The third decluttering project on my list was craft and sewing supplies.  I’ve been working on it every night so that I could be READY to report my progress tomorrow.  It’ll also be time to check in with all of you on your third (or second!) projects.  I’ll check in with my own Decluttering #2 project later.

But for now, I’m decluttering craft and sewing supplies.

It’s not the kind of decluttering I was expecting to do.  My feet are up each night.  My headphones are on.  This decluttering is finishing old sewing projects.

I’d forgotten all about this old quilt I started at my parents’ house.  It wasn’t until my mom and I were decluttering her craft space earlier this summer that we found it.

It’s a Christmas quilt!  It was supposed to be a Christmas quilt in 2007, the year before Martin and I moved to Germany.  All I had left was some quilting and – ugh – handstitching the binding.  (It’s easy to see why I quit this quilt at that exact point.  Well and I think Christmas might have ended, too.)

Starting new projects is so much fun!  There’s all of the creative energy and enthusiasm.  Then something happens. It’s guaranteed you’ll want to quit anything big.  I suspect I am not the only one here with half-finished projects…!

So here’s my Decluttering the Craft & Sewing Supplies goal number one:

FINISH HALF-DONE PROJECTS

(listening to a smidge of Christmas music in the process is entirely optional – it was snowing in the mountains while I worked.)

Are you discovering half-done projects or plans that never happened in your decluttering efforts, too?  And what are you doing with them?

Don’t forget – tomorrow’s the day we’ll all report with our third and final decluttering project.  You’ll find a slew of tips for whatever you’re tackling right here.

It is not enough if you are busy.  The question is, What are you busy about?  –Henry David Thoreau

I apologize for slipping away last week – just in time to reveal our decluttering progress!  As many of you know, Martin and I are in awe of how country neighbors help one another.  So that’s just what we were doing.  I got to spend a lot of time outside and with a frugal, inspiring old man.

He inspires me every time I see him; he’s like our neighborhood Thoreau.  He doesn’t share this wisdom with his words.  He teaches you through his actions.  Is there an inspiring older person in your life?  And what has he or she taught you about life?  What has this person shown about slowing down and savoring?  This is my list.

A simpler life is:

1. starting fewer projects
2. finishing more projects
3. savoring the small stuff instead of sweating it
4. spending less
5. embracing more
6. building genuine relationships
7. slowing down
8. walking more and driving a little less
9. avoiding one-purpose kitchen gadgets
10. living smaller if we choose
11. listening more
12. eating fewer factory foods
13. making more with your own hands
14. tasting more
15. smiling more
16. inhaling more
17. zipping around less
18. striving for excellence; forgetting the absolute need for perfection
19. feeling comfortable just as you are
20. …and just how you look
21. …and just with what you have

What would you add?  A simpler life is…

Don’t forget.  Today’s the day to check in on how we’re all doing with our second decluttering project.

Are you ready?

We’ve got a full plate of projects going on around here today, so I’ll hop in with updates on my second decluttering to-do and see how you’re doing just a little later.

p.s.  Have you read this children’s book about a little girl tempted by her parents’ world of 1933 aviation?  It was on my bookshelf when I started my Decluttering Project #2, and I couldn’t stop reading.  Children’s books are so fun, don’t you think?

Welcome September!

(Image compliments of msn)