Monday, November 21, 2011

Decisions, Decisions

Clutter
As I look around me and survey my "stuff", I wonder if the proposed craft room/studio/warehouse move from one small room to another slightly larger room will ever happen. I've been on a decluttering kick as part of the move. But there's still a mountain of stuff. But now the decision, "Do I keep this or do I let it go?" gets harder and harder. The easy-to-let-go-of stuff has long since found a new home. My polymer guild has been the beneficiary of some of my stuff, Goodwill has also benefited, Hope House has gotten some and the Inspire organization comes by frequently for pickups. Now I've now reached the hard part. I used to teach classes in making handmade books but haven't done so in quite awhile. And now I have to decide if I really need to keep all those box cutters that I had for students to use, all the small glue guns (I have 12), again, for students, all the beautiful 1/3 yard pieces of fabric I/we used for covering the books. I have reams and reams of both card stock and text weight paper that we used in the books. I love making books and hope to do it again. But will I actually do it? I had big plans to paint on big canvases so when they went on sale for a ridiculously low price I bought a few. OK, slightly more than a few. But less than a bunch. So what am I painting on? Watercolor paper. I love painting on fabric and I wanted some "wearable art" to wear to workshops, etc. so I bought patterns to make some tops and jackets from the fabrics I was going to paint (yes, I know how to sew and have 2 sewing machines [3 if you count my mother's machine that she brought with her when she moved in with me]). And I have all of the paints, stencils, texture tools, brushes, etc. that I need to paint these fabrics. How many have I painted? How many pieces of wearable art do I own? Let's move on to another subject. Beautiful screen printed Japanese papers are a special love of mine and I have three large flat file holders full of Japanese papers under my bed. They are gorgeous. My heart tells me they are far too wonderful to use, because if I use them I won't have them anymore. And many of them truly are irreplacable. I know already that they aren't going anywhere. Mine! All mine! Preciousssses.

No, I'm not a hoarder. You can walk around and sit down in my house quite easily. The kitchen is clean, the dining room table is clear, my clothes hang neatly in my closet. But the craft room/studio/warehouse? I am a pack rat. I have 4 paper cutters, large, full-size paper cutters. One of them used to live at my office with me - but I'm retired now. But it's a nice paper cutter. Not as nice as the really expensive one I have, but still...

Ok, I can do this. I can let someone else enjoy all those cigar boxes and all those spools of ribbon. I can. I know I can.

But hands off those Japanese papers!!

Photobucket



Joy Journal: A lap full of a sleeping little black dog

2 comments:

Gaelyn said...

I believe one can have a clean organized house and still be a hoarder. If you have space, great. If it owns you, well.....

Not the Japanese paper under the bed!

Shelley said...

I would so love to come visit and see your Japanese paper collection. It sounds simply divine.

I am in awe..you are a wonderful photographer, painter, jewelry maker, maker of handmade books, writer, and a huge heart to bless other people too.

Hugs,
Shelley