So Sew Organized

I do a lot of different sewing projects for people, and learn a lot of new things along the way. Today I thought I'd show you how to shorten sleeves of a women's blazer (or any sleeve that is lined). It is easy, even if you don't call yourself a seamstress, you can do it too! Here is the sleeve before I did anything to it: See how the lining is folded over the seam? There is a little “give” in the lining to things don’t get bunched up in there while the garment is being worn. That is important, so I will be duplicating it in my new cuff! Use a seam ripper to carefully rip out the stitches that hold the lining and the sleeve together. This will expose the raw edges of both layers. Fold the sleeve over to the desired length. I made these 1” shorter, so I used the line left from the previous fold to measure. Press sleeve to make this a permanent fold. **Note: I read recently that water with a little white vinegar will take that other fold line away when doing a project like th...

I'm a couple weeks in to this Garage Clean Up challenge (after being gone the first week) and couldn't be happier with how my space is turning out! I only had a couple of hours to work on it this week, but she is slowly but surely coming around. Here is a current shot: Hmm...still not looking to glamorous form this shot, is it? (You can see what I started with here and my first update here .) But things are really looking up. I spent time this week focusing on putting like things with like things, then finding a place for them. The shelves are looking quite organized, if I do say so myself! Here is an example of "like things" and how I'm putting them together... Here is a box of car buffing supplies: A box of small wheels (from lawn mowers and wagons and such) the kids toys and sports equipment is getting its own shelf... and it is all fitting on these shelves quite nicely! Soon I will only have the "big stuff" to work on fitting into the room, and purg...

So I have this teen-age brother....and he has a dog....and they share a small bedroom adjacent to mine. Not sounding like a very good blog post yet, is it? Teen boy + dog = organized??? I don't think so. But how about teenboygoesawayforaweek + motherandsisterattackhisroom = organized?? Sounding much better, is it not?? :) Well, that is what happened. And here is how it all went down. You may want to read this post with a clothespin on your nose, just warning you! My mom went in first (we were worried about her coming out alive) and went through some of the stuff that was in there. She took out the clothes from when my brother was 12 and my sisters socks and other things that didn't belong. So these "before" pictures are really not truly before...they are after she had already done some major purging. It was too scary to take actual before pictures. Lets look at the arrangement of the room a little closer. Here we have his desk...in a dark corner of the room. In fact, ...

Today I’m participating in the Ultimate Blog Swap. You’ll find me posting over at The Purposed Heart about the Importance of Setting Goals , and I’m excited to welcome Alexis Anne of Clean, Smart, Simple Style to A Living Sacrifice! Take it away, Alexis! I'm sort of an obsessive closet cleaner. Since I started keeping my own blog about home organization and decor, I have cleaned out almost every closet that I own- several times over. Every time that I get writer's block, I know that all I need to do is open up a closet and I'll find a post in there somewhere. I've made the closet that holds my washer and dryer into one of my favorite spaces in the house simply by painting it a vibrant shade of aqua. I've turned an under utilized linen closet into additional master closet space. I've created a designated craft storage space out of a hall closet , and I've re-organized my kitchen cupboards more times than I care to admit. When I was trying to decide what t...

  Well, I'm a week into this garage clean up, (after being gone the first week) and already seeing some great results! I am super excited about the potential in this space, once it gets cleaned out and organized to its potential. Here is my progress picture so far: Not to bad, considering I started with this: Ok, so maybe from that POV you can't tell too much difference, but there is, trust me, there is! Lets take a closer look... Things are finding their way onto shelves or in boxes with similar things. And if I find one more can of brake cleaner... All of these bottles are old motor oil from oil changes. A man in my church is taking all of these to a car dealership he works for (hopefully tomorrow!) So they will be outta here! I've filled bags and bags of trash. Take this paint can for instance. See the warrantee on the front? "Stops rust for 3 years." Aaaand...the lid was so rusty that I couldn't even get it off. Go figure! Made me laugh! I've cleared...

If you have been reading here over the last couple of months, you know that I have been working on some trash removal/landscaping/garage organizing . I was focusing on the lawn first, and have made quite a bit of headway on that! But I was super excited when I found out that there was going to be a Great Garage Clean Out Challenge !! What better way to get motivated! Just to refresh your memory, here is what our garage currently looks like: When they said "challenge" they really meant it, didn't they? :) When we moved here, there was a lot of stuff left from the previous owners. Stuff that doesn't work. Stuff that is junk. Old boards, tools, etc. You have some of that stuff too, I know you do. We moved in September, just in time for snow to fly and things to get cold, which means we just dumped all of our junk on top of the junk that was already there, and called it a day. And there she sits...these things do not get better over time! At least, not by themselves, ...