And your excuse is?

Oh my goodness -- I love hearing your stories about decluttering! Yes --- it was great to take notes when you are learning, or find tips in magazines or patterns you wanted to make, but at some point, you get past the point of needing/wanting that stuff. When we accumulate so much of it, and it gets tucked away, it gets forgotten. 

KUDOS to any and all of you who are whittling away at that crap along with me. I just don't buy it when people say, "OH, my kids will take care of cleaning my mess." Why? Why would you say that? What if your mother said that to you! Besides that, it is a very immature thing to say. 

This is YOUR mess, and you alone should be responsible for cleaning it up! I totally get that you might no longer physically be able to, but then you need to hire someone, cajole your kids or friends into helping, or whatever, but to leave a mess of your stuff for someone else to deal with? In my mind, that is the most irresponsible thing that people can do. 

YES - I totally get that those messes are embarrassing. So much so that some people won't let anyone into their house. I get it --- my kitchen table was completely full at one point, and we each had a small area to eat on. Stacks of newspapers used to fill the office. We get it and are willing to help! There's no need to be embarrassed - just say, "I need help, and move on."

YES -- I totally get that hoarding (let's face it - it's hoarding) is a mental illness. We struggle with it in our family -- both my Mom and Dad, as well as my two brothers, are hoarders. I get it -- but I also think we can stop using that as an excuse and get to it! I did! It's taken me years (over ten years) to get to where I am now. 

And YES --- if you need to read every receipt or piece of paper, then read it! I don't necessarily read everything, but I need to touch everything. At the beginning, I did need to read everything; now I can look at something, and my brain says, "Seriously, Elaine! If you think that a 15-year-old CAA magazine is worth your precious time, then go ahead and read it. But quite frankly, it's a waste of time." I can finally let my brain do some of the work for me! 

Decluttering is a personal journey. And YES - I would love to be spending time sewing or reading, but seriously? Do I want to? And what I have found is that the more I declutter, the more space and energy I have, and the less emotional baggage (guilt) I carry, so I actually have MORE time to read and sew - guilt-free! 

Anyway -- thanks for sharing your stories!! We WILL conquer our messes - it's just not going to happen overnight. And we need to celebrate EVERY SUCCESS—it's the little ones who count the most. It's the ones where we start learning to let go that count the most. It's those where we learn to stop procrastinating that count the most. Remember -- I CAN & I WILL - WATCH ME!!!! You got this!!!!

Oh my - speaking of the bunnies and the snow, look at this. 

Bunny tunnel

The clever little things have carved a tunnel under the trees in my neighbor's front yard. We had a lot of sun yesterday, and I'm happy to report that the driveway is looking pretty clear. It still has snow in some spots, but the main part is being cleared off and dried. The neighborhood streets are still snow-covered and likely will be for a while. It looks like we are going to have a very cold and sunny day, so that will help again! It's so nice to have the sun, so I don't mind the cold. Just dress appropriately, and you'll be just fine! 

Miss Murphy can't wait for the warmer temperatures, and neither can I. She just seems so agitated these days and even more needy than ever. She needs in, and then she needs out. She doesn't sleep in her bed by the front window any longer, and she won't go upstairs anymore. She has no problem going downstairs, and I often find her hanging out in the stash room. I have no idea what has gotten into her. And when she does get out, she will lie in the snow and yipe small barks. I've thought of taking her to the vet, but what do I say? My dog is needy and more neurotic than ever. So she just gets extra love, and we'll see what happens. 

MOM - I need someone to play with me!

Ten of the ladies in our Zoom sewing group went for lunch yesterday. What fun to see everyone, but OH MY -- what a noisy group! DH says that my voice projects loudly, and I hope I wasn't one of the loud ones. I did NOT attempt to overtalk, nor did I talk to those at the opposite end of the table! But we had a nice lunch, and I sure didn't need a snack in the afternoon. As far as the Pony Express goes, it was a madhouse. People were exchanging things - I think everyone had stuff to exchange. I took ONE envelope and an iPad to pass along. In return, I got two quilts to quilt, two EXIT Games, a bag of cars and trucks, a book, and a small bag of stabilizer. Some of that was for me, and some of it was to pass along. 

Then it was home to finish quilting a customer's quilt! 

Customer quilt - DONE

And I had to laugh because when I finish one, I set out the next quilt so it's ready for loading, which I'll do later today. This one is a GIANT of a quilt. So I'll load it today and quilt it on the weekend. But when I looked at the backing, which doesn't show well in this photo, my first thought was: this is exactly the fabric I need to find for one of the quilts I'm making. I wonder if the customer would mind if I took half of the backing!

The backing for the next quilt

But no - I'm off to shop for something today. I know I won't find exactly what I want, and that's OK. I just need a dark blue; any nice, darker shade will work. 

I also got some machine embroidery done. I had made one of these hot mats many years ago, and it was completely finished. It's a project in the hoop (except the binding), and that binding is a challenge: it's bias, narrow, has a nasty point to turn, and no straight edge to do the join! 

Finished hot mat

I was using it as a teaching aid in my machine embroidery workshop, and I had two others partially done. One was stitched entirely but needed trimming, and the other had only two pieces of fabric stitched in place. 

The next two hotmats - ready for binding

So last night, I finished all the stitching on the second one and trimmed both of them. I dug out some fabric to make the bias binding from. Good grief -- more binding. I have a lot of binding to do, but that means the last stages of completion! There are SIX projects now that need binding, but I'm still waiting for my little tags to come. I won't put tags on these small projects, but I will on the wall hangings and table runners. I have the tracking number, but the package is coming from France, and it must be on a slow boat! 

I also had an audiobook I needed to finish. I listened to the last of it with one hour to spare! That's a bit close, and I need to give myself a break from reading/listening for a while. But I have three books in my Libby App. I need to stop with the audio and e-books and focus on some of the physical books on the shelf!

I finished one part (of nine) for that pattern, and the rest should be relatively easy. It's all the graphic placement of stuff that takes time. But since the main graphic is the same for all the parts, I just need to fill in the blanks, so to speak! I'm going to try to get most of that done this weekend, so I don't have to worry about it. I need/want to move on because I have one more pattern to write and a sidebar, and those need to be done ASAP. 

Thank goodness I love to write, and I'm good at it! 

Brooke is away again this week. They were in Mexico for an event, and their plane got canceled last week because of the snow, so they decided to stay an extra week. This morning is one of the coldest days of the year, and I'm on my own. I was tempted not to go. But seriously? Why do I need to take a break when there's no need? Going to the gym on my own is NOT new to me, and neither is the cold weather. So get those big girl panties on and get in the car. I'm half dressed and have eaten my energy bar, so I have to go now, or I just ate 230 calories that I wasn't supposed to eat today! 

Have a wonderful day, stay warm, and keep decluttering. I have faith in you!!!!!

Ciao!!!