I can't sew in a messy place. I try to pick up and put items back in place as I go but that doesn't work all the time. I fold the fabric and find a place for it on my shelves. If it is for a specific quilt I put the fabric and pattern in a storage box and label it. I don't hid anything I buy. DH couldn't care less what's in my shopping bags. He knows he spends as much or more. A price of a football game ticket will keep me supplied in quilt kits for a long time. Sometimes a fabric will catch his eye and he'll say how pretty it is.