Thursday, January 14, 2021

Parting Ways

I'm parting ways with some of my possessions.  Not exactly because of a challenge, more like, "Do you want to do this game with me this month?"  My daughter was referring to the Minimalism Game.  She knows my penchant for collecting (fabric and thread and paper and sewing supplies, small cards with beautiful images, lace, seed pods, multiples of almost anything that catch my eye, and so much more) and how hard it is for me to let things go.  But this seemed both sensible and doable--giving up one item on the 1st day of the month, 2 things on the 2nd day, 3 things on the 3rd day, etc., through the whole month.  "Sure," I told her, "I can do that with you."  I didn't realize how much time it would take to decide which 12 things to pass out of my life in one day, and which 13 things the next.  I have no idea how it will be on the 31st!  (It was easy choosing 1, 2, 3, even 8 things, but at 10 it began to take time to sort and decide.)  Anyway, that's one of the things I'm doing this month.  (Or should I say 31 of the things I'm doing.)


A few weeks ago we moved an overstuffed chair-in-need-of-reupholstering from the room where I sew, which gave a clear view to a very large bag of thrift store clothing and fabric, a box of already cut-apart shirts and crochet cotton, and a stack or two of shirts that had been hidden behind it.  The view was too dismal so I pulled all the shirts out and began sorting them, in-progress, above.  I bought some of them before I had a good idea which fabrics are better for quilting and which are not.  (Some shirts are either too thick, too stiff, or just plain not friendly to a quilting needle.)  But still, what to save, what to pass on? 

The stack under the chair is going and probably a few more of the uncut shirts.  Some of them I've already cut apart and they're ready to be cut for blocks and sewn into a quilt.  The ones below are no longer shirts (except the reds on the left), but fabric, stacked in the closet.  Will I use them all?  Who knows.  


I've sorted through the clothing/fabric that was behind the chair, but there's more upstairs, and downstairs, and on the bookshelf.  I can't sew fast enough.  

So far I've passed on or thrown out uncut shirts and other clothing; some toiletries that have been sitting in the bathroom cupboard for too long--that cupboard's really deep, and I sorted only one shelf; some outdated canned goods; some plastic hangers; some papers; some toys that haven't been used for a while....  I honestly don't want to do a deep clean of all my closets but I may get to that point by the 25th or 26th.  Of course, I could always go through magazines, but maybe not books.  Or I could go through the stacks of genealogy notes and papers sitting near the computer.

We've lived in this house 21 years.  It's bigger than the one we lived in before.  How did this one get so full when we had just enough in our old house?  It seems I fill the space that's available.  Of course, I wasn't quilting when we lived there.

Every day I'm quilting Autumn Maples and I'm stitching the angel for Baskets of Plenty.  I also cut out triangles for trial hourglass blocks for another quilt, and now I'm wondering what I was thinking.  Sometimes I make quick decisions before getting the full effect of quilt blocks.  I see four hourglasses together when I really need to see two dozen to get a better idea. 

I had been thinking about making another quilt for my granddaughter.  I will be making a quilt for a granddaughter, but not the granddaughter I already have.  There's a new granddaughter coming along in a few months.  Exciting news!

I hope all is well in your world.

--Nancy.

27 comments:

  1. Very exciting that you have a new grand daughter on the way! Ahhh minimalism. Twenty one years is a long time in one house and you must have a lot of treasures. I agree - we tend to fill up whatever storage space we have available (same for how we use time?). Good luck as you progress in the "game" of minimizing!

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    1. I'm looking forward to meeting our granddaughter when she arrives!  Babies are such fun.
      I'm not, never have been, nor ever will be a minimalist, Cynthia, but it's so easy to accumulate and suddenly realize there's an overload.  Today I parted with (among other things) 10 emails to myself with links to family history sources.  Some days it's not just physical items that I part with.

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  2. stuff accumulates behind your back...once you have finished, it will be a habit to keep it up and prevent it from piling up again...by the way, lovely plaids!

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    1. I believe you're right, Grace.  I don't know how things get into our house!  I have to go through things every so often (even though I try to keep up and prevent the extra) but things always seem to accumulate so gradually. 
      I like those plaids, too!  They're waiting for their turn in a quilt or two.  In the meantime, I should probably try to get them pressed and stored more neatly.

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  3. I have stuff that my Mom saved from my Grand-mere still--I like that idea of really cutting back on unneeded items...good luck as the days mount up..that is a difficult challenge for sure...I am beginning with my medicine cabinet today...lots of "best used by " dates elapsed...;000
    Hugs julierose

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    1. I don't have much from my grandmother but I have enough from my parents.  I think that will all stay.  But how does it happen that those "best used by" dates just slip by, Julierose?!  Of course, I have plenty of other overage without any dates on them! 

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  4. Congrats on your new granddaughter--how fun that will be! I think we all fill whatever space we have unless we are minimalists--lol! I know I could do with a good purge, but I really don't know where I would start!

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    1. Thank you, Karen.  I'm looking forward to meeting her.I could only do this minimalist thing because I'm starting small.  If I had to go through a whole closet right now, I don't think I could do it!  Today I counted deleting a bunch of emails as some of my things to part with.  Ha!

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  5. I've always found that after downsizing for a move or whatever that six months later I'll be looking for the items and have forgotten that they were discarded. Hope you have better luck.

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    1. Oh, yes, downsizing for a move is the worst, Pat!  I'm nowhere near that kind of clean-out.  I'm starting small with the clutter and things that just seem to pile up with my realizing it.  I'm sure, some year in the future, we'll have to downsize for a move but I hope it's not for a while.

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  6. Sorry but this sounds depressing and exhausting. I do love my ''stuff'', and like you collect random things like seed pods etc. Your plaid shirts fabric collection is beautiful and wonderful, and reuse/recycle friendly.
    Good luck.

    ps Like QB I have destashed and ALWAYS wish soon after that I had those things still. Be careful.

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    1. I love my possessions (most of them, anyway), too, Lizzy, but some of the stuff I have is not at all loveable.  It's just left over because I haven't made a choice to do something with it, like three of my daughter's coats in the closet from nearly 10 years ago!  Out.  I'm starting with small stuff, all the extra, non-essential things that just get left in a house.  If I had to clean closets to do this I don't believe I would have started.  Nothing absolutely wonderful will leave our house, that's for sure!
      Those plaid shirts are waiting their turn for a quilt or two, eventually.

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  7. That is exciting news indeed! Congrats! I too have lived in my house for a long time and have been going through things. I am pretending I am moving out and moving back in again. Would I be willing to move this or would I discard it? It is nice to have a roomy house again.

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  8. I just read the other comments and wanted to give you another perspective. I only got rid of things that no longer served me. I have been decluttering for five years - taking my time to make thoughtful decisions, a few items at a time, and have never regretted getting rid of anything. Think about the space you get to move and think. I am downsizing to make things easier for myself - it will get easier to clean, and have space to move and play.

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    1. Thanks for both of your comments, Shasta.  In my experience, it's really easy for a house to become cluttered with things I don't need, want, use, or even love.  So this "game" is a good thing for me to look around to see what I don't need, or what's been hanging around that I haven't used, or what's just clutter.  Because I'm starting small I doubt I'll regret passing on anything right now.  Maybe, if I keep this up for several months, I'll have to be really careful about what to pass on.  But you're right, it is freeing to have more empty space, less cleaning, etc.  Thanks for the encouragement.

      Take care,Nancy.

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  9. Congrats on the impending arrival of your new granddaughter and best of luck in the Minimalism Game!!

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    1. Thanks so much, Joyful.  I'm looking forward to meeting my granddaughter when she arrives and so far so good with the minimalism game, but we're only at 17!

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  10. Congrats on the coming granddaughter, Nancy! That is exciting!!
    Oh, I played the Minimalist Game for several months a year or two ago, but had to quit when my Mom needed so much care. I couldn't focus on it each day as the numbers got higher. I had hoped to do it for a whole year, but it didn't happen. However--I never did it in my sewing room. LOL I wish you well as you declutter. It is a freeing thing to clean out things that were just taking up space.

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    1. Thank you, Janet.  Definitely exciting to welcome a new little one to the family.
      So far I'm successful parting ways with the specific number of items each day, Janet, but then we're only up to 17.  I know it will get harder.  In some small way, this game seems to give me permission to pass on things I've been keeping just in case they might be useful in the future, or things that I never got around to passing on because of indecision or not thinking about them.  Now I find myself looking for things to pass on or throw out.  We'll see if I make it to 31, though!

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  11. I'm behind in reading posts. This was a great one. Even it if you don't make it to 31 you've taken care of a lot of things. I try to go through things on a regular basis but sometimes it's hard. Yesterday my granddaughter (age 10) and my grandson (age 12) wanted to come over and learn how to knit. I found my "trusty" knitting bag and got out about 15 sets of needles both straight and circular. They picked out what they wanted and we got busy. We sat down for an enjoyable hour and they seemed to think it was fun. My granddaughter wants to make a Gryffindor scarf, a simple 1st project. I was wondering why I had so many needles and maybe I should reduce my collection. Then I thought about the large box of knitting patterns I've inherited from my mother and both grandmothers that I never use. And I probably never will use them. There is just too much sentimental value in that box, my kids will have to take care of it when I'm gone. The kids had to go buy yarn though because I've carefully been kept my stash small. Did I mention this was a great post? Your stack of recycled shirts has all kinds of possibilities just waiting to come to fruition.

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    1. Thank you and no worries, Robin.  I'm behind in reading posts, too.  Heck, I'm behind in nearly everything.
      How fun to teach your grands to knit.  They will have such treasured memories of that time and I'm sure your granddaughter will love her scarf.
      It's hard to pass on things with sentimental value, like our knitting patterns.  I have things like that, too.  They'll stay.
      Those plaid shirts are being so patient.  One of these days they'll get their turn.

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  12. That’s quite a challenge. Not sure I could take it on. Minimalism is definitely not my thing. I think you do quite well to only have a couple of quilts going at a time. I keep seeing squirrels and following them down the path of more.

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    1. It is a challenge, Jennie, but I have such a bunch of cluttery, unneeded things that are here because I haven't dealt with them that I thought it would be a helpful thing to do this month.
      To be sure, though, I will never be a minimalist.  It just wouldn't feel like home to me.
      Well, I do have a bunch of in-progress quilts but I'm not working on all of them at the same time.  I try to finish what I start but it's really hard sometimes.  I lose interest or am not certain that I really like what I'm doing, or am indecisive about the next step.

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  13. That's a great plan, but I probably couldn't do more than one thing a day for 31 days. LOL If that!

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    1. LOL.  You probably don't have a cluttery house like I do, Susan!  So far I'm keeping up but I'm not sure for how long.  I do notice that as I go through the day, in the back of my mind, I'm wondering which things I don't really need so I can pass them on.  I haven't noticed much great change in my environment yet, though.

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  14. I have twice moved into smaller houses - it was a great way to shed a lot of surplus stuff - but I think your way of doing it sounds kind of fun. Your piles of shirts made my mouth water - I hope maybe to spot some of them in a quilt someday soon.

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    1. Oh, it would be hard to move to a smaller house, I think.  Moves are always hard no matter what size house one is moving from and to.  But I guess moving to a smaller house means not having too many possessions getting carted from one house to the other.  This parting of ways is going pretty well so far this month but the hardest days are coming up.  Those plaid shirts have been in the closet for a few years and deserve their turn, for sure.

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