Decluttering and the Laws of Attraction

Since starting From Rags To Bags, over five years ago, my study/sewing room has become overrun with fabric, ribbons, buttons and all sorts of other craft bits.  I admit I've had a tendency to hoard but you never know when something will come in handy.

The result of my hoarding was not only the built in wardrobe packed to the rafters but fabric being stacked over every surface and also overflowing onto the floor.  Trying to get to my sales stock in the wardrobe was a nightmare as I was constantly having to shift everything stacked up in front of the doors.  The bookcase was groaning under the weight of fabric piled on top, the shelves were bowing and the sides were falling apart. I realised a few months ago that I really needed a sort out.

Having mulled over the problem for a while, I decided to invest in some heavy duty racking.  Whilst it may look a bit industrial it was the most practical solution.  I was going to buy cupboards but I was worried about the load bearing capabilities of the shelves and also realised that having to constantly open and shut the doors would wear thin eventually.

I was pleasantly surprised when I searched online for racking, to find that it came in a variety of colours, including a royal blue which matched my chair and curtains.  The shelves could also hold up to 250Kg each.  Perfect!

I have spent the last couple of days sorting through every single piece of fabric, trying to decide if I liked it and more importantly if I would ever use it.  Some has gone in the rag bag which I donate to a local wildlife charity.  They in turn sell it to a rag merchant for recycling, so nothing is wasted.  The useful remnants I discarded (which was a really big bag full) have gone off to the local hospice shop for them to sell and raise funds.  The remainder, is now neatly sorted and stacked in plastic storage boxes on the racking.  My sales stock is also easily accessible now on the top with the remainder in the wardrobe which I can now get to as well.  I can't believe I have so much more room again now either.

However, I am now fighting the universal laws of physics.  I am convinced that as soon as you declutter and make space an invisible force field kicks in sucking new items back into the void.  I popped into town yesterday to drop off the large bag of remnants into the charity shop, only to find myself ten minutes later buying a fabric sample book from the soft furnishings shop on the way back to the car park! The shop had very helpfully put the book outside with their remnants so I couldn't miss it.  They label they had stuck on the book suggested patchwork but the fabric is perfect for my doorstops.  How could I resist?

So, once again, I found myself this morning sorting through more new fabric, trying to decide which bits to keep and then trying to cram them all into the already over full storage boxes.  Perhaps if I have paid more attention in my physics lessons at school I would know how to avoid the magnetic laws of attraction.  I blame Newton personally, I'm sure he would have had a theory about it.