I love creating garments and accessories - whether sewing, refashioning, beading, etc. I feel the most balanced and content with my life (despite all the chaos with 2 active young kids) when I do some sort of creative projects about 3 or 4 times a week - even if just for 30 minutes each time. I am usually happy and relaxed and feel a real sense of accomplishment after doing something creative (except for those sewing fails!).
With all the creation comes the results of all the creations. Frankly I have kept too much of what I have created! Seriously, who really 'needs' 15 summer dresses? I don't have a huge closet but my current 'small' walk-in closet is about 3 times the size of the regular closet I had when I was living in the UK. And it's choke full of stuff. Mind you, the weather in the UK doesn't vary as much as where I live now, where it can go easily from -25 C in the winter to 40 C in the summer. Still, I come back to the same question,' how much of my creations do I wear and how much of my creations I should keep?'
I have a hard time parting with my creations. I clean out my closet about twice a year. I have no problems donating store bought clothing but I can't seem to part with my creations year after year. Even the stuff that I know I probably will never fit into again, I kept thinking that perhaps one day I could refashion them into something useful for myself or my kids. So they just keep piling up in my closet.
I'm trying to live a life with less clutter and making do with less 'stuff'. I'm not too successful when it comes to stuff that I have made. Do you have a hard time parting with stuff that you have created too? How do you balance the need to create and your storage situation?
I ended up donating some clothes I made when I realised I wouldn't be wearing them anymore. I realised it'd be much better for someone else keep using it instead. And it was part of my decluttering too. Once I started doing it, it became easy. I can't do that with clothes I made for my daughter though.
ReplyDeleteThanks Magda! I have a super super hard time donating clothes I made for my kids too. I eventually I took pictures of some of them and off they went into the donating bag. I think I actually drop the bags off the same day in case I got weak and change my mind! LOL!
DeleteI definitely agree with Magda, it becomes easier once you start doing it. Your post could not have come at a better time - I share your love of creating something out of nothing or refashioning what I already have and suddenly felt overwhelmed by my huge fabric collection and my bulging closet - yet consumed by wanting to create and wear new and exciting things. Emotionally separating myself from it all, I was able to donate 2 large trash bags of clothing (some store bought, some homemade) and a large bag of fabric to a friend who has started a sewing business. It feels good to lighten the load and, it makes room for more! ;) I know how you feel in this regard and you are definitely not alone! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Carolanne! I think I'll just take pictures of the clothes/accessories that I have made and look through the pictures as objectively as possible to decide which ones to donate. Or, I could go further and have my hubby look through the pictures and have him make the decision. He is definitely more emotionally detached to the garments than I am!
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