Downsizing...

Yes, I know it is somewhat overused, but that is exactly where I am right now. You see, a few months back a builder we had worked with in the past came in and did a bid on updating the bathrooms and doing an overhaul on our kitchen. The design they did was gorgeous but involved a LOT of tearing up and reconstructing. And, the price tag was more than we paid for the house a little over 20 years ago. Well, let's just say we started thinking, which I know is dangerous, and wondered if we should take a different approach.

We live on the far north side of a large metropolitan area. Our son and his family (translated- two of our grandchildren!) live on the far south side. I am fortunate to be able to take care of the children for a number of weeks during the school year but the commute is long...over an hour one way when the traffic is good, and it rarely is.

Soooo... we decided to downsize, sell this place and move to the south side. If you are a stitcher you know where this is heading! Yep. I need to go through my stash and carefully think about what I want to keep.

Over the years I have cleared out my sewing room. I've gone through magazines, kits, fabric, etc., but I still seem to have a lot of things hanging out in that room. Things I couldn't possibly finish should I live to be 150 years old! How do I do this? How would you do it?

I started first by taking a long hard look at my magazine collections. Recently several publishers have offered back issues in digital form. Just Cross Stitch has a 10 year collection on one CD, and it includes the ornament issues. I purchased the CD and have now cleared up quite a bit of shelf space.

I also did this for my Piecework collection. They don't offer as many issues on one CD, but it is still a great space saver.

The one magazine that is available in digital form that I can't bring myself to replace is Sampler and Antique Needlework. I really enjoy flipping through those and reading the articles and doing it on a laptop just isn't the same.

I then went through the remaining magazines and (now don't hyperventilate!) ripped out the projects I really saw myself doing one day and then I recycled the rest of the magazine. I purchased those plastic sleeve protectors, placed one project facing the front and one facing the back, and put the sheets in a three ring binder. I have a binder for Quilting, Hardanger, Tatting, Needlework. I also have one that includes a variety of interesting articles I want to read or refer to later on. 

I did save some complete issues, but this process cleared out a lot of shelf space and that translates into not needing to box and move them later!

I still have a lot of cleaning out to do. The home is being built and we won't move until late April or early May. Still, it's a large task. Hopefully this downsizing process will help me focus on what I truly want to spend my time stitching on.