For some time now we've been putting "stuff" in the studio. It was innocent enough: a box, a bag, some things from mom and dad's house, extra school supplies and so on.
Understand now, I fight this idea of using my studio for storage when the "stuff" is big. A couple of boxes? No! A big pile of tools? Absolutely not! Four trash bags left from a party...well, okay, but they better be out on Monday.
One box or bag, though, and I relent. One box doesn't take much space. A bag tucked into a corner isn't much of a problem. But after a year or two, those small things begin to add up. They grow and multiply and make babies and before you know it, there's no room to move.
When I realized that I was struggling to get to the table with the Accuquilt cutter, I decided it was time to spring clean. This morning Richard and I were discussing what we'd do today to spend time together and I inserted a suggestion that he help me to get his things out of the studio. Hours later, we'd hauled out several bags of junk. Richard doesn't do something half-way: he pushes and drives.
He insisted that I go through every box that I wanted out of the studio and decide what I would do with each item. I hate doing this kind of job. I wanted him to just get the boxes out and then let me sew. No way. I emptied every box, sorted, organized and re-boxed everything that didn't go into the trash. Interestingly, I threw out way more stuff this afternoon than this morning. That's what happens when I'm tired.
Now I have a cleaner studio but I'm not done yet. I have to clear out some surface space: the worktable, the desk, and the bookshelf all need Richard's driving force. I have no plans to ask for his help, though, I'm too tired and dirty!
Where you put stuff, more stuff grows. That's the way it is in my life anyway. Well done for clearing, though Richard sounds way too thorough!
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