One of the biggest declutter challenges I had to face was when I decluttered my hand knits and handmade crafts. First, it's important to acknowledge that as makers, we’ve poured hours of hard work, creativity, good intentions, and big money into each item we handcraft. We had high hopes we'd love it forever, but like everything we own, we usually find that our tastes have changed and we no longer wear or use it. It may also be worn out and shabby or terribly out of style. Giving away things we once loved is hard enough, but having made the darn thing adds an extra complication. There are some nasty roadblocks and landmines on that particular road to declutter, but if we tweak our attitude and set a few rules in place we can comfortably release those lovingly handmade items. Here's where I hope I have some good advice for you. I have built up my declutter muscles pretty well over the last few years and I've been able to put some new strategies in place when I find I have too many knits and crafts crowding my space.

I have just completed my deep cleaning. 👍 I started in January and it's now March, so you can see I like to take my time. To keep me on task I kept a to-do list and checked off completed tasks. That was a good feeling! I gave myself days off and some days only worked for ten minutes, but little by little, the house was reset and clean. But this is not a post so much about how I deep clean, but a post about how I tidied up my drawers and cupboards, then put a system in place to keep them tidy--forever. I know it works because I've been doing it for years.

My Field Sweater by Camilla Vad has been knitted, worn and finally washed and I'm here to report all good things, AND to show you some gorgeous amaryllises I spied in my friend's home, and why I think you should be in a knitting group!

Top o' the mornin' to ya! Honestly, I had zero intention of making peg doll Leprechauns, but when I saw this downloadable printable box from one of my favorite Etsy sellers, I sighed, knowing all too well that wee Leprechauns were in my future. I had so much fun creating them; they made me smile! When I'm in my craft room my husband likes to come in and see what I'm up to. He took one look, grinned and said, "But we're not Irish." I said, "And yet we're having corned beef and cabbage next week." 💚

We don't need to be Irish to celebrate St. Patrick's Day!

To make the dolls you'll need: