Tidy Up Tuesday - Declutter Challenge 2022 - The Quest Continues

Welcome to another edition of Tidy Up Tuesday!!  Because of Karen @ Just Get It Done Quilts and her Declutter Challenge 2022, I have gotten rid of a fair amount of clutter in my studio.  Is the space tidy and organized?  Not by a long shot!  Is it better than it was?  

Let's have a look at what happened since last week's post...

Day 12 - Appliances and Devices

At first, I thought I was going to be able to take a pass for today's assignment.  As I had focused on Karen's use of the word ELECTRONICS and read through her last of items that might be found in our spaces, but then I changed my focus to the part that said "anything with a cord."

That's when I remembered this steamer purchased at a long ago Home Show at the state fair grounds and knew it HAD to go:

Day 13 - Notions

The photo below shows 17 bobbin holder pins and 225 safety pins of various sizes that went into the box for the (postponed) Silent Auction:

Day 14 - Catch Up

You know what that means, don't you?  I took a dive back into the magazine shelf.  I'm pleased to say that (as far as I know) there are only 2 cubes remaining to be sorted.    Yet ANOTHER 25 magazines went into the donate box...

... Which is beginning to look fairly full.  That other paper box off to the side is almost completely empty, so I'm considering this a win:

Day 15 - UFOs

This is the day that I have been dreading.  I've got a ready excuse for NOT dealing with this category today.  My UFOs are still packed in boxes.  I can't get to them.  I've got to get the longarm set up.  Are you sensing a theme?  ANYTHING to avoid these long forgotten projects!!

Hmm... Maybe...  I did get rid of 12 more magazines, empty another box, and hang my long rulers on the hooks that I installed the other day - which cleared 5 rulers off my cutting table:

Day 16 - Kits

Karen considers bundles of fabrics (with or without a pattern) to be a separate category.  I agree.  However, I have never called them kits.  I think of them as projects.  With potential.  :o))

Here is the spot (a bin tucked in the cabinet below my cutting table) that has been designated to hold these... Or at least SOME of them:

Day 17 - Scrap Management

I knew this was coming, but Karen was kind to us.  Today was about pulling out all the scraps and seeing just how big Scrap Mountain is (SEW not going there, as I only recently moved my entire studio!) and then setting up a space for our fabric scraps.  I've got that!

Before I show you the photos, which you may have seen if you visit my blog often, I have a confession to make...

You see, I am a Scrap Quilter with a Capital "S".  Almost EVERY project I make is made from scraps!  The boundaries I have set consist of going through each gifted bag when it arrives and pulling out the fabrics that I know I will not used in my quilts.  Those go into a reusable grocery bag to offload onto some unsuspecting quilter share with some other lucky quilter at the next guild meeting.

Here is the GIANT drawer that I have designated for scrap bag storage when we moved into this house at the end of the summer:

To give you a bit of perspective, it's 16.5" wide, 16.5" deep and slides into the wall nearly 2.5 FEET!!

And THIS is my Scrap Center - with many of my scraps sorted by color, as I participate in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge each year.  I am pleased to report that ALL of the magazines (left from Day 14) that I'm keeping (except for the 2 foot tall stack of Quilters Newsletter Magazines that I might NEVER part with!) stored along the bottom shelf:

You can find the tutorial for my Quilted Scrap Baskets HERE.

Day 18 - Batting

As with my fabric scraps, the batting scraps got their own GIANT drawer when I moved into my new studio space.  I'm SEW relieved that they are no longer in a HUGE teetering stack in a corner!  I pull from here EVERY time a new mini, topper, or runner quilt top is ready to be layered.  There are a number of batting types and a variety of sizes.  Many of them are labeled with the size and I just rummage through until I find a piece that suits the project.  The offcuts from longarming my own quilts are stored together in bags by brand (i.e. all of the Warm and Natural is in one bag and all of the Quilter's Dream in another) in the same drawer:

Remember:  This drawer measures 16.5" x 16.5" x nearly 2.5 feet!!

While going through the Declutter Challenge, I was inspired to make further progress on my space.  Going above and beyond the daily prompts took me from WORSE than this...

... To NEARLY ready to set up the longarm:

I'm pleased with my progress, thus far.  Whatever the final days of the challenge hold, I'm prepared to make the most of them.

Until next time...

Reclaim your space!!!