I think I've finally hit on system for getting projects done.
Although I don't have as many some people, I still have UFO (unfinished objects) coming out my ears (or at least the sewing room doors). I recently lost my spare pair of reading glasses and, convinced they were somewhere in the sewing room, had a compete spring clean.
I opened every box, emptied every shelf and (of course) discovered even more projects, including a bag of "mending" that had been tucked away in an inconvenient location for a number of ... years. Yes, years, not months, but years.
So how's this new system work?
1. Each project and all it's requisite bits is bagged up. I've read that one shouldn't store fabric in plastic; the suggestion being to use pillow case. Firstly, I don't have enough spare pillow cases; secondly, I couldn't then see what the project was; and lastly, plastic is just more convenient.
2. Projects are divided according to one of three criteria:
- do it now
- do it later
- work on it bit by bit.
The 'do it now' projects, at this point the quick and easy ones, are kept in a small open plastic tub.
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| An almost empty 'do it now' box |
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| The 'do it later' box |
The 'work on it bit by bit' projects are on an open shelf - out in the open, visible, accessible. They're not a sit down and finish tonight deal. They're a sit in front of the TV and hand-stitch; spend a day making progress, but not finishing, sort of deal.
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| The bit by bit pile |
The plan is: once the "now" tub's empty, I rummage through the "later" tub and 'restock'.
In the last two weeks I've finished about six projects from my 'do it now' tub. None of these projects have been particularly onerous, but they have been waiting for my attention for considerable time. Sewing the buttons on The Man's satin vest, half a dozen stitches in a stuffed dog's leg, sew together a t-shirt that's been all cut out.
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| 'Do it now' project nearing completion (I love having an overlocker that works) |
