Clearing up paper is "fun"

The unspeakable happened! I'm happily getting rid of more paper in the office. 

I had some paperwork that needed to be done, so I sat at the computer, finished it, and got it sent. Someone wants a quilt pattern I designed in 2013, and I'm recreating it for this group. That was the one I couldn't find. I still have a bit more work to do on it, but the finished product looks so much better than my hand-scrawled instructions, never mind how much more professional the diagrams look! My knowledge base with computers, despite my issues with them, has increased a lot!

As I was sitting here, I was also trying to think where I put my mailbox key. I couldn't find the darn thing, so I looked under the computer desk in case the key had fallen there. Hmm -- I spotted a box and two books. What's in the box? You have to love the name on the box!

How appropriate

OH my --- I found it filled (well, almost) with a quilt book, two quilt magazines, and then a bunch of USELESS paper. At first, I was going to put it back where it belonged, and then I thought-"you can do this, and you can do it NOW." So I took a few minutes, and I emptied that box. The book and magazines went downstairs to their respective places, one piece of paper got moved to the filing cabinet, and the rest of the stuff in the box went into the recycling! YEAH ME!!!! 

While I went through the box pretty quickly, I still flipped through all the paper. It is getting so much easier to just toss stuff. I still need to look through it, and I sorted the stuff and removed a couple of plastic pouch folders that went into the giveaway box. I was practically giddy with delight!

The two books that were sitting there went onto the bookcase, leaving that one shelf under my computer desk EMPTY!!! It crossed my mind to take other things and store them there, like from the table or the desktop, but I have decided not to do that. It's easy to put things in a spot like that, and they get forgotten. I'm OK living with the visible mess for a while longer. 

But I took the box and filled it with some of the paper sitting on the table, so at least it looks much neater. While the table is still covered with crap, there is only one layer of crap, not three or four like there was in the past. 

The tabletop is looking better

And the best news is that there really isn't much hiding in the office to put on the table once that gets cleared up! Oh, I'm sure I'll find things that need sorting, but the bottom line is that significant progress is being made!

I took a few more minutes and consolidated TWO folders in the filing cabinet. I recycled what I could and put the items that needed to be shredded in that box. Now that the paperwork is more or less organized, it's a whole lot easier to grab one folder at a time and deal with it. It also makes it somewhat easier to file things, although labelling and reducing what's in there will make a big difference. I don't have the time or the energy to do it all at once, but I'm whittling this mess down! 

Two more folders got tidied

Can you imagine if I left this until we decided to move? Some papers would get dealt with, but the majority would be moved, leaving them to be dealt with after the move. Not so!!! And if we were to move in the next couple of years, and I'm still not done, it wouldn't take more than a couple of focused days to put it in shape! By then, my brain will be fully trained to toss, but not without looking first! 

The recycling bin needs to be emptied AGAIN! Which is all good news! I have a stack of GOOS (good on one side) paper to last me a long time for printing. 

The recycling bin is full!

And the desktop, although a wee bit messier this morning, is looking better and actually making me want to work! Go figure! I'm still not in the habit of the before-bed tidy-up, but that will come. It's in the back of my mind!

The desktop

Did I find the key? Yes -- it was in a jacket pocket!

Back in 2017, I started the quilt called "150 Canadian Women" by Kat Tucker from Calgary. The quilt was to celebrate Canada's Sesquicentennial year. There were 150 blocks, each celebrating a famous Canadian woman. A short bio of each woman is included in the patterns. The blocks had NOTHING to do with the women. 

While my quilt top is made, I never read the stories. I'm ready to pass this pattern along to someone else, but before it goes out the door, I decided to read those stories. OH MY!!!!!

The stories for the 150 Canadian Women  Quilt

I don't think most of us Canadian women, or from any country for that matter, understand how few, if any, rights women had back in the day. You couldn't work and be married, your work was presented by men, and they took credit for it, you couldn't vote, and so many other things. Women were treated with zero respect. It was extremely shameful, but true, and there are still gaps in what women can and can't do, although much less so now. And let's not forget the people of color, Indigenous, children, and other indignities that were put upon our non-white, male populations. 

Many of the stories are about those women and how they overcome the hurdles to make our world a better place today. Many of them were brilliant, but were never recognized publicly for their work. It's disgusting that some of them had to disguise themselves as men to do what they wanted to do! 

I love this quote from Charlotte Elizabeth Hazeltyne Whitton, "Whatever women do, they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, it's not difficult!"

I embroidered the names of all 150 women on the backing for that quilt. After reading the stories (only 1/3 of the way through), I'm so glad I did. It will remind me of just how much they did to make my life easier and to give me the freedom to do what I do! 

I pressed the label for that table runner, and I know why the darn thing is not stitched on. I have temporarily pinned it here for now. 

The label is temporarily pinned in place

I wanted to quilt the white sashing. So it will go on the current project tables and will pop up in a UFO bin sometime soon! 

The sashing needs to be quilted

I did a bit of rearranging in Studio U yesterday as well. I know more quilts need labels, and I should make a stack so I can work on them one at a time. So much to do and so little time! Although time isn't as big an issue as it used to be. 

I managed to get my projects stitched that I wanted to yesterday, but it seemed to take forever. Well, that's not true - the stitching was super easy, but I had a bit of a struggle with one thing; however, I finally solved the issues, and all is good! Now I have to be at the computer again this morning!

Look at my bag of spools and bobbins. These are the empties, and it seems a day doesn't go by when I'm not putting one or the other in the bag. These will be donated to a group that makes touch quilts for people with Alzheimer's.

My giveaway bag of empty spools and bobbins

Even though I haven't quite got into the habit of tidying up the office, I sure have it for Studio B. That place is pretty clean. Lots of stuff, but it's all neatly stored, and that's all I ask of myself!

I am starting to get that way in the office, but it will take some time. Just like it took time in Studio B to get into the habit. And the more organized the space is, the easier it is to follow the tidy-up habit. I'm getting there. My mindset is there, and the basic organizational structure is now in place; it's just one small step at a time to finesse the mess. 

This is how I work—can you imagine coming in here and spending one day just sorting, filing, and pitching? I wouldn't have learned a thing, I wouldn't have acquired the patience required to maintain it, and I sure the heck wouldn't have appreciated all that it took. Plus one huge day, and I would be mentally exhausted and probably never recover! 

I know there is one more box under the computer desk, and should I open it up? It's larger than the other one, and I've no idea what's in it. I also know there are boxes on the bookcase. Wouldn't it be nice to get to the point where I deal with one box at a time? OK -- I couldn't help myself -- I pulled out the box. More paper crap. I may just bite the bullet and go through it this morning. 

I also have a couple of items that need to be returned on the table, as well as two giveaway boxes that should be delivered. That would make a big difference in the look. I might just take a few minutes this morning and do that. I have a couple of other car errands - why not do this as well? 

I also need to go through the pending folder on my desktop, which is looking mighty messy, and deal with whatever is still pending! 

Plus, the embroidery and sewing machines are calling me. It's a busy time right now, but not crazy busy! 

And on that note, I'm off to the gym. Brooke is away this week, so I'm on my own, and I'm debating whether to go. Silly me -- just get your butt in the car and go! 

Have a great day!!

Ciao!!

Yeah me!!!!