The Magic of Tidying Up - and lots of fabric, pattern books, and more for sale!

I know I promised you guys some sewing, but it just hasn't been happening for a couple of reasons. Mainly I've been too hot (with the heatwaves here) and/or been too lazy or ill to drag everything out. I'm pretty sad about it, and you should just know that I see each and every item you guys are making, even if I'm not commenting!

So let's chat quickly about one of the things I've been up to: cleaning and tidying. My boyfriend thinks I'm possessed, since I'm not one to do cleaning or tidying, but actually I've been feeling rather discontent with my wardrobe and my life in general so I think getting rid of items helps you get back on track, right?

For those with short memories (or new people, hi!), I have a general disdain of wasting things. I don't buy items on a whim, and I certainly can't throw things away because there's a good chance that one day I might need it. But even though I do tend to hoard things, I don't buy new things either - so there's some method to my madness.

This is my second year as part of RTW Fast - which means I don't buy ready to wear clothing at all. I do go to a thrift store once or twice a year, and I'll allow myself to purchase undies, but that's it. Last year I found that I still bought fabric (unused fabric!) so I put a stop to that, and now I don't even buy fabric until I've gone through a few items in my stash.

Which brings me to: No, I haven't been going through my stash. I have beautiful fabric in there, you guys. I have plans for it. I want to get all fun and creative and experiment - but I'm just not doing it. And this stuff is meant to be sewn up and worn - it's not getting any love from me and I want to give it to a loving home!!

Okay, so, if I haven't lost you yet... I decided to go through my stash and see what I could part with. Big surprise - I decided I needed all of it because... what if?

I felt rather discouraged, but then, THEN I came across a miracle book. It's called the Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. When I tell people they laugh, and say, "Is it really magic?"

YES IT IS.

It's some black magic, I swear. This lady had me pull out every single thing that I owned and sort it based on whether or not it brought me joy. Some things I tossed, some things I kept, some things I'm donating, and others I'm selling.

It's picture time.

Remember how I haven't bought any new clothes in two years? I also move around frequently, including across the country, so I don't have much stuff. Here's my clothes pile, with a cat on top for reference. (He's in the center on top, in case you can't find him.)

My clothes were busting out of my closet, couldn't fit in my dressers, some were in my fabric stash (which also exploded everywhere), and I ended up having two hampers: one for dirty clothes and one for clean clothes that I was going to wear soon and couldn't fit anywhere else.

                            

And here's the after! So check this out -  my bottom two drawers now hold my jeans, my skirts, my tops, and all of my dresses - and I can even see every single item I own - and there's room to spare!!

So what does my closet look like?

                         

Nothing but coats and jackets. I already had to take out 25 hangers - I have no idea how it all fit in there!

Anyway, I'm not going to show you before and after pics of everything, but I did this with my fabric stash, and, well, everything. 

I'm writing this to let you know:

1. This book is magic, and I'm recommending it to everybody. Stop arguing, just do it.

2. I'm selling some of my excess fabric, pattern books, and trims on ebay.

I actually feel kind of bad because I'd love to do a massive giveaway, but I'm listing everything super cheap. I just mostly want to get rid of it, especially since I'm moving at the end of the month - so you'll get cheap sewing stuff, and I'll get extra money to rent a car and head out.

I might go through my pattern stash and list some of my vintage ones that I know I won't get to any time soon, but that seems like an even bigger undertaking - and I feel like moving patterns is easier than fabric and books!