🧹😜🪄WHY IS DECLUTTERING YOUR SEWING SPACE SO HARD??

Why is decluttering your sewing room so hard? You can tidy up your kitchen, clean out your wardrobe, even clear out the garage but your sewing room. Well. Many of you just shut the door. You are not alone.
Here are 5 big problems with cleaning your craft space and the tips you need to overcome them.

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[pegballou]

I don’t view it as decluttering. I view it as taking inventory and poking myself in the rear to finish those great ideas I had when I purchased things. It motivates me to learn the craft or process I purchased the items for.

[jeanisrael]

Oh Karen your SABLE award made me laugh so hard. I turned 61 this year and I looked at my sewing room and thought will I have enough time to get all of these projects done. It doesn't help that I work at a quilt shop. Sometimes I feel like that squirrel who gets distracted by the next shiney project that comes along not realizing how long it takes to get it done with everything else in life that gets in the way.
Thank you for this video. I confess I have an addition for fabric and learning something new 😂

[marshahardin]

Most of my clutter is my fabric supply for charity quilts. What started out as a retirement side project turned into a major time and space consuming activity. My solution is to make quilt top kits and ask people to sign up for a sew day to make the tops. Hopefully my 2 big bins will be out of my tiny sewing room and my room and brain can declutter. First kit making session with a few friends is the first weekend in February. Wish us luck!

[luellacalkins]

The ability to help the schools with fabrics, batting, thread and notions that I no longer really cared for really freed my stress of removing things from my sewing room. My husband also keeps the after school crafting clubs supplied with treats from my scrapbooking and stamping past habit. Schools and teachers don’t have items they may want without dipping into their wallet. I love enabling young sewists and crafters that may not be exposed to this at home. I have 3 middle schools in my area that have taken everything I have offered so I wanted to offer that suggestion to all of you. Our Youth are our future.

[janoelschlager]

I watch your videos over and over. I am 82 and have been quilting for years . I have learned so much from you. You seem to be my only tutorial. I love your style in quilting.and teaching. Quilting is my thing. Love ya. Jan O

[karenrich]

Hi Karen, Once again you've done it! Not everyone is a quilter, but we all have a room like your sewing room that is chaotic. You appeal to me with your lovely voice and the fact that I can make your advice work for my office, garage, storage building, etc. Being able to appeal to non-quilters really says something! Keep it up.

[normatulloch]

I have a tendency to ignore the timer, so I use the one on my stove. When it starts beeping it makes me stop what I'm doing to turn it off. When I walk out of my sewing room I know I need to take a break. Love your channel.

[bella-bee]

My sewing room is a heap! There’s a big cutting table in the centre which I squeeze round to get at the table up near the window, where I sew. I tend to pile the ironing on the table, and spare pillows, things I can’t immediately find a home for, especially if someone’s visiting and I need to tidy things away if not up! And fabric.
I reasoned I’d get to it soon.
Well, today my old mum died. Sewing was my restoration between visiting her so often and recovering in between. There will be a steep climb to sort her affairs but maybe I will now get to sew and let it do me more good.

I felt guilty about spending precious time quilting, until I found a verse in Proverbs ch 31 about a good woman. It says she makes coverings for her bed! Well I make coverings for other peoples beds too, and this delighted me! I felt like God was saying, it’s ok

[nancycartwright]

I finally realized one reason I love your videos so much. You don’t just talk without having some visuals to back up what you are saying. Whoever is putting your photos in amongst your words is doing a tremendous job. It makes your videos so much more interesting than those persons who just talk for 10 or 15 minutes. Thank you so much for all that you do to keep us motivated. 12:46

[bellemeri]

As I look at the three 40 gallon waterproof boxes; one 20 gallon; and two 60 gallon bins full of fabric, I don't even attempt to figure things out. I just sew it. All of it is earmarked for projects of one kind or another. I've just settled on a moratorium on fabric buying unless I have to have it to finish a particular project.

[lsheffield]

Ive been on the wagon for 6 years. It’s taken that long, not buying fabric, to finally make it through the “projects” in my sewing room and (insert shame here) my storage unit 😔. This year is the first time I’ve bought fabric to start a quilt that didn’t come out of the stash. My storage unit is no more and my sewing room is clean, neat and organized down to my straight pins. It’s sooo relaxing to work in there. Now if I could just accomplish this in the rest of the house. No time for that. I have to sew. 😊

[susanmartinez]

Karen, this is great! My sister quit quilting and offered me all her sewing supplies. I did not take fabric I didn’t like. I did not take notions I would not use. But a few months later I went through her fabric again and I donated some of the fabrics to ladies at the church. She also had a lot of kits and they got donated to the same ladies. They were happy, my sister was happy and I was happy and relieved. Recently I went through Halloween and Christmas fabrics and did the same thing. I still need to go through items in my sewing room. I have memorabilia. My sewing room is also My Room. There are things that mak me smile and things that make me tear up. I love it! There may come a time that I don’t enjoy quilting any more but I will still have My Room.
Enjoy your weekend!

[sleepycat]

😂😂
I think because we are creators and we are so emotional attached to our sewing room or sewing areas, that is very difficult to let go. There’s always a… I’ll use that for something.
I can’t get rid of that, oh no!
And so…. Our area is filled of future dos and possibilities that we are deeply connected with. 😂😂

[mooster]

This is one of the most helpful analyses of what's going on in my head that is responsible for the problems I have with the sewing room that don't exist elsewhere in the house, at least not to the same extent. I began paring down a lot of craft supplies several years ago for the same reason that you mention: they are not things I will do when there are other options. But much of the fabric stash represents endless possibilities. Also, there's the recent experience of actually finding important use for fabrics that I might easily have thrown away prior to 2020, but then they became over 100 masks that were appreciated by family and friends until more effective masks became widely available. I found I enjoyed sewing small, quick projects and after masks it was doll clothes and has now moved on to quilted bags, purses, wall hangings, and so on. You never know what you might use for any of those kinds of thing. So the challenge is not weeding but finding a sensible way to organize it all.

[numberangel]

I busted out laughing when you mentioned the Rubbermaid containers! I have only one but it's huge! Thanks for all you do! Blessings to all in love and light!🙏🏼💜🙏🏼💙🙏🏼🧡🙏🏼💛🙏🏼💚🙏🏼

[SpeakTruthBeKind]

“Choose you. Make the projects that fill YOUR Bucket.” ❤

[kimbeckner]

You were inside my brain when you spoke here! Overwhelmed…. When you go into the sewing room with really good intentions, sit down for five, stand up, turn in one circle, walk out. Sadly my longarm is in that room. I need to Just Get It Done! Going back. 😊

[karenrich]

You've done it again, Karen! These tips and inspiration can work on any decluttering marathon in your home. I have been in my house for nearly 40 years and I have tons of things to sort, purge and assign a home for. Your questions can be a big help to me and many others if you just, "Think outside the (quilt) block." Keep it up!

[emmathompson]

I just inherited my Mom's sewing room...4 sewing machines 16 drawers of material and enough polyester batting to make many quilts. I had to move it all out in just a few days. Six hours of travel each way. Did I mention I am in the process of moving and need a knee replacement? I hope to soon be back to quilting soon!

[marygersetich]

Your channel is in my top 5 favorites: well done and so helpful!
What I really needed to hear yesterday and again today when I re-watched this was "We miss the logical connection between buying the supplies for a project and THE EFFORT NECESSARY TO COMPLETE IT". I think that I will post that in my sewing room.