no new postings since 5/2 (long)

Ok, I know it is spring and everyone is enjoying the outdoors but a
check for new RTCQ posts showed nothing since May 2! Can't be right.

I have enjoyed being outside as much as possible but also continue to
de-clutter my house and studio in preparation for our move. We are
downsizing from our five bedroom home of the last 26 years to a two
bedroom townhouse. That means only the most import stuff should make
the move. The townhouse has very nice studio space (what should be the
family room) but there isn't as much storage as our present house.
Since our sons have left home the fabric storage has spread into two
bedroom closets.

I have spent the last three weeks handling everything in my studio and
the afore mentioned closets deciding if I would really ever use each
piece of fabric or finish a kit or UFO. Many boxes have been given to
several different quilting charity groups plus kits and fabric to
special friends. There is still enough left for several lifetimes of
sewing.

Also discovered were a few completed quilt tops I don't remember
making, three quilted but unbound quilts and many completed sets of
blocks never assembled into tops. One large tub is now marked "Kits
and UFO's to Finish First". That tub will stay in the studio while the
house is on the market. The realtor didn't mind showing the space as a
working studio but thought the clutter should be cleared. "After all,"
he said, "Potential buyers will need to walk through the room!" We
already own the townhouse which is an hour away from our present home
(and only ten minutes from the grandchildren!). Every week we take a
car load from the studio to the townhouse. The next Saturday it isn't
raining we will rent a small truck and take the shelving units plus a
few things that will be placed in storage. Fortunately my son has a
second floor above his garage that they currently do not use. I plan
to store some family antiques and fabric tubs there. The tubs have
been inventoried so I won't forget what is there.

We haven't actually put the For Sale sign in the front yard yet. The
realtor suggested several updating tweaks which we have been
addressing this spring. I am not looking forward to having the house
on the market which will require keeping the house clean at all times
for potential viewing. We were spoiled by selling our last house
without putting it on the market.

Back to de-cluttering.

Susan

I'm not so sure that 'show' perfect is really needed or wanted. If dishes
in the sink or wet towels in the bath turn off a buyer, they weren't much
interested anyway. OTOH, having a path through the house might be helpful.
We sold one home when there were drop cloths, paint buckets and assorted
trauma all the way through and they made an offer on the spot. Didn't even
say we were selling it. Errrr... umm... also - someone suggested to me on
our last move that FQs were good for packing fragile china etc. NO no.
Many times I wondered why I didn't still have the FQ of soft gray purple and
would months later discover it protecting Granny's Christmas candy dish.
Polly

Show perfect didn't exist here when we were house hunting 4 years ago -
washing drying on airers in kitchens, layers of dirt etc and the estate
agents photo were a laugh - one memorable photo was a shelf in a room
with a bucket on it, all you could see was one wall with the bucket, no
idea on what the rest was like; another was a beautiful kitchen with a
door going out to a utility room, where there was building rubbish and
the roof had caved in!

We viewed 2 houses when buying, the first one was the funniest as there
was a walnut in the shower tray, to which the agent said "oh yes, the
ventilation is very good in here", ie a squirrel can get in, whilst
carrying a walnut! The second one we bought, but we came to view we
couldn't open all the shutters to get a good look, as the plants had
grown up over them. Here, you look at the floor space, location and the
rest is just cosmetic, we spent the first 3 months cleaning and then
renovating. The agent only had one outdoor photo of our house and we
still haven't worked out how he took it, the angle was so weird, it is a
beautiful house, but it didn't show in the photo. The indoor photo was
of a table and chairs, very nice, but they didn't stay!

I don't plan on ever moving again, even though I haven't finished
unpacking yet (been here nearly 4 years) and am still looking for
liquidisers, baking trays etc! We moved in a hurry, with the loan of a
grain skip (!) on the back of a friend's lorry - removal companies don't
really exist here in the countryside.

Good luck with it all

Janner
France


On 07/05/13 05:35, Polly Esther wrote:
I'm not so sure that 'show' perfect is really needed or wanted. If
dishes in the sink or wet towels in the bath turn off a buyer, they
weren't much interested anyway. OTOH, having a path through the house
might be helpful. We sold one home when there were drop cloths, paint
buckets and assorted trauma all the way through and they made an offer
on the spot. Didn't even say we were selling it. Errrr... umm... also
- someone suggested to me on our last move that FQs were good for
packing fragile china etc. NO no. Many times I wondered why I didn't
still have the FQ of soft gray purple and would months later discover it
protecting Granny's Christmas candy dish. Polly

Congratulations on your de-cluttering skills! My new rule, mostly
followed, is that nothing new comes in unless an equal volume of old
goes out.

We have DD and grandbaby visiting this month, followed by the other
DD's wedding on June 1, so not much else is happening.
Roberta in D

On Mon, 06 May 2013 08:23:00 -0500, Susan Laity Price
wrote:

Ok, I know it is spring and everyone is enjoying the outdoors but a
check for new RTCQ posts showed nothing since May 2! Can't be right.

I have enjoyed being outside as much as possible but also continue to
de-clutter my house and studio in preparation for our move. We are
downsizing from our five bedroom home of the last 26 years to a two
bedroom townhouse. That means only the most import stuff should make
the move. The townhouse has very nice studio space (what should be the
family room) but there isn't as much storage as our present house.
Since our sons have left home the fabric storage has spread into two
bedroom closets.

I have spent the last three weeks handling everything in my studio and
the afore mentioned closets deciding if I would really ever use each
piece of fabric or finish a kit or UFO. Many boxes have been given to
several different quilting charity groups plus kits and fabric to
special friends. There is still enough left for several lifetimes of
sewing.

Also discovered were a few completed quilt tops I don't remember
making, three quilted but unbound quilts and many completed sets of
blocks never assembled into tops. One large tub is now marked "Kits
and UFO's to Finish First". That tub will stay in the studio while the
house is on the market. The realtor didn't mind showing the space as a
working studio but thought the clutter should be cleared. "After all,"
he said, "Potential buyers will need to walk through the room!" We
already own the townhouse which is an hour away from our present home
(and only ten minutes from the grandchildren!). Every week we take a
car load from the studio to the townhouse. The next Saturday it isn't
raining we will rent a small truck and take the shelving units plus a
few things that will be placed in storage. Fortunately my son has a
second floor above his garage that they currently do not use. I plan
to store some family antiques and fabric tubs there. The tubs have
been inventoried so I won't forget what is there.

We haven't actually put the For Sale sign in the front yard yet. The
realtor suggested several updating tweaks which we have been
addressing this spring. I am not looking forward to having the house
on the market which will require keeping the house clean at all times
for potential viewing. We were spoiled by selling our last house
without putting it on the market.

Back to de-cluttering.

Susan

I guess the last move from NY to California was easy. I sold nearly everything. If the rest did not fit in the car...it was donated. Of course, I could have put everything in my Dad's garage, but I'm glad it's gone. Talk about downsizing!
Being in a 2 bedroom apartment with my DD and her hubby has become crowded with new furniture, etc. I have been without my sewing room for 3 yrs and now am looking to rearrange my room to accommodate a smaller dresser and a desk for my sewing machine. I can't wait to have some kind of space for that! At least I'll be able to shut my door, sew to my heart's content and not interrupt the whole household. Not to mention, get back to quilting!!!!

Howdy!
You have my sympathies and congratulations on moving your household.
In the past, I have rented a storage space to de-clutter the mansion when
putting it on the market. It's a chore, giving me time to remember what I
have, and to examine my head about what I really want to keep (did not say
"need", as "need" does not come into the reckoning where fabric is
concerned). The storage space also gives me time to adjust and unpack at the
new home; worth the expense. Still, there was a pile of things left on the
new curb with a "Free! Take it away!" sign; everything was taken before
dusk. We are accumulators.
From 5 bedrooms to 2: that's a lot of clearing, Susan. I will take this
opportunity to remind you (I'm still Queen of the Beggars, here),
you have my address. ;-)
Ah, yes, the updating tweaks: we've decided to do those while we still
enjoy the house. Will have to explain, again, to f-i-l that while the
master bath is under construction, I will not be hosting a birthday party
for him & his girlfriend (sheesh!); don't want sheetrock dust on the cake!
We all love to go out to eat, which does not require me sweeping up debris
inside, & making a new path around the yard while the landscapers perform
their magic.

Good luck; best wishes, and please privately email me your new addy.

Ragmop/Sandy - remembering one of those quilted projects from your stash...


On 5/6/13 8:23 AM, in article ,
"Susan Laity Price" wrote:

Ok, I know it is spring and everyone is enjoying the outdoors but a
check for new RTCQ posts showed nothing since May 2! Can't be right.

I have enjoyed being outside as much as possible but also continue to
de-clutter my house and studio in preparation for our move. We are
downsizing from our five bedroom home of the last 26 years to a two
bedroom townhouse. That means only the most import stuff should make
the move. The townhouse has very nice studio space (what should be the
family room) but there isn't as much storage as our present house.
Since our sons have left home the fabric storage has spread into two
bedroom closets.

I have spent the last three weeks handling everything in my studio and
the afore mentioned closets deciding if I would really ever use each
piece of fabric or finish a kit or UFO. Many boxes have been given to
several different quilting charity groups plus kits and fabric to
special friends. There is still enough left for several lifetimes of
sewing.

Also discovered were a few completed quilt tops I don't remember
making, three quilted but unbound quilts and many completed sets of
blocks never assembled into tops. One large tub is now marked "Kits
and UFO's to Finish First". That tub will stay in the studio while the
house is on the market. The realtor didn't mind showing the space as a
working studio but thought the clutter should be cleared. "After all,"
he said, "Potential buyers will need to walk through the room!" We
already own the townhouse which is an hour away from our present home
(and only ten minutes from the grandchildren!). Every week we take a
car load from the studio to the townhouse. The next Saturday it isn't
raining we will rent a small truck and take the shelving units plus a
few things that will be placed in storage. Fortunately my son has a
second floor above his garage that they currently do not use. I plan
to store some family antiques and fabric tubs there. The tubs have
been inventoried so I won't forget what is there.

We haven't actually put the For Sale sign in the front yard yet. The
realtor suggested several updating tweaks which we have been
addressing this spring. I am not looking forward to having the house
on the market which will require keeping the house clean at all times
for potential viewing. We were spoiled by selling our last house
without putting it on the market.

Back to de-cluttering.

Susan