Good Saturday morning to you! It’s a chillyish sort of morning here—just cool enough to reach for my new sweater. I don’t take wearing this one for granted, because it was a long time coming. After all the hours of knitting, a few false starts, and plenty of patience, it’s finally finished. And just in time, too—the cool fall air feels like it arrived right on schedule so I could slip it on and enjoy it. 

But then—disaster. As I neared the finish, I realized a skein was missing. I retraced my steps, flashlight in hand, revisiting every seat and every lost-and-found from those outings. Nothing. The yarn was discontinued and I could not find a skein from the manufacturer or another knitter on Ravelry, and believe me, I pleaded. Having no luck, I put the project away for months.

And then, just last week—victory! I found the missing skein right at home, tucked into a basket destined for another colorwork sweater. What relief! With yarn in hand, and a road trip to Lake Tahoe ahead of us—four hours up, four hours back, and plenty of time in between to knit and chat with friends—I finally finished my sweater.

• Edinburgh Sweater pattern by Cheryl Mokhtari
• See Cheryl's portfolio here. I love her style!
• My Ravelry Project page
• Onling Yarn
• I was really impressed with my yarn and will definitely order from them again.

So after that happy ending, I am on a mission to finish my almost finished sweaters and I'm expecting no hiccups. I'm trying not to cast on anything new until at least two are finished. All three only have a little to go so maybe I should just finish all three before I start casting on willy nilly.

I have finished the body and just have one sleeve to go.

I have finished the body and have the remainder of the sleeve and the neck band to go.

I also took this with me on my trip because I had a feeling I could get my Edinburgh sweater finished before the drive home, and I was right. I was able to start this and now have the body and one sleeve done. One sleeve to go!

I have one more declutter story (could this be my last?) to share, and I’m going to tell you something I can hardly believe I did. I had a garage sale.

Now, this is strange because I hate garage sales. The last time I held one was decades ago, and I swore I’d never do it again. They’re exhausting, and honestly, there are easier ways to part with things and easier ways to make money. Garage sales are work.

But here’s what happened: my son divorced several years ago and has been storing things at my house ever since. A lot of it was his old toys that Carter played with for a while but has since outgrown—lovely things like a trolley of maple blocks, Brio sets, Lego sets, a collection of tiny Steiff animals, baseball cards, a box of 80s Ghostbuster treasures, plus ski gear and other unused sports equipment. He’s not overly sentimental, so letting go wasn’t the key issue. It was just the doing of it—the actual getting it out the door—that felt overwhelming.

So I suggested a garage sale. I promised to help, and I figured I could always find a few things of my own to part with. We also made a pact: whatever didn’t sell would not come back into the house. It would be donated the very next day, no excuses.

We set it for one day only, 8 AM to noon, advertised on Facebook and Craigslist, put signs up around town, and waited. People came—respectful, curious, the kind of garage-sale-goers you actually want. We priced everything to sell, and by noon, my son had made quite a bit of money and lightened his load. I made way less, but didn’t mind one bit. The real win was getting it done.

After the sale, leftover good stuff went into the car to be delivered to the library and charity shop. We admitted some was junk and trashed that stuff. The rest went on the front porch with a FREE sign and a week later, it's gone. In the end, yes—we did bring a few things back into the attic. But the garage sale had done its job: it got my son to sort through, make decisions, organize, and price everything. What didn’t sell that day is now being listed on Facebook Marketplace and elsewhere. In just the week since the sale, he’s already sold several more items. Some have been shipped through the mail, others have been picked up right from our front porch (we’re comfortable with that). Buyers Venmo him first, then he shares our address. Simple and easy.

This may be my last decluttering adventure—but then again, you never know! Looking back, I’m proud of how much I’ve been able to let go of and how much space, both physical and mental, I’ve reclaimed. It’s felt so good and so right and it's much easier to keep my house clean! More than that, it’s taught me valuable lessons about being a better steward of my money and my shopping habits going forward.

As I look back over the decluttering stories I’ve shared here—closets and cupboards, file cabinets, photo albums, yarn stashes, and attics—I see not just things leaving the house, but a shift in how I think about what comes in. Each project, big or small, has lightened my load in ways I didn’t expect. If this really is my last decluttering adventure, I’m glad I’ve told the stories along the way. They remind me that sometimes letting go can be even more meaningful than holding on.

Friends, wherever you are on your own cleaning up, clearing out, or decluttering journey, I wish you the very best. Many of you have told me that these posts inspired you to start, and that means so much—thank you. If you’ve been thinking about decluttering, maybe this is your sign to begin. It doesn’t have to be big—maybe it’s one drawer, one shelf, or even your car’s glove box. It’s not always easy to let go, but every little step adds up. I did it—and you can too!

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