The Queen of Clean

While the flu bug has reached epidemic stages here in Boston, I've been bitten by a bug of another kind...I can't stop cleaning! I like to say that I'm getting a clean start for the new year but it feels more like an attack of St. Vitus' dance, since everywhere I turn, I find another cleaning opportunity.

Last week, I attacked a nasty corner of the Quilting Studio. When I started, it looked like this.

Auditioning for Hoarders?

Kind of scary and insurmountable. What was in this pile anyway? Part of the impetus to clean is that I've been finishing the Studio for the last year or so, and now I want to have the walls painted. Also, you probably can't see it, but there is actually room on the shelves at right that are blocked by the clutter.

Getting better.

Half way through the cleaning session, it began to look like this (see above). Marion came over to sew on Saturday morning and she urged me on. She graciously gave me permission to throw things out--like scraps that were too tiny to sew with and left over pieces from quilted jackets that I was never going to make into cute little wallets. Marion only stayed for about 45 minutes then had to go home because she wasn't feeling well (maybe it was from being surrounded by clutter). Note: Marion is fully recovered after a nap on her couch.

Newly sorted: table runner weight batting in the green bin, medium size batting scraps and pattern trace in the blue bin and small batting scraps in the paper bag. The girls wanted me to throw out the small batting scraps, but I am hanging on to them for now...might be useful for wallets or purse handles or stuffed animals. Not pictured, but also found and sorted: fusible fleece, interfacing and a couple of UFOs. Remember: friends don't let friends buy more batting!

Then Joannie arrived to continue working on her Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt. She got distracted by all my fabric goodness and helped me sort pieces of scrap fabric into piles by color. If I hadn't been planning to meet my friend Linda for lunch, I might have gotten even more carried away and started cutting them into 2.5 inch strips...

Clutter corner no more! Bins are labelled and ready.

It took a while, but it sure felt good to get this done! Later that day I met my friend Linda who works at The Container Store for lunch. Before we left for lunch, she planned two closets for my Master Bedroom using their Elfa system. They are getting installed tomorrow night and I promise before and after closet photos. I spent last night cleaning my bedroom to get ready for the installers...that took a couple of hours and was way too scary to photograph.

As a reward to myself, I bought myself a present at The Container Store...

A batting cage for quilters! You can find this at
The Container Store. They call it a toy barrel.
Larry Pug sneaks into the photo at lower right.

Now my Mom wants me to go back to Florida to help clean my Dad's garage...think Augean Stables...

This post is dedicated to my good friend Linda, aka The Queen of Organization, with thanks to Marion and Joannie for spurring me on.

Linking up to Sew Many Ways. I'm number 173.

Happy Monday! (only one month to Valentine's Day and two months to my birthday!)
Pugs and kisses,
Nancy