Laundry basket frenzy

I read somewhere that every time you set aside time for something that you should double the amount of time you think it's going to take. Hmm - I seem to completely forget that every time!

I'm in the process of writing up some instructions for a small project that I have to teach in October. Technically, the instructions should have been written a while back and of course, now, they must get completed.

I scheduled some time to finish them, but holy - when you're trying to write every single step (involving the actual buttons to push on the sewing machine), it takes a wee bit more time than I had planned.

Since I don't have access to that particular machine here, I had to go to my local dealer to walk through the instructions to make sure they made sense. Then I decided that I needed to remake the small project. I'm not making it on the same machine, but close enough. I needed to make sure the steps were logical, but mostly I needed photos of some of the steps! A couple of small changes to make on the handout, edit and insert the photos this morning and I should be able to get those instructions out of the house by 10 AM.

The first time doing something new (this is the first time I write instructions for this company) and they have quite a protocol to follow. The next time should be a breeze. I procrastinate for the silliest of reasons.

That's one more thing off my list. There are a few things left for this month and they'll most likely get rolled over to next month when I add a few more projects. I'm doing well but no time for slacking off. Most have loose deadlines and I like that although I'm not as motivated.

So how many laundry baskets does one quilter need? It would appear the more the merrier! I do NOT recommend using laundry baskets to put stuff in. Why? While they are great because of their size, they are not stackable so not very efficient for storage.

Look at what's accumulated over the years.

Right now, they are handy because of the constant moving stuff around, but my goal when all this is done? I might keep one or two of the baskets, but the rest should go.

And there is one (in the foreground) that is totally crapped out and needs to go in the garbage once I hang up that metal message board that's resting on it. They aren't even the same color or style so of course, they don't nest into each other either!!!  That's four.

Four laundry baskets filled with stuff

There's two more - one is filled with "junk" and one is filled with a tote bag project and supplies. Why aren't the supplies in the appropriate place??? I believe the one on the left is the same one as the empty one above. That makes five baskets.

Two more laundry baskets

Believe it or not, there are four laundry baskets in this picture!  Can you find them all??  The blue one is a duplicate of the blue one in the first photo so we can't count that one. That's a count of EIGHT baskets.

Four laundry baskets - can you spot them all?

Oh, shoot - here's two more. Again - filled with stuff. Now some of this stuff has been dealt with and I'm using the baskets to put stuff in to make it easier to move rather than move a bunch of smaller stuff. That makes ten.

Two more laundry baskets

Hidden deep in the stash room what do I find? Two more laundry baskets. That's makes 12. These ones are filled with a project that I want to do and I should just get myself organized and get it done.

Two more baskets

If memory serves me correctly, I believe there are two more baskets upstairs. NO - they don't have clothes in them. They have quilting stuff in them. As if we would use a laundry basket for clothes!!! Wait - I just ran upstairs - there are FOUR - well one is round so technically that counts as a half!

That makes a total of 16 laundry baskets, one of which is toast. That's totally insane, given the fact that you can't really stack these things. No wonder there is so much clutter around. It was much easier to just throw stuff in a basket and leave it lying around. So instead of dealing with a pile of stuff, I went to the store and bought a new laundry basket. Totally irresponsible of me! I just laugh at my old habits - how could I be so thoughtless. Did I think the problem would go away if I hide everything?

I'm not looking back. What's done is done. Let's move forward and figure out how to get those baskets empty and everything in them needs to find a home! The tidying has been put on hold as I get these instructions done! I have three more instructions to write, but they are for myself and so don't need to be as detailed as this one particular set. They won't take long, but they'll have to wait until next month.

Here's one other thing that I found when I was tidying up last week. This was sitting on a shelf in the stash room and I would see it regularly. What's in it??? It's a sewing box filled with stuff. Looks like applique stuff.

Sewing box with stuff

 I removed all the stuff and it's now in the appropriate places. I am amazed at how much stuff has been squirreled away into boxes, bags and whatever other vessels I could find over the years. I know that once I get things in order, it's going to be great. And don't get me started on Studio U. I haven't unpacked from my trip - well I sort of unpacked and it looks like a crazy house. That clean up will have to wait for a day or so. But ask me how many books I've read!!!! Sometimes my priorities are not clear! However when the sky is blue, the temperature is warm and there's a beautiful breeze - who can resist the gazebo?? I wasn't there yesterday, but I was the day before when I should have been writing those instructions!

Stuff that was in the sewing box

The sewing box is now up for grabs. I seem to have a thing. I find a sewing box and I get excited so I put stuff in it. I did like this one because it had room for the project under that clear tray. I bet I used this for that gingerbread quilt!!! Well, then something else comes along and I switch boxes but never go back to the original one. And obviously, never empty it.

Sewing box up for grabs

Oh well - it is what it is. I've got enough boxes and bags for all my project needs so I won't be buying anything new.

I'm doing very well at looking and not buying. I just think about where I'm going to put it when I get home and then quite easily put it back on the shelf.

Speaking of buying, here are a couple more reasons that we buy things.

• The retirement stash. Yep - knowing that you'll be on a fixed income in the future, you bought and you bought LOTS. 
• The guilt purchase. I know I did this a lot. I'd be in the store, didn't really see anything that grabbed my fancy, but I bought something just because I felt that I should buy something. And sometimes, what I bought cost a lot of money. Didn't need it, didn't want it but felt compelled to buy it. STOP THAT.  You should NEVER feel that you HAVE to buy something just because you walk in a store. Just STOP. And if the staff or the owner make you feel guilty? Don't shop there ever again. 
• Shop discount. Most stores allow their staff (and teachers) to buy fabric at a discount. Every little bit helps, but that discount has added stuff to my stash that I didn't need. There were many days when I worked or taught and technically, I owed the store more money than I had made that day!!!

I've added the three above reasons to the blog post from the other day. Maybe we need to print this out and put it in our wallets next to our credit card!! Or give it to a friend who is pushy and makes you buy too much.

That's the food for thought today!! And now I'm off to tweak my handout!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!