I have an ongoing struggle with Clutter.
I r e a l l y hate clutter, but apparently it loves me.
Clutter follows me everywhere.
This week we are enjoying spring break....which means I have a bit more time without school-related tasks.
Sooooo I'm trying a new method.....
I r e a l l y hate clutter, but apparently it loves me.
Clutter follows me everywhere.
This week we are enjoying spring break....which means I have a bit more time without school-related tasks.
Sooooo I'm trying a new method.....
 |
| Pam's New Clutter Control Method! |
Actually this week I'm trying to clear the horizontal surfaces around my home. Not an easy task, let me tell you! Requires lots of coffee and chocolate. The kids look fearful.
I've noticed that I have a bad habit of getting lots (and lots) of fabric and stuff out to play with and not putting it back away. Eventually, there is no place left to work. My MIL (she lives next door) is lobbying for a new craft building for us to house all our toys and crafty treasures. I'm not really hip to that since our last house had lots more room and I was able to fill that up with creative chaos, too. Even with more space, eventually you must face the inevitable and clean up after yourself! DRAG!
What I really need is a quilt (or yarn) shop employee to come by once a week to tidy up. They would start by asking me which 2 projects I was actually working on. This, of course, would be a tough question....but I would force myself to make a decision. Then she could put away all the other odds, ends, scraps, strings, rulers, gadgets, yardage, and bins that I had gotten out that week! I would most likely have to leave the premises to avoid pawing through the storage tubs to pull out more fun stuff, thus undoing all her hard work. I suggest that she start the visit with a dose of Excedrin.
Oh well....never hurts to dream....
Back to shovel...
**************
Please tell us how you stay organized.
Do you tidy up after yourself regularly?
If yes, were you born like that (sounds like it could be a strange defect to me!) or did you learn it?
This skill was most likely learned in kindergarten, but I must have stayed home sick (or buried under clutter) that day!
many blessings,
I've noticed that I have a bad habit of getting lots (and lots) of fabric and stuff out to play with and not putting it back away. Eventually, there is no place left to work. My MIL (she lives next door) is lobbying for a new craft building for us to house all our toys and crafty treasures. I'm not really hip to that since our last house had lots more room and I was able to fill that up with creative chaos, too. Even with more space, eventually you must face the inevitable and clean up after yourself! DRAG!
What I really need is a quilt (or yarn) shop employee to come by once a week to tidy up. They would start by asking me which 2 projects I was actually working on. This, of course, would be a tough question....but I would force myself to make a decision. Then she could put away all the other odds, ends, scraps, strings, rulers, gadgets, yardage, and bins that I had gotten out that week! I would most likely have to leave the premises to avoid pawing through the storage tubs to pull out more fun stuff, thus undoing all her hard work. I suggest that she start the visit with a dose of Excedrin.
Oh well....never hurts to dream....
Back to shovel...
**************
Please tell us how you stay organized.
Do you tidy up after yourself regularly?
If yes, were you born like that (sounds like it could be a strange defect to me!) or did you learn it?
This skill was most likely learned in kindergarten, but I must have stayed home sick (or buried under clutter) that day!
many blessings,
pam
My assistant would always know, all by herself, what to put away and what to leave out. She would do those tedious tasks like washing and ironing fabrics and keep my stash tidy. She would also vacuum the floor once a day and do needlepatrol in between, and always know when she should stay home and leave me alone. She would also make healthy snacks and dinners when I am busy.
ReplyDeleteNo, I don't tidy all the time, hence the assistant dream.)
Clutter sticks by me kinda like stray thread clippings on a black sweater. The only saving grace for me is that I have taken over one bedroom for my sewing room, that means (usually) there are no more than two hand quilting or embroidery projects hanging out in the living room ...
ReplyDeleteI so identified with the thoughts in this post...at the moment my dining table, the coffee table in the lounge and the one in my sewing room are 'covered with clutter' from the 3 (well maybe more) projects that I've been doing but 2 have been finished and the 'stuff' is still out. I find the best way to get tidied up is to invite people over for dinner; I find I can clean up in no time that way! lol
ReplyDeleteI love the quote attributed to Einstein: "A clean desk is a sign of a sick mind". Elsewhere I have seen these, too:
ReplyDelete"A clean desk is a sign of a cluttered desk drawer." and:
"If a cluttered desk signs a cluttered mind, Of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?" -- Albert Einstein.
So you know I'm a clutterbug, too. One thing that has helped me is the www.FLYlady.net site.
Another is to see a tidy-up as part of the actual work. So, I'm not finished until I put all my toys away. When I was a Promotions Manager whose tasks included creating and having printed several catalogues each month, I always forgot to hand in the printing costs and other figures to accounting. Every month the patient accountant had to come and ask for them. I felt badly and tried to figure out what my problem was; finally it dawned on me: I thought of the creative stuff as the job and when I took the masters to the printer, I saw the job as finished. So I re-defined the job in my head so that taking the figures to accounting was the final step. After that, I never forgot. I've been thinking ('cause in spite of all this, I'm not too good at putting my projects away and as I'm couch-surfing at my Mum's in a not-big-enough apartment and she has her own projects going) that I need to work again on application, not just thinking. I HAVE put most of my ongoing projects into those big grocery bags you buy and then put the bags into my storage closet. But I need to take care of the sewing project stuff. Handsewing I keep in a couple of trays, so they are easy to transport. It's the table that's a real problem. Thanks for bringing this up; I'll be back. ~ Linne
I'm a combination clutter-bug/neat-freak. I can't stand clutter, but I don't seem to be able to tidy up totally. I find myself making stacks and setting aside, almost out of the way. Like the stack of magazines, mail and other paperwork that doesn't need immediate attention on the chair in the dining area. Like the stack of fabrics that I need to put away on my sewing table.
ReplyDeleteOh,my, is this ever a post to relate to! I am pretty good about the rest of the house, but my sewing room is always a mess. (My mom saved my first grade report card - those were the days when we had desks with lids so you could put your papers inside - the teacher wrote 'Celia is an excellent student, but her desk is always very messy'~grin~)
ReplyDeleteI like Linne's idea of reframing it so that tidying up becomes an integral part of the project, but once I am in there sewing, I want to spend all of my time on the actual sewing. Sigh.....
I also have a sewing room that is a total mess, but I work in it just fine. I always know where everything is. When I clean up and put away.... I can't find anything... I make notes as to where I put things, then loose the notes.. I am happy to have everything out where I can see, feel, play and enjoy. Have a great day Karen in Arizona ps... is just hopped over from Humble Quilts and found your blog.
ReplyDeleteGreat to join the confraturnity of clutter ;). I just dropped in after reading one of Linne's posts to see what your blog is like. I was curious about your gorgeous quilts and your generosity in raising funds for a water project but I must admit to being interested in your name. I have the same maiden name and know that there were distinct splinter groups of "Stahl's" that headed to the U.S. and out to Australia (where I live). How interesting to find a real live (even by marriage ;) ) "Stahl" :). Kudos on your gorgeous quilts, your kindness and your clutter...all signs of you being a "real person" rather than a robot ;)
ReplyDeletemy mother taught me to be non-clutter; as a child our home was nearly always cluttered; 4 kids and nobody picked up. i simply couldn't stand it so it made me one who is organized. oh sure, i can be briefly messy (or clutter-y) but can't sew in a disheveled environment and when married, couldn't sleep if there were dishes in the sink. i did raise a child who is a neatnik, but she has no children yet so that might change...LOL
ReplyDeleteYour M.O. sounds a lot like mine! When you find that clutter cleaner-upper, let me know and I'll give him/her my address too. :)
ReplyDeleteYou do remember how my desk used to look don't you???? Well, the look is the same it's just the 'stuff' that's changed. When I'm working on something I move everything else off to another flat surface - that process continues until there are no more flat surfaces available in the room (I do limit myself to one room for crafting clutter) then I tidy up so I can start all over again! Sounds about like you.
ReplyDelete