Amazing job on the decluttering!!! Keep up the good work. Have you ever heard of the flylady? My mom gave me a book a few years ago called SINK REFLECTIONS by her, and it had some good tips on keeping up with the CHAOS (cant have anyone over syndrome).

I have a picture of that room the way it used to look! However, since you have pictures of my ENTIRE MESSY HOUSE I promise I'll never publish it. Isn't blackmail great?

Have a lovely weekend and I love the pattern and fabric for that dress. I may have to drop my old sewing machine at the Sew and Vac to get mine tuned up. Like I have any time between the teens and the baby and the husband and the dog and the cats. But at least I can dream!

holy crap, that's a lot of stuff!

i'm totally psyched that you are going to do a sewing project; take lots of pix!

Gosh, smokeyJoe, don't judge much or anything! LOL

Well, I'm not perfect. Everyone has junk of some kind or another. I guess I just have pictures of mine. I could lie about it but why bother?

you give me hope. I am fighting the whole to much stuff too many boxes issue. De cluttering is hard and I can't afford that much storage.

Your photos give me hope that one day I, too, shall be decluttered--before I die. And, I, too, (notice the parallels here?) had an unpleasant experience with the unnamed store your desk came from. Seems to be the norm.

Seeing your collection of stuff has made me feel no quite so bad about the collection of stuff that is taking over my flat!

Good luck with the sewing, it's what I'll be doing as well :)

There's nothing wrong with Holly Hobbie fixations! She rocks! I can't wait to see how the dress turns out!

Love that fabric on your sofa! Your office is turning into a really great space!

Hope you have a great holiday weekend!

Smokeyjoe, if you think that's a lot of stuff then you can never ever come to my house to visit.
Laurie is a lightweight compared to me. Seriously.

And now you, too with the sewing bug (it seems to be crawling through the internet). I'm taking the plunge with a class at a local store to make a summer-appropriate dress for my toddler. Can't wait to see your finished product - real clothes for a real adult? I can't imagine! Happy almost-4th to you and the herd.

Is that a fraternity paddle I see in that last picture????

mmmmm...grilling hamburgers. Enjoy!

Personally I'm pretty sure I'll croak with my huge to-do list intact. No matter what, it never ever ever gets down to nothing.

Can't wait to see the dresses. The pattern looks very free and airy, love the fabrics too.

You've done a great job on your stuff.

p.s. since you haven't been in the garden in the daylight, perhaps a weapon of some sort is in order... zukes are diurnal and they may attack in the safety of sunlight

Wow - I love the desk - its too cute!!!

Am in transition - waiting for house to sell in NC.

so I have mortgage to pay there, AND rent in Las Vegas.

And all my stuff is in NC. 'Cept my work clothes.
And the four feets.

sigh. Want to be settled already.
HAve a great weekend, Laurie!!!

I think that's a sorority paddle. Girls do them too. That is quite an ambitious weekend you've got planned but it is totally one that I can see being very satisfying. And Holly Hobby was hot, she totally rocked that bonnet.

Happy 4th!!!

Thanks for the inspiration to get it together and declutter.

Also, thanks for the inspiration to organize a sewing area. I have an area where I can set it up and not have to take it down, I just have to get it set up. Not having to put it up and take it down every time I want to sew will be the make/break point on getting some sewing done.

Have a great fourth of July, everybody!

A couple of months ago, middle daughter asked if I could make her a couple of dresses/suits from vintage 1940's patterns. Hit me in the head with a stick.
I've dusted off my machine. Now I just have to not breathe while in the fabric store so I don't pass out from the formaldehyde.

Hey! I'm going to make that same pattern this summer but in a totally different colour pattern with a solid colour contrast. I'll show you mine if you show me yours! Prepping for a sewing project is the best way to get your crafting room organized and decluttered because you need so much room to work, (unlike knitting which can be done in a broom closet if necessary). That's probably the only time my crafting room looks presentable but it only lasts until the fabric gets spread out and then there are bits of scraps and pattern pieces all over. Oh well, what's crafting without clutter?

I like your guidelines and may adopt them for buying new sewing/knitting/crafting stuff. Of course, I've already stockpiled for the apocalypse, so some serious decluttering is in order.

it's amazing how you blog about stuff i live.

i, too, have a desk from the clayranch place that i just recently pulled out of the cobwebbed garage..but only the desk top. i put it on file cabinets i already owned.

i'm also decluttering from the after effects of divorce...it's taking me 6 years to really start. bad, i know.

have a great 4th!!! it's my favorite holiday, and includes my birthday, as well. stop by to say hi and happy birthday - even thouht i've had blogger's bock for ages now.

i'm feeling the urge to type something soon :0)

best,

mck.

I'm coming out of lurkerdom to say I LOVE THAT PATTERN!! Goodness, I would love to learn how to sew just so I could make many variations of that dress.

Thank you so much for posting a picture of your junk. I am also in the process of de-cluttering (after a painful divorce) and your picture lets me know that I'm not the only one. I've taken several tons (maybe an exaggeration) to Goodwill and it's beginning to become manageable. Keep it up. You have no idea how much you've inspired me.

I love the phrase "no stockpiling patterns and supplies for the apocalypse"--I have enough books of all sorts and beads and almost every kind of jewelry-making ingredient to cover several apocolypses (apocolypsi?). It's been really hard convincing myself that it's ok to let something go by (but I might NEED it someday!), but I've been at it for several months now and it's working. Next time I'm tempted I'm going to repeat "No stockpiling for the apocolypse" until the urge passes. Thanks Purl!
PS--love the desk.

Hmm, maybe I'll do some work on Miss B's room this weekend. (She's away at camp.) Maybe even on mine.

Oooo that dress pattern and material look really great. You'll have to show us all the finished product! Maybe a picture of yourself in a mirror while you have it on... :)

I love that desk, I know exactly which one you got! I saw in the store, and while I have no use for a new desk right now, I totally took the brochure home so that I could have it "recreated" in the future. Too bad you had such horrible CS! For what you have to pay there, it should magically appear in your office!

Bossy must have your desk chair. Shall she provide you with an address where it can be shipped?

Happy fourth.

Bossy -- you'll have to fight the Sobakowa for it. And even though you are, as Tyra would say, FIERCE, I believe the Soba is fiercest of all....

I love the fabric (but then, I am a purple-holic) and the pattern- Holly Hobby? Nah. Only if you'd chosen those seventies-colored (you know, brown-orange-gold-green) calico prints like she wore! That looks like a great, cool summer frock to me.
Kudos to you for having space for the sewing machine- I know mine'd get a lot more use if it wasn't in the yarn closet. ;)

I like the fabric you picked for the outfits! Post pictures of the finished projects!

I attempted to declutter my bedroom recently. I ended up cluttering up my dad's office instead. ;)

Seriously, I did get the numerous bags of yarn placed into an empty Rubbermaid tote. (had to empty out the eleventy billion Beanie Babies that were in the tote first) and then I found a bunch of my circular needles that had wandered off on me. I need to get my yarn armoire re-arranged (used to be a computer armoire...did I spell "armoire" right?)

I need to get this stuff all arranged soon, because I want to paint my bedroom before winter. I already got a curtain for my window made by someone and installed (LOVE my curtain, and they gave me the leftover fabric..yay!) Now I just need to paint and personalize my room a little bit more.

I really want to get my sewing machine out and play with it while my vision is good (just getting over a vision issue from a chronic condition I have) I have tons of fabric, just havent felt like using my sewing machine because I like my fingers intact and dont want to sew my fingers to my projects.

I hope you have tons of sewing fun and that we get to see pictures! Do you have a dressmaking dummy? There are instructions on the internet on how to make one out of a t-shirt and duct tape, and your own body, so that you can customize your clothing to your own measurements. I want to make one for myself, but am not sure I want to to mummy-ize myself in duct tape.

I know this is OT, but I also know how much you like Al Gore. Thought this might interest you:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/bush/house.asp

Have a happy 4th! I'll be commemorating the 2 year anniversary of the split with my ex. I've moved twice since then, which is an excellent way to declutter. I'm living in less than 1/2 the space we had in our house, and I love the sense of freedom that gives. I still have more stuff than I have room for in my current tiny apartment - maybe I'll get inspired and cull a box this weekend. Or maybe not...

It's lookin' good in your house! Love that office/Soba chair. Is it comfy?

My house looks like your "before" picture, but at least the stuff is at my house and not His (and I'm not talking about Jesus). As you say, I've got a lifetime to sort the clutter.

I've been sewing too, as have several people here. I turned a hideous unwearable into a dress I get compliments on. Can't beat that!

I think a lot of people are revisiting the idea of sewing lately... is it the economy? The uncertainty? Rebelling against a fashion industry that thinks I am too short for my width? (heheh)

I don't know, but sewing makes me feel industrious and happy. I'm glad I have room to set up my sewing machine now! I used to make all my clothes, it's nice to start back with a few simple projects for summer.

I have that very same dress pattern! Unforutnately it's languishing as I've been sewing for my daughter this summer. I love sewing!

I hate to tell you this, but I knit a lovely blankie for my darling cat Fred 2 years ago from Patons Rumor yarn and it is still shedding away like crazy, despite being washed and dried every week--you'll have white hairs everywhere forevermore!

Christa! Aw man, that's bad news. I love this yarn -- pretty colors, lovely and soft -- but it sheds like a persian cat!!

I've seen that dress finished. It"s adorable! My colleague's mom made it for her. Have fun!

Maybe they call it Rumor because it keeps leaving behind little bits & pieces. . . like the little tidbits you get when someone is telling you a rumor.

Love the dress patterns!! I can sew a straight line but that's about it so no sewing in my future. It brings back bad memories of my mom making clothes for me when I was little. They were ok, but obviously homemade and that just mortified me in the Guess Jeans / Forenza world of the 80's.

I have made this dress pattern in a tan oriental print. Can't wait to see what yours looks like.
Lois

I am feeling quite sewish right now as well. Love your fabrics, can't wait to see how your stuff turns out!

The Pretender! I'd forgotten how much I like that show. I really need to put the DVDs on Netflix. Thanks for the reminder. :)

Have a great Fourth!

Plans this weekend include spoiling my two new 6 week old kittens absolutely rotten, grilling some steaks and making a ridiculous strawberry creme pie.

Sadly no long weekend here in Sunny (ha!) Engerland so we just sit inside hiding from the rain watching people not play tennis at Wimbeldon.

The fabric looks gorgeous and the dress all cool and floaty and good for hanging out in the valley. (like I would know from 'the valley'!!)

I hope you know I was only kidding about that picture; I would never show a picture of something you sent me personally. I've been thinking about it and I feel bad. I'm sorry for the stupid comment.

I adore you and I hope you have a wonderful long weekend. My zukes and cukes are getting a little crazy in the Virginia sun. I've been growing cayenne peppers, too; if anyone wants any let me know. I'm allergic to them. (So why did you plant them? I have no idea. I'm just a little loco in the coco sometimes!)

I forgot to add, your desk is GORGEOUS! I love the furniture at Pottery Barn and that desk is amazing! I hope you fulfill all your dreams at that desk; you certainly deserve it.

Howdy! Thought you might like to check out this link for an easy summer sewing project!! Good luck: http://www.myaimistrue.com/ We just had our long weekend up here in Canada!

I avoid horizontal stripes on principle too. I'm still trying to figure out why clothes are even MADE with horizontal stripes. Sure they WORK on some (toothpick) people, but they don't really FLATTER anyone, so why even make the darned things! /rant.

Great job on the decluttering! Love Love Love the new desk..so jealous:) I hope you post pictures of the new dress. I'm spending the fourth at home *trying* to create a new and improved walking path for the vegetable garden so its not such a hazardous area once I've had a drink (uh..or two..or three)...don't judge..I work hard for the money:))!!!

Funny, sewing on the 3 day weekend is exactly what I intend to do! Same reason. No fun Summer clothes that don't get worn to work.

BTW, I made a dress out of a lighter version of your top fabric. It has been my go-to sundress.

I love the dress pattern. I think I have its sister here somewhere. The fabrics are great. Have a good time.

Your home office looks just fabulous. Give yourself a great big 'ol pat on the back for a job VERY well done. And the dresses will be perfect for you. I think that is why so many of us sew. The "off the rack" stuff for me has to be virtually re-made so that it will fit (I'm pretty short and wide!), so why not do the whole damn job myself to begin with? And I usually do :)

Now you really should think about making yourself a nice light weight (dare I say lace?) shawl to go with those dresses....just sayin'

For what it's worth, in 1990 I bought a Pulaski desk at Busvan Bargains in San Francisco for the princely sum of $500, not including the chair. I thought I was going to have a heart attack when I signed the Visa slip.

But now it's 2008, and I'm sitting at that same desk writing this comment, my kitten is climbing up my back and I STILL LOVE THIS FREAKING DESK.

And I need to trim the kitten's claws.

That chair in black was the one and only thing I wanted for Christmas. My husband, of course, thought it was too expensive and tried to suggest the copy from Target as an alternative. But the seat of the Target chair is several inches narrower than the PB chair, whereas I am not! Needless to say, I love my PB chair...and I got the red ticking stripe cushion on sale for $9.97!

Your office is lovely! Congratulations on getting so far in your recluttering efforts. You will be my inspiration!

I love your sofa cover thingy!

Have fun sewing, I love the fabrics you chose.
I made a dress similar to that pattern for my 14 yo daughter this Easter. She definitely doesn't look like Holly Hobby in it. :)

Are you sure you don't have some Minnesota roots? The use of the word "spendy" is highly suspicious.

Also - Martha in Kansas cracked me up, even more than everyone else.

not sure what the fiber content of the yarn is, but i remember being told, way back in the day before the day, that putting mohair or angora sweaters in the freezer between wearings would lessen their shedding. having neither freezer nor said costly fibers, i never got the chance to try it, but you are welcome to test-drive . . . .

I am now jealous. I love the desk and chair and the slipcover is to die for. You will look great in that dress!
Since my lovelymanIusedtobemarriedto (I have to call him that or I just implode) sold all of our belongings after our divorce (our storage room was sold) I don't have to declutter. Well, I don't have to declutter actual items. My brain is a different story. So this blog and your book are my goals. I am ashamed to say the book is looking worse for wear, as I dog-ear pages and tend to underline passages. Thanks for constantly reminding me that this is an ongoing process. You are an inspiration!!

I didn't know you knew how to sew, too! My sewing has been put on the back burner ever since I rediscovered knitting, but I'm trying to sew a muslin of a fancy dress for my sister, who actually has a job that requires her to own fancy dresses. I'll fit it to her when I see her in July, then go downtown to Michael Levine's and make it up for real in the "good stuff."

Have you been to Michael Levine's yet in downtown LA? If you are into sewing at all, that is a scary store for your wallet. I can never leave without spending at least $100, but OMG! REAL silk! REAL wool! REAL invisible zippers! Much better selection than your average Jo-Ann's - and why the heck are there no Hancock Fabric stores in LA?

PURPLE!!!!!! I love it!! Laurie, you *have* to show us the finished outfit when you're done. Pleeeeeaaaaase!!!

Cross-stitch and quilting are the few home arts crafty things that can be entrusted to me. When I made my daughter a Sleeping Beauty dress, I had no clue what a yoke is (and I still don't really know), but I sewed the thing on. Along with 16 (16!) panels for the skirt. And then I had to add a zipper. Needless to say, for the first of several Halloween activities, Kathryn had the back of the dress closed with safety pins. Funny enough, at Boo at the Zoo that night, I ran into another mom whose daughter had the same dress from the same pattern, and she was safety-pinned up the back, too. :)

Needless to say, I stick with quilts where I can understand how two triangles make a square and cross-stitching where the squares make a pattern. Don't trust anything curved to Dawn. :)

Nice desk! Good job on the de-cluttering. I recently got the house tidied and plan to keep it that way, eventhough the extra bedroom is a bit cluttered still. Its a good start and you have to start somewhere.
Now to the garden - what are the zukes doing? Have you left them unattended? How long since you had a gander? You could be up to your hips by now!!!

Happy sewing of lovely summer dresses!

Darn it Laurie, I have taken to heart your idea of not spending for spendings sake, and it is working quite well. What I need to hear from you or anyone is it was OK to spend 50 dollars on a new environment for my Looooooong and lovely reptile, McSqueezy. I am guilt tripping a little, but can't wait to get it all done up. I think he will be much happier in the bigger enclosure, but 50 bucks would have..... what the heck, it will help make the living room look less like a pet shop and more like a mini jungle. Will compliment all the exotic stuffed animals I keep around for the grandkids. So not Darn you, but Thank You! Rock on. PS Love the pattern, can't wait to see a picture of YOU in it. Terry

I love the fabric. Would love to see what it looks like with you wearing it.
I've always wanted to learn to sew. I'm so jealous.

Happy 4th, Laurie!

I love the fabric for your dresses!

Hey, I made that dress last year. It's a fun look, but the neckline was a bit fiddly. Mine was made from a black print and a coordinating hot pink/fucshia print, and just to make myself nutty, both where different weights. Because who wants to make something simple? I'm just sayin'.
On the plus side, I get tons of compliments when I wear it. Have fun!

I got a desk, file cabinets and chair from the same place, same bad customer service. They messed EVERYTHING up, I ended up getting half
of it for *free*, but what a hassle! This was 4 years ago too.

You are an inspiration with your decluttering! I spent 1/2 hour on the porch this afternoon going through Rubbermaids and other stuff and hardly made a dent. The picture you posted of 1 year into the decluttering looks a lot like my dining room, which I also want to use as a sewing room. Maybe I only have one year left to go!!! I watched a 2-hour Clean House "Messiest House in America" on the Style channel yesterday and it made me feel so good about my clutter. Their house was unbelieveable with the amount of clutter they had!!!! Poor Nicey Nash (the host) had to go lay down halfway through the show she was so exhausted!!! But (and here's the part that made me feel pretty good) their house was also filthy! It reminded me of those houses on "How Clean Is Your House." Now my place may be cluttered, but it's not disgusting. Thanks for your feedback on the "crockery" place. I have my eye on an armoire I want from there when my present TV breaks down and I have to buy a new, bigger one. I'll keep this in mind. Enjoy your Holiday weekend!

Love the pattern! It's based on a Vintage pattern called a Duro Dress...very chic! I've been wanting to make one myself. You will have to post a picture of it when your done.

That pattern is awesome! I might have to buy it, and actually use my sewing machine...

I LOVE your office! You've inspired me to start decluttering again. Hope you had a great weekend, I went to a bbq and wished the entire time that I had just stayed home and knit and cleaned etc..Have fun making your dress, the fabric is goreous!

I meant Gorgeous! It's early still!

holly hobbie-ish? the dress pattern? the fabric? the fabric doesn't look it to me; and the dress pattern ain't no stinkin' holly hobbie nuthin! it's basically a duro! truly a mod classic.

sincerely,
fashion spectator
(and participant wannabe)

Cool! I got fabric and a Free! Sundress! Pattern! that I am going to try to make. It has the elastic-y stuff for the bodice, so it looks really easy. (I hope)

You have decluttered nicely! I am envious; I still have a long way to go. Love, love, love The Chairman Meow. What is it about torties? I have one, too, and she rules the roost. =] Hope you had a great holiday!

You have decluttered nicely! I am envious; I still have a long way to go. Love, love, love The Chairman Meow. What is it about torties? I have one, too, and she rules the roost. =] Hope you had a great holiday!

One thing that's helped me cut back: buy some Shout and go thru the closet to attempt stain removal on clothes I gave up on but couldn't throw away. Don't know if that applies to you, but if it does it can work wonders. And if the clothes don't fit you can try your sewing machine out on altering them?

Rock on with the saving money front--I'm right there with ya.

Oooo, cool office! And sewing and knitting space, wow! "Better living through crafts".

Do be careful about the fabric stashing. I still have fabric from the 80s and early 90s, and I haven't given up on using it.

I've got that pattern, too, but I haven't found good fabric for it yet. I did find a good tip on modifying the neckline piece to fit a womanly figure without gaping - google: mccalls 5137 neckline.

I'm another with the desk problems from that barn place. After twenty bazillion calls and some letters they refunded my delivery charge and gave me a $50 gift certificate (which I gave to my sis since I'd decided never ever to shop there again). I love the desk but I'm not sure it was worth the hassle.

I wish I had gotten the chair too before I vowed to never buy anything from them again ...

thank you, thank you, thank you for showing a "before" picture!!! I truly think most of us would be 75% less crazy if we knew how unoriginal our struggles are. Put another way, how we weren't the only one going through whatever crazy was afflicting us at any given point in time.

Here you are showing the before pictures and the after pictures are so beautiful and put together and yet not pinched and perfect in the sort of way that makes you not want to sit down for fear of putting a wrinkle in the couch.

I'm in the midst (4 weeks in)to The Great Declutter of '08 and I daily berate myself that the no room looks better. Yet.

Maybe others have said this already. I'm swamped with too much on my crazy list to read all your beautiful comments. I just had to jump to the bottom and say "me too!"