When my son, Jonathon, was seven, he was totally into Monopoly.

I went on eBay and found a Monopoly clock, Monopoly mug, and then struck the Monopoly motherlode: Monopoly fabric!

Started

I bought enough to make a quilt, pillows, and curtains.

I signed up for a quilt-making class, where I cut a lot of the fabric into a lot of strips. I even sewed some of the strips into T shapes.

Then–-as is so typical for my Expressive personality–-I ran out of steam.

Stopped

I quickly became overwhelmed by all the attention to detail that making a “T Quilt” requires.

I didn’t want details; I wanted a quilt!

So, I set the project aside. Then bagged it up. Eventually, stored it in the garage.

For. Ten. Years.

Stored

A decade later, when I pulled out the box that held the bag holding all the Monopoly fabric, my heart took a fantastical leap.

“I can finish this now … or this summer … or next year!” I started thinking.

But thanks to Clutter Free, I knew that my habit of storing stuff was not good stewardship.

Letting of an unfinished project

So I took photos of the Monopoly fabric and posted them on Facebook with the note, “Free to good home.”

Sherry, an acquaintance, responded immediately. An avid quilter, she offered to take, and promised to use, all my quilting fabric and supplies.

Then–-as is so typical for my Expressive personality–-I forgot all about the fabric. Out of sight, out of mind. I’m an idea gal, a starter, so I moved on to new projects.

Two years later, Sherry blessed me with photos of the quilt that I started and she so lovingly finished:

unfinished project

It looks better than I ever imagined!

She gave the quilt to a family member who was thrilled to receive it and adores using it.

What started-stopped-and-stored project can you give away today?

One Small Win: You don’t have to hang on to the quilt…or the guilt. You don’t need to finish what you started. You can let someone else take it from here.

unfinished project


personal manifesto

Cheri Gregory is a teacher, speaker, author, and Certified Personality Trainer. Her passion is helping women break free from destructive expectations. She writes and speaks from the conviction that “how to” works best in partnership with “heart, too.”

Cheri is the co-author, with Kathi Lipp, of The Cure for the “Perfect” Life and Overwhelmed.

Cheri has been “wife of my youth” to Daniel, her opposite personality, for twenty-eight years and is “Mom” to Annemarie (25) and Jonathon (24), also opposite personalities.

Are you a Highly Sensitive Person? Take the self-quiz and discover the surprising strengths of a tender heart.