Closing?

Hey, long time no write!
I have been quite busy lately, and it has led me to make a few decisions... My small Daphne duck is 3 now, and goes to nursery a few days a week.
We need a new fence, and an MOT for the car, and I'm getting fed up of socks and pants with holes in (definitely not the kinky kind). I need to go back to "real" work. With real money, which can actually pay for stuff.
I'm teaching again now, and it's fine, but it takes up a lot of time. And I'm knackered.

I also happened to get a lot of orders this month, GREAT! My effort and marketing is finally paying off! However, completing these orders has been tricky. Stressful. I've even let a couple of people down, and I am not a fan of that at all. And if it isn't fun, I don't want to do it.

Poor old Daph is having to cope with a lot of changes at the moment, two different nurseries, no mum at her beck and call every minute (phew!) and her sleeping pattern is all over the place, making for a tired and grizzly family. On the days I'm at home with her I want to be cuddling, making cardboard box villages and painting animals, not checking my phone for order details and nipping away to sew buttons on.

I can't keep up, something has got to give! And it looks like it's the craft... I know some people are superwomen and can master all of these things and be super-organised, but I am definitely not that woman.

HOWEVER...
There is no way this could be the end. I would go crazy.
So, I am going to stop taking orders for now. Instead I'll be selling what I've already made (A LOT!), and making things when I get the chance. I will hopefully be more motivated, and make some beautiful one-off items which I'll put in the Etsy shop. I won't panic if nobody buys them, as it will be for fun again, for me, and I'll be happy :) hoooooray!

I won't lie, when that little icon pops up to say someone has ordered an item, it's the ultimate validation isn't it? Someone wants me, they want something I made! They like it, they would pay actual money for it! It's a huge buzz, and I am not looking forward to missing out on that, tears may be shed... but lately the t-shirts I've been making have had quite specific requirements, which don't involve a lot of my own creativity, which wasn't really the idea. I'd much prefer people buy my ideas...because I'm a cow like that. If I have limited time now to sew and make, I want it to be on projects made up entirely by me, things that I love working on.

Ironically, since writing this post (it took a few days of bits as I'm THAT hectic) I have had LOADs of Etsy orders! Way more than ever, what's going on?? And a big order for the lovely upcoming The Little Geekery Company, which is going to be awesome.
So I need to get those all finished first... and then have a think...

How do you keep organised, and keep hold of all your different hats? :)