2026 OneThing #39 - Get Rid of Stuff

I know I've been working on "decluttering" for a few years now, but there's a LOT still in this house that needs to go away. I've been frustrated enough that I made it my week's goal. I'm posting this on Tuesday instead of Sunday, but most of this was done last week. And it felt good.

 

I've had these books set aside for several weeks and brought them to church one day for people to take. I didn't want to just dump them at Goodwill or in a Little Free Library, but then I realized I could bring them with me to an MQ meeting at the Recovery Church in St. Paul. They have a LFL book shelf and I believe they'll get to the hands that need them. So they will sit in my quilting space until the next time I go to a meeting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Louie said it was okay to get rid of our VHS tapes (save a few he wanted to hold on to, like the original Star Wars movies). I put the "save" videos in the bin with the VCR and dropped off the rest (mostly Disney movies) at the Goodwill. 

 

I was kind of torn about the Veggie Tales videos (I added them after taking the photo) because the old episodes were so good! (The new ones are not so good.) But honestly, we just have too much stuff. So away they went!

 

 

 

 

I had this box of puppets (some homemade) and a box with art supplies (crayons, watercolors, etc.) that I was able to donate at Harriet Bishop Elementary School. The Project Kids coordinator graciously accepted them, but asked if my grandsons wouldn't like them. I told her that I had asked them and I just wanted the puppets and art supplies to go away. I also told her that my son and daughter-in-law don't want their house to be flooded with my stuff. (True Story.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

That said, my daughter-in-law accepted this box of books. These are so cool! They have some clear pages to show you the inside of fruit, musical instruments, etc. I love these books, but they're not getting enough use here. I hope my grandsons love them.

It seems silly to put this picture here, but I used the empty bin from the VHS tapes to dump some of my sewing room stuff that needs to be sorted and dealt with. The TWO boxes that I emptied went to a neighbor who is packing to move. (Yes, I asked her first if she wanted them.)

 

 Titus was just hanging out. I'm not getting rid of him!

 

 

 

 

 

I also have a vacuum cleaner that uses a bag. We don't ever use it any more because we have the cool canister kind. This will get dropped off at Bridging another week when I have more time (and maybe more stuff?) to donate.  

 

I think that's it for last week. Progress, not perfection. It felt really good to get rid of things. I have so many other things going on this week that I won't move forward with more decluttering for a week at least. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2026 OneThing #38 - 100% Prepped to Long Arm

I did it! I finished the two pieces of the quilt top (it's too big to do all as one). I bought, laundered, and pressed backing fabric (from SR Harris). I ordered the bamboo batting for a king size quilt. I did all this before we went to Duluth and now I've got everything ready for tomorrow. Rose and I have communicated a bit about this project. I brought my Lori Kennedy quilting book with me and did some reading and doodling practice. I am very hopeful that things go smoothly tomorrow!

 The main part of the quilt (lower right) is 92" w x 102" long. The smaller part which will hang down one side of the bed is 24"w x 102 long. 

 

The backing is 108" x 153". (I just bought the rest of the bolt, knowing it was more than I needed, but I should definitely have enough!) 

 

I'm just realizing that I don't know the dimensions of the batting . . . just that I ordered a king size piece. It's theoretically 120" x 122" so I should be okay. I'll just need to be careful how I lay everything out. I'm not excited by the splicing I'll have to do with the two pieces. . . but I'm excited at the thought of getting this "wedding" quilt done before their tenth anniversary! 

2026 OneThing #37 - Chair Aerobics 3+ times - FAIL

Oh my. I thought this was a fairly easy goal. The videos I use are 15-20 minutes long. I did a session one day. One. Day. All week long.

 

It felt great, but it's definitely not a habit yet! So now I'm not journaling in the morning. I'm not consistently exercising. I'm not being very disciplined about my devotional / prayer time. . . . Something needs to change.

 

Here it is, Tuesday morning, and I'm just now doing my "Sunday blogging." Ugh.

 

Since success builds success, I'll focus on last week's positives. Here are a few (in no particular order):

• I had a lovely lunch date with Emma.
• I baked some chocolate chip cookies.
• I brought Joyce a card and some flowers on her birthday.
• I consulted with Rose about the quilt for Morgan and Angela so now I have a plan.
• We got to have Morgan and the boys over for dinner on Saturday!
• I am blessed and have so much Praise for God! 

Because I love to include photos, here's one from the MQ (Minnesota Quilters) meeting on Saturday:

It's a money gift envelope, but I don't remember which Asian country it's from. I love it!

 

2026 OneThing #36 - Finish Reading Luke's Book - Kind of a Fail

So back in 2020(?), my nephew wrote a novel. He wanted some help with editing in the hopes of getting it published. I prefer to read a work first, then dig into editing later after getting an overall impression. He didn't really need help with spelling, grammar, punctuation as he is quite literate. Those are my strengths. But I found as I was reading that I didn't find it to be a compelling story. 

 

Then life got busy and I kept intending to finish reading it so I could talk with him about it. And I just kept putting it off. Then at a family gathering a week and a half ago, another aunt asked him about his book. I apologized to him for not following through and he brushed it off. But I felt bad. I never intended to ghost him about his book. So I found my folder with notes and made it my goal to finish the book!

 

I had read 47 chapters. But when I went to my Google Drive to find the story he had shared with me, it wasn't there. I searched several ways but couldn't find it. I texted Luke and he was lovely in his response. I would still like to sit down and talk with him about it. 

 

In my notes from our first conversation, he said he had two years invested in it. He said he had about 160,000 words and was "about" halfway done. I feel like a jerk for putting it on the back burner in my own time management for so long. 

 

So yes, last week's OneThing was a fail . . . but I tried. What I *did* get done was enjoy time at the lake, spend time with loved ones, and read. I've also done some cleaning. On to a new week! And I think I'll make time to visit with my nephew about my initial reactions to his book without being hurtful.
 

2026 OneThing #35 - Install Oven "Mat"

 I can't believe how long it has taken me to do this . . . here's the story.

 

Sometimes things in the oven spill over and make a mess. One time, my sister-in-law Delavon was at our house and I expressed frustration about this issue. I do not love scrubbing my oven. She raved about a product you could put on the bottom of the oven to deal with it. I told her I wasn't interested. I want less stuff, not more. She was insistent and ordered some for me.

 

I was resistant to her suggestion. (I can be a stubborn pill sometimes.) The box sat in my cupboard until I just about forgot about it.

 

Then I was at her house and something spilled in the oven. We waited for the oven to cool down after the meal, then I went to clean up the mess. It wiped right off. No fuss. I was amazed. Ah! Now I understood her insistence that we use the product! It worked great.

 

But I kept not reading the information and installing the stuff. Don't ask me why . . . more projects than time? Out of sight, out of mind? So I finally made it my "One Thing" this past week.

 

I don't have cool photos, so I'll just share the directions. Because our oven in Jordan is double and has a covered heating element, I cut it so that there was an inch between the mat and the walls / door of the oven. I laid it ON the bottom rack in each oven. 

 

I did have an issue when making pizza. As I tried to shift the baking stone that was resting on the mat on the rack, the whole mat moved. I had to get creative in using oven mitts to hold the mat in place AND move the pizza stone. Minor issue and I'm sure I'll get used to dealing with it.

 

I highly, highly recommend these things for anyone who loves to bake and hates to scrub out the oven! I really need to thank my sister-in-law. Now it's time to put the third one in the oven at the lake . . .  (The box she ordered for me had three sheets in it.) 

 

 

2026 OneThing #34 - Sort Through Baby Toys

This was interesting. I wanted to keep some baby toys for visitors but don't anticipate having any more babies in my life on a regular basis. I started with the board books. Then I kept the toys that I thought were the best / favorites for my grandsons or other young guests. Instead of downsizing the bin, I put a few "older" kid toys in that fit. I don't have photos of that process, but I delivered a box of books and toys to my sister-in-law who has a new grandbaby.

 

Then we came across two army men . . . and my husband commented that we had a bin of them in the garage. He and our grandson Joshua retrieved said bin and I was dismayed. If I didn't even know we had them, I was ready to just get rid of them! But Joshua had fun sorting through and pulling out the fortification pieces. I have now put the entire set on Craigslist for sale. If no one wants it, I'll probably just donate it. 

 

 

They also brought in a bigger bin of "Nick's K'nex." I didn't even know Nick owned any! He doesn't want them, but Alex will add them to his collection. It was fun to sort through them and see the many things Nick made from cardboard, duct tape, and other stuff to supplement his play. Joshua latched on to the vehicle with missiles you can fire. I suggested he and his dad go visit Alex to play with K'nex . . .  Grandma is really trying to reduce the amount of stuff in her house!

 

 

Along with all this, I spread out all the "stuffies" on the sofa. Joshua and I took turns selecting a favorite to put in the bin. After we had saved our faves, I put the rest in a box to donate. Although there's enough room in the bin for more, I really want to cull out the toys that aren't being played with. I have a lot of puppets that I may see if Joshua's teacher wants for the classroom . . . 

There's more I could write about this process, but I'm ready to move on with my day. And perhaps get to work on this week's OneThing!
 

2026 One Thing #33 - Sew Green Chair

When I sat in one of the big green chairs we got from my in-laws' downsizing and it tore (last fall? last spring?), I was determined to fix it. I brought it home and had it in my sewing room for a long time. Then I got some green "horse blanket" fabric and fashioned a new seat. Then my dilemma was how to sew it ON to the aluminum tubing. Louie suggested a sewing tool he had purchased. I brought the frame and the "new" seat to the cabin.

 

This trip, I finally asked him for the sewing tool. It is awl-based and called "Speedy Stitcher." I opened the little box and read the directions. I was confused. A few days later, I watched a video (there are several, though when I typed in www.speedystitcher.com, it came up with an error message. Just now, I got straight to their website!). The videos (and there are many online) are much more helpful than their print documentation.

 

Then I decided to use the black thick waxy thread Louie had bought for another project instead of the pre-loaded tan thread. Unspooling (and re-wrapping it on an empty spool) the tan, then carefully winding the black thread onto the spool, threading the tool, and trying to sew took me longer than I'd like to think about. But the black thread wouldn't pull through! It was like a brick, so I unspooled it and went back to winding the tan thread. 

 

Finally I was ready to sew! It was harder than regular sewing and it took me a while to get the hang of it. I'm not proud of how it looks, but the chair is usable now! And I've learned how to use a new tool. The one thing I didn't really hear mentioned was leaving a long enough piece of thread for the length of your project (so you have enough for a knot at the end). 

 

 

You can see that the stitching on one side is neater than where I started! Actually, both sides look "iffy." But again, it was harder than regular sewing and it's done! The green of the seat is darker than the seat back, but I don't really care about that. I would use this tool again for a hard to reach bit of sewing.