There’s a house down the street from me as I write this that’s having a big sale, and it reminded me that estate sales can be a big motivation to use your stash.
Crafts that Never Were
A few times lately I’ve ended up at estate sales at the home of a crafter, and it always makes me a little sad to see the projects they never finished.
At one sale I bought a couple of sets of quilt blocks, one of which I turned into a patchwork dress.
The sale I visited today had two different socks that were totally knit, with the tail end still sticking out of the toe, no second sock in sight.
You’ll often find unfinished embroidery projects, quilt tops that were never sewn, and just lots of fabric, yarn and other craft supplies that never got used.
We joke in the knitting community about SABLE (stash acquisition beyond life expectancy) but it’s a real thing, and our family members won’t know what to do with it when we’re gone. (Another joke goes something like, I hope my husband doesn’t sell my yarn for what I told him I paid for it, but that’s a whole bunch of different issues we’re not getting into today.)
It’s sad to have left things behind that were bought with the intention to actually do something with. And while a little bit of that is probably inevitable, I also feel like a lot of us have a lot more we’ll leave behind than we will ever finish.
Let Go While You Can
I talk a lot about craft supplies having energy, and they want to be made into something rather than just sitting on your shelves. And while estate sales can motivate you to use your stash, they also can motivate you to pare down your stash because you don’t want that to be the fate of your supplies.
If we’re being honest with ourselves, there are things in our stashes that we are never going to use. Even if you’re devoted to using your stash like I am, there are certainly things you don’t want to use for whatever reason.
Now is the time to start letting go. Do a Swedish death cleaning of your stash. If you want to be really serious about it, consider: do I really want to spend my precious, limited crafting time making that project or using that thing?
If the answer is no, add it to the donate pile and don’t give it another thought.
And if you need help deciding what you really want to keep, I can help with that!
Use Your Stash Now
Ironically, yesterday I started a big stash busting project.
I have no idea how I ended up with so much pink yarn, but I don’t love pink so I’ve been feeling for a while like it was time to use it or get rid of it.
I started knitting a log cabin square that I think will use up my soft pinks, then transition into some pastel greens and blues. It might be a baby blanket, a play mat or a picnic blanket depending on how big it gets.
It has already made a visible dent in my yarn stash just from taking things down to use, even though as of yet I’ve only completely used two little balls of yarn from my stash. It’s also inspired me to add a couple of things to the donate bag that I uncovered.
It’s a happy little project and I hope to keep it going and work on some more big stash busting projects in knitting, crochet and sewing.
I also just recently took apart a pair of destroyed jeans that had been lingering in my collection of “I can reuse that fabric!” pieces for years. Like since before my almost 17 year old was born years, probably. There are more jeans to tear up before I can do a big project with them, but at least now I know it’s not that hard to do, and I’ve got a list of blue jean crafts at the ready.
I can’t say going to an estate sale motivated all these actions, but anything that gets you to use your stash (and get rid of other things in the process) is a good thing.
