Welcome to all of the #Springcleanyourstudio Blog Hoppers! Today is my day to show the before and after photos of my studio. In some ways I thought today would never get here, but in other ways it's too soon because my studio needed so much help!
Question: How did my studio get so messy?
Answer: I travel constantly teaching quilting and I'm either making a mess while packing or making a mess while unpacking or making a mess while getting some quilting done in between trips.
I'm going to take a deep breath and show my messy studio to the world:
Hello Kitty on my cutting table? But of course! She belongs on top of my HQ Sweet Sixteen.
Nail Polish remover? Well, the time between the last snowfall and 93*F was 14 days. I went from my Craftsy class pedicure (in February!) to sandals weather in a big hurry!
Chocolate? Do I really need to explain that one?
I loaded a Coursera lecture on my phone and set myself to cleaning while listening. I put away all of the things that didn't belong in my studio, put away all of the things that did belong in my studio, put the chocolate in the basement because it will melt in my hot studio (I don't have A/C), dealt with the fabric scraps left from old projects, and made some decisions on what to keep on my work table.
Next I attacked the pile of magazines that gets taller every time I open the mail:
Quilt Market is this week and I knew I wouldn't have time to go through every single book, so I started with one shelf. I pulled out a few that I knew I didn't want any longer and checked them with my BookScouter app. I scanned the barcode to see if any online re-sellers would buy from me. So far I have sold my books to SellBackYourBook.com, Textbooks.com, BookItBuyBack.com, and Powells.com. The books that won't sell get added to my giveaway bag.
Another trouble spot in my sewing room is next to my gas fireplace:
That is a laundry basket full of old shirts waiting to be made into quilts, a bag full of flannel left here when a friend moved away, a Tiffany wineglass box full of random stuff, and a Hello Kitty purse. Don't judge me. Other random stuff was there, too, but those are the easily identifiable bits.
I keep throwing things in there and pulling them back out. I need to get rid of the basket before it fills up again!
I have a stack of boxes full of books to take to the post office:
Well, that's my before and after of this years #Springcleanyourstudio Blog Hop. Check out what all of the other bloggers have accomplished in their studios:
May 7 Kathy Matthews http://www.chicagonow.com/quilting-sewing-creating/
May 8 Misty Cole Http://www.dailydesignwall.blogspot.com
May 9 Heather Kinion http://heatherkinion.com/
May 10 Jessica Darling http://jessicakdarling.com/
May 11 Lisa Blevis Filion http://upstatelisa.blogspot.com/
May 12 Peta Minerof-Bartos http://www.thenotsewguiltyquilter.blogspot.com/
May 13 Mandy Leins http://mandalei.com/
May 14 Amalia Teresa Parra Morusiewicz http://funfromatoz.com/
May 15 Sam Hunter http://huntersdesignstudio.com/
May 16 Debby Ritenbaugh Brown http://higheredhands.blogspot.com/
May 17 Debbie Kleve Berkebile http://www.mountaintrailquilttreasure.blogspot.com/
May 18 Michelle Mattingly http://stitchesofjoi.blogspot.com/
May 19 Cheryl Sleboda http://blog.muppin.com
I flipped through a few to decide "keep or pass along." I put the "keep" ones on a book shelf, the "pass along" ones in my giveaway bag (I'm very popular at my quilt guild meetings), and the rest were stacked on my quilting bookshelf to go through when time allowed.
Since I was shelving the magazines, I decided to work on that bookshelf:
Another trouble spot in my sewing room is next to my gas fireplace:
That is a laundry basket full of old shirts waiting to be made into quilts, a bag full of flannel left here when a friend moved away, a Tiffany wineglass box full of random stuff, and a Hello Kitty purse. Don't judge me. Other random stuff was there, too, but those are the easily identifiable bits.
Here's my studio after my week of Spring Cleaning:
My pins are in a cute Hello Kitty tin pail. I keep my wrist magnetic pin cushion clipped to the side so I never lose it!
The rotary cutters are now in the cutest Hello Kitty watering can that is a recent gift from my sister; it never had a real home and now it does!
I lined up all of my cutting rulers in a rack that a student's husband made for me.
My magazine basket is now empty.
I keep throwing things in there and pulling them back out. I need to get rid of the basket before it fills up again!
I have a stack of boxes full of books to take to the post office:
I've made about $80 on the books I've sold from my bookshelf. I'm sure I'll find something (wink*fabric*wink) to spend it on!
Here is the improved corner of my sewing room:
The flannel was boxed to donate to the library sewing group. The shirts were boxed and added to the boxes of my dad's shirts waiting to be made into memory quilts for his grandchildren. A lot of other stuff was thrown away. The mantle is a display for my Hello Kitty items, public speaking medal (first place!), dolls from Russia, and other homeless stuff. I didn't get to spring clean that before I left for Quilt Market, but I am still celebrating progress.
My sewing room isn't even close to clean, but it is definitely cleaner, more workable, and less embarrassing now.
May 7 Kathy Matthews http://www.chicagonow.com/quilting-sewing-creating/
May 8 Misty Cole Http://www.dailydesignwall.blogspot.com
May 9 Heather Kinion http://heatherkinion.com/
May 10 Jessica Darling http://jessicakdarling.com/
May 11 Lisa Blevis Filion http://upstatelisa.blogspot.com/
May 12 Peta Minerof-Bartos http://www.thenotsewguiltyquilter.blogspot.com/
May 13 Mandy Leins http://mandalei.com/
May 14 Amalia Teresa Parra Morusiewicz http://funfromatoz.com/
May 15 Sam Hunter http://huntersdesignstudio.com/
May 16 Debby Ritenbaugh Brown http://higheredhands.blogspot.com/
May 17 Debbie Kleve Berkebile http://www.mountaintrailquilttreasure.blogspot.com/
May 18 Michelle Mattingly http://stitchesofjoi.blogspot.com/
May 19 Cheryl Sleboda http://blog.muppin.com
6 comments:
Nice...love the hello kitty items! No judging for sure! LOL
Great job! Thanks for the tips about selling books. I have a ton I could sell.
Looks great and you did wonderful things with the items you removed from the sewing room. In the future know that I am willing to help you with chocolate disposal. :)
It's good to know that the spring cleaning of your studio has gone on smoothly. Isn't it so much better to work in a clean and organized area? Well, you did a great job, and let's hope that the studio's glow will be maintained well. Hahaha! Thanks for sharing that, Debby! All the best to you!
Courtney Morris @ Onyx Cleaning
I love working in a clean space!
Although you say your studio's not close to clean it looks pretty good to me! It's sometimes hard to part with the clutter in our lives, but keeping on top of things and asking ourselves the hard question "Do I really need this?" is a sure way to build a tidy environment that's then easy to clean.
Lucy Andrews @ Safeclean Westminster
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