New Year's Resolution

Happy New Year!

Most years, I don't even bother with resolutions. I just figured I'd break them anyway. My reasoning was that the decision to designate years with numbers, to break them down into months, to have the yearly number change on a certain date -- it's all rather arbitrary. And I admit a slight superstition that I might jinx my general trend of good luck by paying too much attention to this arbitrary date.

This year a resolution popped into my head when I was least expecting it. I was cleaning my closet and finding things at the back that I had forgotten about. The resolution seemed like a good one, so I decided to go with it.


There just so happens to be a TON of crafting supplies in the closet now. Mostly they consist of fabric and notions that seemed like a great idea at the time but which I couldn't find a use for later. This is the year that I'm going to get rid of them! So, my new year's resolution is to NOT BUY ANOTHER CRAFTING ITEM until this vast stash 'o stuff is depleted. I will make one exception for replacement sewing machine needles since I seem to... break them... often.

The year is nearly gone. I'm excited to get started. I kind of panicked a bit while we were in Bangkok, and bought an entirely unnecessary stash of fabric and zippers, but I'm fine now. When my Etsy shop re-opens in January, I will start filling it with the creations that are produced from the various odds and ends in my closet. Over time, I think some interesting things may happen. For example, after I run out of zippers, I'll have to figure out how to sew button holes. And after I run out of buttons I may have to use found objects for button closures. Then there's the part when I get to the bottom of the bin, the ugly fabric. Hmm...


There's a second part to my new year's resolution. All the proceeds from my Etsy shop this year (excluding shipping and handling costs) will go to charity. I haven't decided yet on the roster of charities to give to yet, but I'm starting out by giving the earnings from the first 2 months sales to one that's close to my heart, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the largest charitable group funding the search for a cure for Type 1 diabetes. I hope it will happen in our lifetime.

We came back from Bangkok on Monday, after 4 days of walking, exploring, snacking and shopping. Some posts about all that are coming soon. Tonight we're back on a plane for another long weekend trip, to the Northern Marianas islands of Saipan and Tinian. Yay!