I think we are all very waste conscious as well…
I am much better at getting rid of things because I know that sitting in a box or closet is also wasting the item…you have already spent the money and won’t get it back by keeping it…
It never fails for me…when I finally give something up, a project appears that I need what I gave away! UGH! 
Yes! Like those giant plastic knitting needles I had for over 5 years and never used and then something like the week after I gave them away my kid wanted to use them in the Halloween decorations on the house to make the giant spider “knitting” a web. It would have been awesome! (Not awesome enough to go buy some, though. haha I do have SOME scruples!)
I have tons of straight knitting needles that I keep wanting to get rid of…I mostly use circulars and DPNs now…but, every once in a while, a simple straight forward scarf pattern appears that would be so much easier on straight needles…so I keep them…
I think the better way of thinking is not to pick patterns unless you already have the tools and supplies in stash!
I have this issue myself. It feels like throwing away money and it also feels like accepting that my past self made a wasteful mistake and also failed at doing what I wanted or thought I could do.
I sometimes allow the idea that it’s also wasteful to let it sit unused, like AIMR mentioned, to be the dominant idea about the stash, but it seems like that happens more often when I am doing something other than dealing with the stash!
My recent throw pillow cover projects did more to diminish my stash of vintage linens (which isn’t that big) than to reduce my fabric stash, which is pretty big. I made most of them to put in my etsy shop, but realized while actually making them that if I charged for the actual time it took, I was very unlikely to sell any! I don’t think most of the folks who drop $100+ on a throw pillow (cover, only!) are looking for old ladies’ embroideries cut up and sewn to a pillow! Soooo, they’re priced lower than my time is worth and so now I am (probably) not going to pursue making more for that.
Good insights!
As I get older, my time becomes more valuable. The “making it because I have the stuff” has changed to “making it because that is what I want to make”. I have also let go of the fact that it has to be useful or practical…this has mostly helped me in doing art.
I read something a while ago about reframing the past purchasing activity itself as the thing you got value for (dopamine hit at the time) vs feeling like you wasted the money because you’re not “using” the supplies as originally thought. I liked the reframing because it helped me get past a lot of the shoulds (I should make this, I should only use what I already have, I should make the projects I already have supplies for vs what I’m interested in now, etc) and guilt about my stash. I really like making things from my stash, and am trying to not let craft spending get out of control, but I don’t want to feel guilt about having a stash/supplies I don’t currently have any desire to use. It also helped me to rehome some of my supplies since I no longer felt wasteful for having them in the first place.
I feel like rehoming supplies is also a brilliant act in itself because having supplies take up space, when you know they’re unwanted and will go unused is a mental drain and physical space waster! That space could be used for craft supplies you know you’ll use.
My parent hoarded a lot of really gorgeous fabric based items, clothes, linens etc, & precious old books that all mildewed & rotted in basements & sheds. Literally loved to death.
I let myself feel as though my things were collected not for themselves but for their potential, so when that potential is gone (I’ve changed, lost interest) the thing’s value ends for me. But I know some lucky, happy person will find it at the thrift store and I’m happy to send it there (our car is full right now, in fact!).
I’ve posted this video before about destashing & organizing. She talks about the mental shift from “can I make it” to “do I want to make it”. That’s a real game changer.
I have a similar line between “do I want to do this” or “do I want to want to do/have done this.” Which also helps clarify what I would rather pay or swap someone else to do so that I have the thing I want without having to spend time on a process that’s neither interesting nor relaxing.
I know most of us can make a whole lot of things…we can watch YouTube, tutorials, etc. etc. But, you are right…do you want to make it?
I realized this when I make jewelry…some people love it and make the most artful and amazing pieces…I make utilitarian jewelry and it does sort of feel like a chore and not something I really want to do…I like it enough not to spend money on simple earrings and pendants that I will rarely wear, but not enough to make it a passionate hobby and buy all the tools and stuff I need to do it regularly…
I do like trying new things, but I seem to always come back to fabrics to spark the joy…
It’s still difficult for me to make something just because I want to, but that is what the recent pillow covers were about. I just wanted to do it and have wanted to for a few years. I do not want to have all these particular pillow covers - I love vintage linens, embroideries, doilies, but they are totally not my decorating style 95% of the time. Making them pillows is closer to my style, but not all. I don’t think most of my people would want them in their homes, either, even if they appreciate or like them.
I have spent the last few years slightly narrowing my foci, but even that is a challenge, because while I have decided I pretty much won’t do much of anything with my jewelry making stash. My style to wear would mostly require me to get a torch and a forge and and and. BUT I do use that stuff for other types of crafts, so there it sits for now.
I feel ya, same here. There are still things I keep around, like yarn crochet hooks & knitting needles. Crochet hurts my hands & I don’t know how to knit & find it frustrating. I’m not ready to give up on it yet tho. And jewelry supplies, I have all the jewelry I’m ever gonna need. But I had the pliers, wire, anvil & hammer out recently for a not-jewelry item so I’m glad I have that stuff.
I finally ran out of yarn to use for baskets. 14 in all. It was fun to try to make pleasing combinations out of my stash…over and over. Freed up some needed storage space.
See the post here:
Ok, I have WAY TOO MUCH stuff! In the next 2 months my goal is to use 90% of my fabric, use up 50% of my painting supplies,organize all my books, refinish a display shelf, set up my Harry Potter collection, and have the recroom, laundry area, bathroom, and my bedroom totally clean and organized.
You can do it!!!
My goal for this weekend is to reduce the yarn stash by weeding and donating. This craft-supply reuse place in town is such a cathartic resource this summer. Doesn’t matter if I don’t use it, I enjoyed the buying/hording/petting/dreaming portion of the yarn hobby and now it’s time for these babies to go to someone who will use them.
wish I was closer, yarn is the one thing my Mom goes through - on average she crochets 25 custom critters for my students every year.
how’s working with Hobbi yarn? Are the weight true to what is stated on their label? I don’t think I’ve known anyone to get it and use it, so I need real, actual reviews lol
Time for the June DeStash Stats!
I sewed 21 doll dresses but only consumed around .8 yards of fabric. I used up 7 fabrics completely though, so that’s good. On the stationery front I used up three sticker packs, 1 sticker sheet, a Pilot G-2 cartridge refill, and a dot grid notebook.
Not my best month, but it could have been worse.
I have worked with their cottons, and liked them. I made a shawl in fingering weight rainbow cotton and a large crochet square in sport weight rainbow cotton. I started a crochet baby blanket in sultan deluxe cotton but abandoned it (the yarn was splitting, and the pattern was annoying). This yarn does feel light for a sport weight, somewhere between sport and fingering. I am currently knitting an afghan in unplied cotton kings sultan and sport weight rainbow cotton (the two yarns held together). I like how that’s going.
I haven’t used the Unicorn sock yarn (75/25 super wash merino/nylon) that I have in stash yet, but, based on feel and appearance, it’s comparable to any nice sock yarn I’ve purchased at my LYS. Same weight, same number of plies, same twist angle.
I like the Mayflower Super Kid Silk that I got from them. It’s so soft and has a great halo. I did get some of their brand of silk mohair (friends), but haven’t used it yet. Their Evergreen organic fingering weight wool is really soft, but, again, haven’t gotten to it yet.
I like how you give this a positive spin by showing how much you have used instead of how much is left! I think that mindset is more of a boost.
I know this is not a craft destash, but I gave away 18 pairs of shoes/boots that have been living under my bed for four years. It has put me into a “donate to someone who can use it” mood. I am ready to move onto clothes and fabrics that I know I won’t use.
I discovered a Buy Nothing Group on FB where you can list items you don’t want or people can request items. I know I have seen requests for fabric from people who are learning to sew.