Intentions for 2023

Happy New Year, everyone. I usually avoid making annual resolutions, mainly as I have enough pressure to deal with, given my job and creative ambitions. Yet for once there are some things I'd like to do in 2023, and I don't think it will bother me if I make a list of New Year's Intentions. So, for this year, I'd like to:

1. Make this year 100% sustainable by not buying any new fabric, trims or notions. This because a) I have plenty on hand and b) it will motivate me to use what I have. I will reserve the right to buy recycled and vintage materials because that's my thing. To save fabric and sample garments from the landfills I expect I'll be buying most of what I need from Fabscrap.

2. Exercise at least once a day. This is a tough goal, as I'm almost always in pain from the arthritis these days, but I know it helps and I need to lose that last chunk of fat before I reach my ideal weight. I already know I probably won't be able to do this, but I'm going to try.

3. Write a novel just for fun. I haven't done this in a few years, so maybe during NaNoWriMo, or maybe I'll just tinker on something a little when I have downtime from the day job.

4. Do another thrift upcycle project. I really loved making over those three Goodwill boxes last year.

5. Clean out the closets. It's been a few years and yes, my closets are again overflowing. It's really time to start donating things I don't need, like sheets for beds we no longer own, clothes that are too big for me now, hideous or uninspiring fabrics people have gifted to me that I held onto because I felt bad about getting rid of a gift, etc.

With all the other things I have planned that should keep me out of trouble. How about you? Any intentions for this year?

Comments

Downsizing

This was my fabric stash once I sorted everything -- 22 full bins. I spent a day taking out and boxing up what I could part with, with the goal of trying to reduce it by half, so I'd have 11 bins. I was very strict with myself, and removed everything that for one reason or another I was sure I wouldn't be able to use. This is what I ended up with -- 12 bins of fabric that I'm keeping. It's not quite half, but close enough. Half of what I took out went to a local quilter friend, a school and Goodwill. These four tightly-packed bins will be going to the local quilting guild once I make arrangements with them for a drop-off place. I am relieved and a little sad and now determined to control my impulses to thrift more fabric. I don't want to do this again, so until I use up six bins, I can't for any reason bring any new fabric into the house.

In Progress

I promised myself I would show you the good, bad and ugly of my cleaning this year. This is what it looks like when you dump thirty years' worth of stashed fabric on the floor -- and oy, what a pain in the butt to pick up again! This is what it looks like after it's been sorted, folded and placed in containers, which took me about a week. Now the hard part is to downsize my stash by at least half, I think (that's my goal, anyway.) I've already e-mailed the president of the local quilting guild, a local friend who is a quilter, and a public school art teacher I know to see if I can donate some of the excess to them. The rest will go to Goodwill. Already I've reduced my vintage textiles from two bins to one, and my scraps from three bins to one. It's probably the hardest clean-out I've done, which is why I saved it until last. I know I have too much fabric, more than I can use in my lifetime -- but at the same time, I love it. So I have to

Other Stashes

Along with clearing out the spare bedroom and tidying my office and our guest bedroom, I decided to reorganize some of my stashes. This is all the yarn I have on hand, sorted by color. It looks like a lot, but lately I've been using up a minimum of half a bin every month, so this is approximately a year's supply. All of my solid color cotton perle thread. I go through a lot of this every year, too. I need a container in which I can fit all of it together, but I haven't found the right one yet. I won't show you all of my fabric -- I'm still reorganizing this stash -- but I went through everything and donated two bins of fabric I won't need to the local quilter's guild.

Valerean

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