Operation De-stash

   Lately I've been feeling more anxious about all the stuff I have and I've been working towards streamlining my belongings and not bringing more things into the house. But I've started to ramp up my buisness and actually produce more items to sell on Etsy and have inventory to sell at art and craft markets this spring and summer. So now I have two goals and I'm asking myself how to I accomplish what seems to be two opposing actions: streamlining and stocking up.

  Maybe it's because I have an upcoming birthday (which is causing me to take stock of my life)  and my husband and I have been talking more about buying an old trailer and some land and having the kind of life that would involve a smaller space to live. Or it could be that after a series of major moves, most recently from Chicago to New Orleans, I simply don't want to be attached to things anymore. Not only do I feel those boxes of things suck up a lot of energy, especially when the stuff never makes back out of the box, it's like the longer those precious belongings stay packed the more power they have to use up my mental energy and lurk in the back of my mind on an imaginary "to do" list.

 There isn't just one simple reason. All I know is I don't want to give any more power to clutter, sentimental things, and stashes of randomness that currently take up both physical and emotional space.
  
     I'm not sure how this process will look  but I do have a list of items that I have to deal with this year.

1. Old photographs, cards, letters, and yearbooks- I need to just throw some stuff away and find a better way to store and organize the photos.
2. Magazines and Books - look for regular give aways on this blog and my facebook fan page. They are all pretty sweet books, some of them are almost new.
3. Clothes and Accessories- I've been kind of broke in the last 6 months so I haven't purchased anything new but I'm sure there are things I haven't worn in a very long time that can be donated.
4. My precious stash... you know what I mean- fabrics,sewing supplies, knitting, crocheting, silk screening, paper craft, photography stuff. I will be using this stuff up or swapping it at the next craft swap I can get to.
5. Pile of clothes and what-not to fix or re-vamp into something else- this is a constant pile that lurks beneath my sewing table...
6. I'm still grappling with this one- a self-imposed moritorium on picking up any new crafting skills and focusing on the ones I already know, deciding which ones I can use this year in my buisness, and dedicating more time to the un-fun essential tasks like book keeping and marketing myself.

Luckily my Grandparents are arriving late tonight and I'm planning on enlisting the help of my crafty Grandma to renovate my baby blanket. I know she'll have some great ideas on how to salvage it.
Here is the front - most of the hand embroidered nursery rhymes have fallen out.

It's pretty threadbare and shredded and has some water damage from sitting in a poorly sealed box in a shed for sometime. It's also a little burned or something in a few spots??!


It's one of those sentimental things I'm not letting go. I
remember it being so soft and comforting as a child and I would like to have it for a little while longer.

  
I will be posting pictures as I make progress.. And my goal is to use up some of the fabrics I have and what I do need to purchase I'll be getting from suppliers that are here in Louisiana.

wish me luck!

r