Success Tips for Decluttering Your Sewing Room

Posted by Christine Mann May 1, 2009

How do you know when it's time to declutter your work room? For me, it's when I just can't stand the mess any more. I reached the breaking point when my husband installed a new bathroom next to my sewing room. The new piles of boxes from the renovation and the old piles of fabric from our move four years ago made it hard to walk from my sewing machine to my cutting and ironing table. Some serious decluttering was overdue.

Here are some insights I've gained over the years about decluttering and organizing.

Pick One Place to Start

I started decluttering by sorting and folding all the fabric that had been taking up floor space ever since I moved to this house. I folded the half-quarters and larger yardage around plastic acid-free sheets from Polar Notions so I could store it upright in my bookshelves, where I can look at it. (I love to look at my fabric.) Smaller scrap pieces went into a large plastic scrap bin. Fabric I don't like any more went into a giveaway pile. Clearing the floor of all that fabric I had been tripping over for years was very satisfying. The next step for me will be organizing my shelved fabric by color.

Declutter for the Person You are Now, Not the Person You Used to Be

If you've been holding on to projects you haven't finished in years, clothes that haven't fit you since the last millennium, broken tools you've been meaning to fix for a long time, and books and magazines you've never read, it's time to let them go. They were part of the old you, but they no longer fit the you of today. (If they did, you would be finishing them, wearing them, fixing them, or reading them.) Keeping old unused things actually hinders you from being your best self right now. Old unfinished business takes up physical space and mental energy that you really need for the person you want to be today.

Make a Decision Now—Put it Away, Give it Away, Sell it, or Throw it Away

As you sort through your clutter, try to make a final decision about each item you come across. As professional organizer Kathy Waddill likes to say, "Decide to decide." Don't wait until tomorrow to make up your mind. Do you have room for it? Will you use it? Then put it away. If you don't need it any more, but it's still useful to someone, give it away. If it has cash value, sell it. If it's no good to anyone, throw it out! The worst thing you can do is think to yourself that you'll decide what to do about this bit of clutter tomorrow. The decision won't be any easier tomorrow than it is today. Decide to decide! There, don't you feel better?

If you'd like to learn more about getting organized, you can find some ideas in these articles:

Setting Up Your Quilting Space

How to Organize Your Quilting Fabric