the comments, but I have a super supporter named Elle! She's been through this journey with her Mother, where she had to clean out that house in one day! It sounds like Elle took charge of her life many years ago, and what she possesses today is pretty much what she needs—although she seems to find things from time to time that they no longer need, and they're gone. 

So, I have a love/hate relationship with her! I want to be like her, and I KNOW I ...

Oh my—what happened to yesterday? And now a brand new week starts! Did I get any sewing done? None! And quilting? None! 

So, while this decluttering is great, I have to learn to balance my time a bit, as I don't want to give up one for the other! 

Actually, a good/bad thing has happened because of this decluttering. I'm actually spending more time in the office on the computer! But I managed to get all the follow-ups completed and out the door yesterday. I have one document that I need to proof this morning before ...

While not much was done in the decluttering world yesterday, I still have lots to share about the previous day. 

I spent a good part of yesterday writing a blog post. The subject matter was easy, but I struggled with it. It's one thing to pop off some writing that is just fluff - like in this blog. But when it comes to something a bit more technical, it needs to be written so it's straightforward and easy for others to understand. 

So I ran up and down the stairs to double-check facts on the sewing machine, and I ...

I'm going to have to change my blog from quilt-focused to decluttering-focused. 

I'm obsessed and can't open any drawer or door without looking at the contents and thinking I need to get rid of something. And if you do little bits at a time, it takes little time. 

So, while I prepped and wrote, I spent the morning doing something else. I've already been up very early and made some exciting changes in the office, which you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see as there's too much already for today. 

But let's ...

OK—I'll try to stop talking about the decluttering thing in the blog for a bit. But seriously, you won't turn back once you get the hang of how this works. I opened the pantry in the kitchen when I had a few moments waiting for lunch to heat up. We store the dog supplies in there. It wasn't quite tidy enough for me, so I spent a mere five minutes, and now it looks like this. Did you notice the partially empty shelf? If we didn't have dogs, this would be EMPTY!

The dog supplies ...

Did you get a chance to watch that video on one woman's journey with her Mom and Swedish Death Cleaning? If you have been following my blog and you are NOT convinced that you need to be cleaning up your crap, then you need to watch this video. It's 22 minutes long and well worth watching. 

I cried at the end, not just because of what she said about the time wasted with her Mom but because it made me think of my situation. I would have loved conversing with my Mom about her stuff—where it came ...

I had a blast speaking at the Durham Trillium Quilter's Guild last night! They have found a beautiful space in a funeral home! It sounds like an odd place to have a guild meeting, but there are beautiful tables and chairs, a large room, and the guarantee that funerals and visitations are worked around the guild meetings. That was my first thought—what if there is a visitation on the day of the meeting? 

I'm not in the funeral business, so I have no idea how they work that out, but it's a win-win for the space ...

AH—those DHs and their set ways!!! This will NEVER be a dining room! But be sure to read to the end—the office may eventually have another purpose, and I approve!

Look at Murphy! She needs different things to entertain her brain, so she climbed on a rock in the forest! 

MOM -- look at me!!

A fitting quote

Thanks for all those fantastic comments and suggestions!! I guess I could safely say that the art of decluttering has now become a daily routine in my life! I'm excited about that, but I'd rather spend the time sewing. However, the new "clean" house makes me want to do more, so getting rid of the junk is very positive. 

I had some work to do in the office, and I actually had an OPEN flat surface upon which to do that work. The surface is nice and clear this morning, but it was a euphoric moment to know ...

Well, I will have to put my money where my mouth is because I have a situation that needs to be addressed soon, which involves decluttering. 

Remember I said there were a couple more containers on the floor in the office? They hide behind my recycling and garbage can, so they often get forgotten. 

The junk containers hiding behind the garbage

Three containers full of what?

What's in those bags?

OMG  --- you will NOT believe what happened last night! It was worth a few sleepless moments. 

DH and I have been working on another EXIT Game, and I bragged the other day about how well we were doing. Of course, that night, we had to look at one clue. And we should NOT have had to—we were just overthinking the process. So we arrived at the last puzzle two nights ago and were stumped again. I hate when that happens, but I'm getting over that. 

We started on this current puzzle two nights ago, but last night was ...

I got rid of more CDs/DVDs yesterday. A few more have made it onto the desk to be looked at this morning, including a new box of 10 CDs that's not even opened. So that will be easy to cope with. Everything fits into one container now, which is good news. I'll just keep whittling those down until I get to the end. You can't imagine how exciting this is! 

I went to spin class yesterday and had a great workout, but I have to say that I got more UP feelings (those endorphins) from tossing ...

It was an interesting day! You know how it is when one small thing leads to something completely different, and I found something that had been on the MIA list!!!! 

What happened? M had asked me to forward some DVDs and her Christmas ornaments. I found all three DVD cases, but only two had a disc inside. I checked the buffet in my office to see if any of her DVDs were in there. I also checked a box of CDs on the table, and that's where I found the CD player I had wanted several months ago. Putting ...

Thanks for the great comments—I need to respond to some of them! But YES, those Open Earbuds are better for ear health. I never thought about moisture and infection as potential side effects of wearing regular earbuds, but if you wear them long enough, it could happen. Well, no worries in this house. 

However, I will say that I've already lost my open earbuds. WHAT? Foolish me? How could I have done that? And I'm happy about it. OK—now I've totally gone off my rocker, you say. Nope—I lent them to DH to try ...

Well, it appears that another friend has those open earbuds. I need to encourage my friends to tell me about NEW things when they get them! I'm behind the times. I wore them for the four hours of Monday sewing, and I thought I might be bothered a bit by the band at the back, but all was good. They were very comfortable - they could hear me well, I could listen to them, and I could move around the house without losing the connection. YEP -- I'm glad I bought them. 

DH will be testing mine out today. He ...

OK --- First, if you sent me a note about the Spice Market class, I created the distribution list last night and will be sending out a note this morning. Everyone who sent me a note is in the class if you want to—some people just asked questions, and they are on the list and have the option to stay in or opt-out. I have not yet reached my 100 limit on Zoom, so all is good. I ask for your patience just a wee bit longer. 

It's so nice to be home and not have to run around ...