When I took down my stuffed ornaments that had been displayed about the home during the 2023 Christmas season, I decided to do a count, tossing them out on the bed in the master bedroom.
Here is my PRE-2024 count:
153 Christmas + 15 repurposed toys = 168
Borrowing this collage photo from my 1/14/2024 post in my other blog WanderOr Ponder, it is clear that these little cuties are nearly everywhere in my home at Christmastime. So why do I need to make more? Because they are quick, fun, and generally, I just want to. One could say it is a disease, but that is too judgmental for something so soft, squishy, inexpensive, and harmless.
So in 2024 I decide to sew up all the random panels and cut-outs I had lingering in my stash along with all the panels I bought at a recent fabric sale at 50¢ a panel. What a deal! These are the designs in the recent panels I bought before they were sewn and stuffed.
One set 6 angels (1/5/2024)
Three sets of 8 houses each (1/17/2024)
One set of 8 Strawberry Shortcakes (1/25/24)
One pair of 2 angels (2/7/24)
Two critters (2/7/24)
One set of 6 nativities circles (2/17/24)
One set of 6 Christmas Symbols(2/23/24)
One set of 6 Swedish folk art ornaments(2/28/24)
One set of 14 gilded ornaments in 8 shapes (8/27/24)
One set of 8 Nativity figures (10/7/24)
Some of these sets completed in 2024 I gave away, but I kept most for my collection. Still to be located is a second panel of 8 largish nativity figures and two panels of 12 calico ornaments each. They dematerialized in my sewing room somewhere. Oh well, those 32 ornaments can be sewn up in 2025. I fell short of my goal to sew up ALL the panels in 2024, but the objective of that plan was to have them not adding to my sewing room clutter.
Philosophical question: If you can't find or see something, does it still count as clutter?
That is... a lot of stuffed ornaments. I took some home, but we have more than can fit on our tree as well! I'll admit I'm beginning to see the flaw in the "I have to make this up because otherwise it'll take up room in my sewing room" logic, though ... I've now made enough quilts that all our quilt racks are full, and completed quilts are coming *back* to my sewing room for storage - only now they've had backing and binding added so they take up more space!
ReplyDeleteI will suggest that if you can't find or see something, it doesn't necessarily count as clutter - if it's in a closet or well organized in a box, then it's just "in storage." If, however, it's concealed in a pile of stuff you're going to need to get UNDER in order to do more sewing/pay your bills/ reach your favorite board game, THEN it becomes clutter, whether you can see it inside the pile or not!
Of course this definition might be a little self-serving, because I've spent a lot of time organizing my sewing room, but I'm pretty sure I'm still preserving a lot of things I will realistically never use. Some of that I can give away but for the rest... well, 805 sure you'll never use it is still 20% UN-sure, right?
I thoroughly concur with your clutter interpretation.
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