paperandglue.net

It’s a Saturday in August, and I’m at home, messing around on the computer and putting off a de-cluttering expedition in my own apartment. To be fair, it’s not as though the weather really allows for anything more exciting or seasonally-appropriate. It’s cloudy and chilly again, though at least it’s not actually raining right now as it was yesterday (and has been frequently in recent weeks).

My tolerance level for clutter is high; in fact, I prefer and even require a good amount of visual stimulation to stoke my creativity, so I have a lot of art and tchotchkes around me. But a combination of factors has led to a level beyond even my capability to handle, so it’s time to take care of business. And I have done — last weekend, I came home from a friend’s cottage early and spent Sunday evening and the Monday of the long weekend emptying my main storage closet and sorting out some stuff to get rid of. The key problem here is craft supplies. Some would say I have “too many”; I say I have what I need. I need to have a collection of supplies that includes a wide variety of things, including the following: feathers, beads, glue guns, leatherworking supplies (you never know), paper, hole punches, glitter paint, regular paint, lace, ribbon, and more, in addition to the essentials of yarn and fabrics. So I’m not giving up my assortment of miscellany (it allows me to host costume preparation parties like the one I had on the occasion of Art’s Birthday back in January).

However, I do realize that I need to ditch the yarn I’m not going to use — specifically, the yarn that was originally obtained curbside or at thrift stores or for free, primarily acrylics, of course. I’ve already winnowed down to two Rubbermaid totes: one for (good) acrylics, one for natural fibers.

As for the fabric — well, I came up with a solution for that as well. It’s called “Mom’s House.” She wasn’t happy about it, but even she recognized the wisdom of me keeping my fabric at her place, because I tend to do my most serious sewing there. I decamp for a weekend and work steadily on her superior sewing machine, superior cutting mat, and superior workspace in general. I’d rather save my projects for trips to Mom’s instead of taking up my living space with temporary setups (a portable table for the machine, the coffeetable covered by my [old, cracked] cutting mat, etc.).

I’ve still got a lot of work to do (above: an aerial view of the aforementioned coffeetable), but I’m feeling confident it can be achieved. Also, I have COMPLETELY decluttered one corner of my living room, and let me tell you, looking over at it is quite the encouragement.