I am a crafter. I am also a hoarder.This would be fine if I was organised and had everything in its place. But I don't. Boy, I don't. One of my worst habits is keeping small pieces of fabric that realistically can't be used for anything, but I hold on to them, "just in case". Well this year, this will end! I hope...

The first step is to pick a project that can use up your scraps. I took my inspiration from this tutorial from the Fading Charms Quilt. So messy pile of scraps? Or organised project in process?

 

First, I ironed my fabric scraps. I decided to use a 2-1/2" template for my squares so I could get a nice bit of pattern into them. The templace I made from a cereal box (the only reason to buy cereal really, is for the template material), and I had a pinking shears to cut the fabric as I wanted to prevent the edges of the squares fraying. Who only knows how long it'll be before I decided I have enough colour variation to start sewing. 

Use the template to centre the pattern if you like, and cut out the pieces with the pinking shears, making sure to give a seam allowance outside the template. 

And voila! Instead of an untidy pile, I have pre-cut squares all neatly stacked in a box, which can be put away neatly. The left over pieces from this cutting I can now be sure will not be useful and can be binned without further thought. Sure, it's a long stash-busting step, but it's a step in the right direction.