This is definitely a day to use your timer. Today is the day we tackle your notions. This means your elastics, buttons, ribbons, snaps, zippers, interfacing, foundation papers and more. And not only are we going to find a lot of clutter, this is where we have containers, inside of containers, which get inside other containers. And the more steps you have to make to locate an item, the less likely that you will make the effort to find it. And more importantly, you’re unlikely to put it back.
Notions are the items that are use occasionally. So we do not need to keep them in prime space next to our sewing machines. We want to find a spot nearby with access when we need them.
We purchase notions for workshops, seasonal crafts, costumes and school assignments, and of course the projects that we never actually make. And it’s crazy but today it’s often cheaper to buy notions in bulk than one at a time. And that leads to the crazy new issue of ‘overstock’.
Notions come in all sorts of shapes and sizes which means it’s a colossal effort to manage them. And since they can get lost in the container'verse, it is often faster to just buy them again.
So start by identifying:
How much space do I want these items to occupy?
Are they all going to fit in one container, a drawer or a shelf? Then only put back the items that you need right now. Then, check the notions for deterioration. Elastics break down, metal corrodes, plastics become brittle.
I have these two drawers for notions which is down from the 4 drawers I had a couple of years ago. I attempted to bring it back to only one but it seams even with adding my foam board trays to double the capacity, I still need two drawers.
And it definitely helped as I actually used some notions this year. I used the ribbons a lot, and I had some fun with the zippers and bag hardware. I also have made the effort to colour code my snaps and presses so that I know what tools I should use with what.
If this is your first year of the declutter challenge, this is the day to be brutal. If you have containers that have not been opened in 2-5 years or more, don’t even try to sort them. Open the lid, confirm that there are no important documents or folders inside and let it go. You have lived without the contents for years. The odds are in your favour that you will continue to survive without them. And 99% of it is replaceable if you must.
This is also the day you need to look at the crafts in your space that you no longer do. Knitting. crochet, beading, scrapbooking, quilling, felting, card making, watercolors. What have you done in the past 2 years? Which ones are you ever likely to do again? If these are crafts that you still do or intend to do, you will still need to declutter them. So make up some categories, similar to the ones we are doing for sewing room and plan to tackle them at the end of this challenge.
It’s might be a long day, it might a hard day But when the clutter is I gone the relief is worth it. This will be a day you will find the old, the crumbling, the weird, the wacky and the colourful. Maybe supplies from when your children were young. Be sure to post your photos online with the hashtags. #declutterchallenge2025
Take care I’ll see you tomorrow for Day 14.
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