The Need to Create vs Too much stuff......A ramble

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?

Nest cleaning

Just some minor contractions today. I guess I'm not giving birth yet! So I took some time to clean up my closet. Boy, do I have a lot of clothes! I have been sewing for myself and my family for more than 10 years. About 60% of my wardrobe were made by me. I find it really hard to part with stuff that I made. They were well loved and used over so many years. But how much clothing does one really need? I'm still continuing to add new clothes that I sewed and refashioned to my closet. I think I should take the advice from those organization gurus: take one out before you put a new one in.

But how does one part with a nice wool suit that one has made and worn at work, and received compliments for? Or that special occasion dress that one made for a wedding and worn a couple more times to various Holiday parties? I can be much more cold-hearted in donating shoes that I haven't worn but clothes/accessories that I have made.......I guess I need some professional organizer help with this!

Do you have any suggestions/ideas for me to purge some of my me-made clothing/accessories? I have already given some of my creations to friends/family whom I knew would enjoy those items. But I still have a lot. What should I do?

Quick and dirty Purse Organizer

I have seen these purse organizers on the web and I thought, 'My purse needs some organizing for sure!' I just made my son some new curtains for his new room so I used the curtain scraps plus some leftover bias tape to make a 28" x 6" purse organizer. Please excuse the look because it was made quickly and crudely with whatever scraps I have on hand.
Steps:
1. Cut 2 pieces of fabric: 28" x 9". Cut 1 piece of batting of the same size.
2. Sandwich the batting with the 2 pieces of fabric and do some elementary quilting. I did diagonal lines 1" apart.
3. Bind the bottom edge with bias tape.
4. Fold the bottom up 3" and sew the sides in place.
5. Bind the 2 sides and the top edge with bias tape.
6. I then took my phone, coupons, cards, note books, etc (things I want to put into the organizer slots) and mark out where I want to sew the dividers.
7. Sew the dividers up.
8. Voila! I put my purse 'junk' into the slots, roll the purse organizer to fit into whatever purse I'm carrying that day.