Feeling overwhelmed with piles of patterns, fabrics, trims, books and more in your sewing room? Ready to dump it all and start fresh? Or at least find a way to manage all the things? We'll take a look at the popular KonMari Method of tidying and how it applies to sewing and crafting items to help give you a set of guidelines for dealing with the clutter and to free your mind and space for new creative projects. Show Notes and Mentions -Marie Kondo's book: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up -Kondo's follow up book: Spark Joy – Read this one, too, as she addresses those questions that come up when reading her Life-Changing Magic book such as keeping tons of books if you love them and tools that don't necessarily give you joy but make your life easier. -Read my accompanying blog post on this topic of decluttering. -It's important to refine your vision of what you want your sewing space to look like and how you want it to work for YOU. -Everything has come into our life for a reason, a purpose, a season. Have appreciation for each item; display, store, use and discard things with gratitude. -Discard things by either giving away, donating, selling, or tossing into the trash. -The KonMari categories as I relate them to sewing stuff: Clothing: finished items, garments, current and completed projects. These I recommend doing last in the Sentimental category. Books: all sewing-related books and publications Documents: patterns, pattern papers, magazines, notes, binders, etc. Komono/Misc: This should be broken down into subcategories: Fabric: all fabrics, buckram & crinoline, muslin Trims, Lace: braids, tapes, ribbons, flowers/greenery, etc. Notions: Thread, buttons, zippers, hooks/eyes, boning, hoop wire, tapes, needles, pins, interfacings, elastic, yarns, etc. Sewing Tools: scissors, rulers, seam gauges, grommet setter, irons, sewing machines, sewing boxes, glue guns, knitting needles and crochet hooks, etc. Sentimental: finished projects and costumes, undergarments, corsets, stockings and shoes, hats & bonnets, specific costume accessories, awards, convention memorabilia, photos, etc. –Tim Ferriss' interview with Marie Kondo –Spark Joy Podcast hosted by KonMari Consultants: Kristyn Ivey and Karin Socci. I recommend episode 25 on KonMari Myths and Missteps. Episodes are released on Wednesdays. Be sure to subscribe on iTunes to keep updated on new releases and have first access to new episodes as they are released. Find the podcast on other platforms by visiting the Podcast page for links.
