Learning Something New this year

It is a new year, full possibilities. I have a ritual I do on the last weekend of every year. Clean up the old and get ready for the new. I go through UFO's (Unfinished projects) and sort them out as to what I will actually finish (or start) and what has been hanging around giving me a guilt trip. I take apart kits I am never going to do and put the fabrics back in my stash, I make a list of projects I need (or want to do) and move the important ones to the top of the pile. I give away the half-finished projects or toss them out.

I clean up my stash, if not longer have room for fabric, it is time to weed out the pieces I am never going to use and donate them to a charity group. I know some of you are freaking out at this suggestion but think of it this way. Fabric has a life too and don't you want it to fill it's potential. Isn't better if the fabric goes to live with a charity group that with put it to good use rather than sitting on your shelf wishing it had a purpose in its little fabric life. Just a thought.

Next up is my office, I clean out a years worth of job folders. This my chance to see what patterns and ideas we came up with through the year that can be recycled and used again. I get to review the design journey we traveled in the past year and reflect on what I have learned through these projects and believe me there is always something new to learn.

This is also the time I close the books for the year and get everything ready for the accountant. I go through those mystery piles we all have that creep up in our office over the year, things we do not know what to do with or don't want to deal with. I sort them out and deal with them. This way I know 2011 is at a close. I can move into 2012 with a clean slate (literally).

Because I do this yearly, it is not so bad and does not take long. This process also is a chance for me to look back on the year and the different projects I have done. I am able to reflect on my sucesses and my failures. I am mentally making my plan for the next year as I remove the mental and physical clutter from the past year. I am not sure when I started doing this process but I have done it for years and for me it is the only way to face the beautiful unknown road of 2012 with a happy, free spirit.
This year I am tackling knitting.......