My stash started out simply enough, but I love a good bargain, so when I see a sale of fabric, I like to buy 3-4 yd. pieces, especially of a white, off-white, white on white, cream on cream, etc. I also took advantage of quilt shop sales, particularly when they were changing out bolts and were offering their fabrics for $3.99/yd., so I stocked up on larger pieces to use for backings. Another time I took advantage of a quilt shop going out of business, one that specialized in batiks, so although I may have gone a little (? ) crazy, I was picking up colors/patterns of batiks for a batik Boston Commons quilt that I plan to make just for my self, so I finished up my search for the right batiks. I should add that I was working at the time and had the resources to take advantage of the sales. Fast forward several years and we are down sizing from a 3-bedroom house with full basement to a 2 bedroom apt., with lots less space. I had difficulty cutting down my stash, as well as that of my sister's when she passed away, but amazingly I cut it by half. Although DH wanted me to get rid of half again as much fabric, I drew a line in the sand and said NO. Now that DH is disabled and we are both on SS, I'm glad I have that stash so that I can enjoy my love of quilting. I will buy fabrics for particular projects, and just recently made a quilt for our DGD entirely from my stash and only buying the backing fabric. I'm still glad I drew that line in the sand so that I can "shop" from my stash so that I can continue to enjoy my love of quilting.