Saturday, January 16, 2010

What's old is new again: de-stashing for 2010


Like a lot of crafters I know, I have shelves, baskets, bins and boxes of fabric, ribbons, thread, yarn, paint, patterns, books, etc, etc, etc. I try (yeah, right, Eileen, sure you do!) not to buy any more stuff unless I need it. Of course, that sneaky sale flyer from Joann's, the blog from another knitter, or the quarterly knitty.com newsletter will creep into my virtual or my snail mail box and tempt me, but I try to resist! I really try, honest! I put the fabric scraps in a basket deep in the recesses of my closet or in bins where they're not taunting me ("psst - make me into something - you know you can!"). The patterns are up high where I have to use a step ladder to get to them.
But then I need something, just a bit of fabric to use for a lining or a doll's dress, or a new item for the etsy shop, and I pull everything out and dig through the bins. This isn't necessarily bad, mind you, but it does lead to "just a yard or two more of this color", or "a pattern to use that pretty yarn", and there I go again - off to Joanns or the Yarn Shoppe.

But, 2010 is going to be different!! I'm de-stashing more and buying less! Going through the bin of patterns and tossing out the ones that pre-date 2000 (not that I can fit into them an
yways...). Sorting through what I already have before going out to buy more. Organizing, organizing, and more organizing. I'll stop short of making a spreadsheet of what I have on hand, but I will look before I buy. I wonder how long that resolution will last?
What are you de-stashing this year?


5 comments:

Trucdart said...

Thanks for sharing with us! I'm sure everyone can relate. :)

Prairie Primitives said...

I'm destashing fabric ... and in a big way! Mostly cotton, some wool. Bargain prices! I'm in Rancho Cordova but you can also check it out near 99 & Florin if that's more convenient for you (Monday thru Friday, that's where I work).

oddartist said...

Just before I left Wisconsin a bunch of us got together at a library and brought a bunch of supplies and such that that maybe we only had a few of them and would never use what's left, or knitting and sewing supplies left over from a one-time project, or even stuff you didn't want to toss because you just *knew* they would be perfect for something but hadn't figured out what yet. We spent the afternoon digging through stuff, some free - some for a nominal fee and each left with new supplies and fewer items they would never use.
Maybe we should do a 'swap-meet' within our group...

bluebicicletta said...

Ahh, this sounds familiar! It is a true effort just for me to keep my desk clear!

Annette - Dazzling Dogz said...

I took the week after Thanksgiving off from my day job. One of the things on my list was to re-arrange and possibly purge some of my craft stuff. I needed to create an organized space for the dog scrunchie inventory. It went pretty well, except that now I've pretty much filled up the 5 plastic drawers that were allocated to scrunchies. So I have to figure out what to do next regarding space. I think that's a never-ending process for crafters. I could so relate to Eileen mentioning JoAnn Fabrics. Those coupons get me every time!

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