Almost 20 lanyards, close to 30 water bottles and believe it or not a box labeled “stones”. Yeah you are looking at someone that is a natural born hoarder and yes I started the year trying to pull a quick KonMari on my house. I almost went missing in action in an avalanche of stuff coming out of every single drawer and cupboard in my house…

It is not that I have ever denied being a hoarder or not been aware that I am one. I actually grew up it being a positive. You were supposed to take good care of the stuff that you were given and/or acquired. I grew up on a farm where stores weren’t easily accessible and it was a good thing being able to dig up something that helped you accomplish a goal.

The problem is just that I kept hoarding things long after it was really needed. I have for example kept pretty much every single piece of shit that I have been given in a goodie bag, hence the excessive number of lanyards. I had put some systems in place to keep everything sorted but I had kind of lost control at some point. There was chaos everywhere I looked and it was really getting to me.

So I spent the first month of the year not sewing and just trying to get started. I read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo and got seriously pissed off at her “know-it-all-attitude” and total ignorance of real life scenarios (eg. kids). Seriously, how can you expect anyone to have time to empty their purse every single day and pack it away? The worst is maybe her total lack of respect for the planet. You shouldn’t even donate things to others but just throw everything away. Throw away your extra bed sheets and rent them if you get guest… right.

Then again she has some points that are valid. That you should make sure to gather all similar things in one place to get an overview of what you have and what you might be able to purge. To only keep things that give you pleasure is also a good principle although I find her interpretation a bit narrow. I really get pleasure out of being able to dig up some old seemingly useless stuff to pull of a MacGyver stunt. Stuff that technically gives me no pleasure most of the time.

I guess it is fitting that the first sewing project of this year is using a fabric I have been hoarding for years. One of the first quality fabric I bought years ago from Gekko. It is a jersey knit fabric. Sadly Gekko no longer makes and sells fabrics herself but some of her fabric designs seem to pop up once in a while. The other fabric is a lavendel jersey I bought at some point.

I made the Nivalis dress by Sofilantjes Patterns with long sleeves and collar in in size 7. It has a beautiful shape to it and was a very straight forward pattern to follow. My little girl was kind enough to model it for me on the field next to our house.

I am nowhere near being finished tidying up my house but I am trying to do a little bit at a time with the extremely limited time on my hand. I know one thing though. KonMari will be allowed nowhere near my fabric stash! That stash gives me pleasure, extreme pleasure, she said, stroked it and called it her precious.