Hoarding
 

When does the accumulation of fabric stash and quilting equipment and supplies cross the line to the "H" word? Does the quilter view the accumulation differently than the husband? Perhaps these are loaded questions, but I am evaluating my stash, hopefully with a clear head. My husband says, my, you have a lot of fabric as he rolls his eyes. My rule has always been that I don't buy a piece of fabric or a tool unless I have a purpose for it. I don't buy a piece of fabric just because I love it and hope to find a project for it later. I do have a sizeable stack now of fat quarters and half yards I have purchased for piecing and applique projects that just didn't work out along with the project leftovers. I tend to buy a little more than I will need in case I make a mistake. I have a real fear of running out of fabric mid project. I also have about four pieces of more yardage that I thought would make good backing fabric, but the match hasn't been just right yet. When is it time to rehome some of this stack?

It does not sound like you have a problem yet. When you have to use several rooms in the house to store your stash, then you have a problem. When my husband says anything, I remind him that he has a double wide garage that has never seen a car in it.:D

I have 3 metal shelving units loaded with fabric , all wound on 12 x 8" boards. and l unit that has only FQ's on it. i don't consider myself a hoarder, but i do have enough fabric, so try to sew from my stash. and yes, i do still purchase material. usually about 6 yards a month. i just realized, that my stash is not decreasing, but slowly increasing. so maybe i will quit buying material all together.

Come join us over in the Fabric Moratorium thread. http://www.quiltingboard.com/quiltin...259073-30.html
There are a few of us who came to the realization that we needed to stop the madness in our sewing rooms.

Poor Darling! You don't have nearly enough fabric to get you through a fabric emergency!

I have way more fabric than you and have no problem adding to the stash. Maybe I should, but I don't. MY DH can't say too much about my stash because I have watched, sometimes not patiently, him fill up our home with his hobby stuff to the point where I actually moved to another state to make him understand that there was no longer room in our home for me...

Lucky for me, he soon followed. I think he made the right decision and so does he, so it all worked out.

Our new (8 years old) home has 5 garages and a bonus room. Half of his collection(s) are here and the other half is in the old house. I wasn't sewing when we bought this house, had no idea how much I would enjoy quilting and how much of the enjoyment comes from looking at fabric and buying it, so it now seems too small for both of our hobby addictions.

I am not buying as much fabric now since I have truly run out of places to put it. I don't save scraps because I don't use them. The are given away to be added to someone elses stash.

if my fabric stash extends beyond one large closet, i may be concerned. so far, i'm good

Love this!!! He must know my DH!!! We've been married almost 40 years, and on our second house, and we have NEVER parked a car in our garage!! Too many lawn movers, snow blowers, power tools, work-shop tables, lumber, generators, power washer, air compressors, etc, etc, etc!!!

If anyone decides they have too much fabric I am sure there are plenty of us on more limited budgets that would be glad to take some off your hands!

I'm not sure that you have a problem yet, and you may never have one, and I'm sure that if a lot of the members posted pics of their fabrics, you would also agree that you don't have a problem. LOL Although I'll never live long enough to use up all of my fabrics, and I REALLY don't have any room for more, if I find something I HAVE to have, by golly, I'll get it. LOL

I used to buy only what I needed for a project, didn't really have a stash. But now, it seems that the print on fabrics is such poor quality. Old fabrics were precise and detailed, today's are blurry. Today's Christmas fabrics are weird colors, and it's hard to find attractive prints that aren't licensed. I wish that I had bought more of what was interesting in years past, because sometimes I walk out of a store with nothing. Unless you are downsizing or have a reason to have to get rid of some, I would keep it.

I've discussed this with my husband and it was decided:

Since most of the stuff in this house, except the fabric, came from farm auctions I have been going to for years, that would be the perfect way to clear the house (when I'm gone) Have a big auction!
Or, have a big huge house sale, everything free!

This is not quilting related but in the same conversation, it was decided that the four dogs I have had cremated, just cremate me, mix all the 'remains' together, and spread it all over the back yard. That's where we spent a lot of our lives anyways.
I know, more than you wanted to know

What does he think of my fabric? I really think he takes great pride in being able to give me a life that we can afford it.

From this statement, am I to assume you've been able to confine your madness to your sewing room? Lucky you!

Have you & hubby ever watched the hoarders tv show -- it does not sound like you are at that stage. But maybe a volume limit would be something to think about. He sees me sewing, so he doesn't say anything.

I think that as long as it is organized and you KNOW where your fabric is then it is not hoarding..just saying...Here is my story, tomorrow I am giving a class on making a 4-patch lap quilt..I sent the pattern and supply like including fabric needs. i suggested that if any of them couldn't get out to buy the fabric i could supply a kit for a fee..He he he they all want a kit so I spent all day yesterday putting together 8 Kits.. including backing, batting and binding.. all from my stash!!! I will teach them to tie the comforter.

It's what you do with what you have. I bought it when I was working, now that I am retired I have to have a good reason to spend on fabric and its mostly to finish a project .

We don't watch the hoarders show--though I have known a few hoarders over the years. I guess this is my own guilt trip. When my children were young, I made many of their clothes. I prided myself on only having a handful of scraps left when I finished a garment. When I look at my unused fabric, I feel guilty. Perhaps the money I have spent for fabric sitting unused in stacks could be used for something else or to help someone. If I don't do anything with this fabric, it might classify as hoarding it. Some scrap quilts and a little gifting might just take care of the guilt.

If a quilter holds on to every scrap, every old spool of thread, a broken ruler, or dull pins then I think that is hoarding and there is a problem.

I live in a 2 bed cottage. Every room has quilting notions in,yes I am a hoarder. I have a fabric stash which grows like Topsy. I am desperate for help.

Dottymo, if you are feeling overwhelmed, Ill come down for a day and help you organise, I'm up in central Scotland, so a few hours drive, or you could try other tips here on the board set a timer and spend 30 mins a time, put into 3 piles, keep donate and bin. Xx

Your stash might not sound like it's at the problem stage to us, but if you feel at all guilty, overwhelmed by, dragged down by, or not loving what you have, then I'd say it's time to pare down.

I think that by asking the question, you have concerns about yourself being tempted to hoard. But hoarding really
has a messy, disordered, useless and even unsafe component to it. Like up-to-your waist in fabric, fabric falling out of stuffed closets, fabric covering last month's pizza carryout box with mold growing, broken pins and cracked bobbins being saved, 14 coffee-cups-turned-science-experiments sitting around your sewing room with Snickers wrappers strewn about. That's the true picture of hoarding ( a mental disorder by definition).

I don't think it's helpful to compare our stash "problem" to our mate's or to anyone else's, for that matter. It's not a contest and it's not even healthy. We can justify ours by comparing it to our mate's, but it doesn't unburden us if we're feeling that OUR stuff--what we can control--weighs us down and keeps us from feeling joy.

I'm preaching to the choir here. I'm constantly evaluating "how much is too much"? I have a small stash "compared to" probably most of you (confined to two dressers and a few scrap bins) but I still have pieces I'll probably never use but still wrestle about parting with.

Try giving away or selling a tote bag's worth of fabric for starters. You won't miss it. I guarantee that.

I'd start sewing up scrap quilts. I love my stash, I don't like the yardage prices nowadays and am glad I have lots to sew up.

It's not hoarding if it is stash that you will use. It might be time to ask yourself "will I use this." If not, then and only then should you get rid of it. I expect my stash to outlive me, or some of it at least. And after that let someone else enjoy using it. I expect to use up all of myself but let the quilts and fabric live on :)

I thought my husband was the only nut hoarder. Sounds like he is normal. We have a whole full basement filled with his toys and I don't know how he find anything. I have a small room in the basement that is my sewing area. I have not gotten a very big stash. I pretty much buy what I need and then try to make a scrap quilt sometimes. Last year I did buy oriental fabric without knowing what I was going to do with it. I have it hanging in my closet. I don't want to have too much material. It is confusing to me and when I want to make something from a piece I have I ususally have to go buy something to go with it. It is never ending but fun.

I agree completely. I used to say that I'd never met a Christmas fabric I didn't like, but no more. I have 2 baskets the size of banker boxes, and I'm lucky to have them. The newer fabrics will never go with them, and while I do like a few, it hasn't made sense to bring any home.

A lot of my stash seems to come from buying the wrong thing. I am very particular about color and tend to come home with things that work, but somehow don't fit the total mix. I have a banker box-size accumulation of peach rejects from the last project, enough to make 2 more quilts. Perhaps I'll become more fond of it in time. :(

hugs,
Charlotte

sounds like mine!
 

I have only one room for quilting. However, my husband has barns. One for a mechanic shop, one for a welding shop, one for a wood working shop, and one for boat storage

I have a general rule of thumb. If you have not used any of a particular fabric in over 2 years, get rid of it. It's not inspiring you enough to make something. My rule used to be 1 year, but that seemed too short. Ya gotta have some stash available for those projects that pop up. Also, if you've used only part of the fabric and you do scrappy projects, then keeping the rest for another year is OK. but after that, it's gone, baby gone.

I'm the same way. If it's making you feel bad then use it, or lose it. It's bad Juju in the house.

~ Cindy

Hoarding is a state of mind and not really dependent on quantity. When your "stuff" controls you and causes anguish and guilt, then it is time to evaluate.

Also, if things are organized and you can find what you need, it makes for much peace of mind.

DH and I do not compete nor complain about each other's hobbies. I support him and he very lovingly supports me. We appreciate each other's accomplishments. Now, concerning our stashes (his is wood and mine is fabric) we stop ourselves from over buying and using what we have accumulated. This makes for a very happy home life.

At times, I won't even go into a fabric store when I have the opportunity because I am very stimulated by color and I know I will want to buy fabric I don't really 'need'. That works really well for me.

Dottymo, I can say I don't have anything quilting related in my bathroom. I do keep my batting stash in the lower kitchen cabinets that are very deep. My stash and other things are stored in my 2nd bedroom and a few bolts are in the master bedroom closet. My quilting studio is in my Living/Dining room area. But as long as the bathroom is free of quilting clutter, we are NOT yet hoarders. STILL trying to get organized!

I wouldn't say you have a problem yet either, I have a lot of fabric too and you could just say back you know there are other things I could collect or hobbies that are much for expensive then my fabric that's what I say when my husband says what are needed fabric for know.

I agree with this, all my tools and fabric fit into my closet, my clothes not so much because the quilt stuff takes up so much room and I already think I have too much. I think if you sit down and calculate how many quilts you can make with what you have. I honestly right now think I have enough for my lifetime but that doesn't stop me

I can still see my floor so I think I am OK.:D

I don't consider it hoarding because it's not taking over my whole house

My daughter accused me of hoarding today, and I only have 10, no 12, no, just bought two more and put a bid on another one...can't be more than 15 sewing machines! Tell your hubby to lighten up!

Tip for storing fabric: If it's on the floor or a low shelf, put it in a plastic tub to keep the mousies out.

I have a whole shed stacked with fabric and I don't care what others think about my ''hoarding''. Even pointed comments are ignored. It is only of concern to me as it is my house and my money. I do not think it is my place to comment on the status of others neither, so I remain blissfully happy.ha ha

I definitely have a problem with my stash. I think I need to put myself in a cage with a sewing machine and my fabric (A very large cage) and feed me through the bars until my stash is a lot less than it is.

That is what I am thinking.

I'm a collector of fabric! And I have been for many years. I've learned about myself that no matter how much fabric I have there will almost always be one more piece needed to complete whatever project I embark upon. But because I do have stash it's usually just a single purchase or two that's needed, not the entire group. Which is a good thing since I'm now semi-retired and no longer have a full time job with a full time income.
Will I ever use it all? Most likely not, but it gives me joy to have it and know that it's available for use whenever I want to. And since that may be at odd hours of the day or night and I live several miles from anywhere to purchase fabric. . . Well you get the idea!

We do have a large family room that I use for a sewing room now that the kids are grown and moved out. I don't have a large stash but do have a large cutting table and two sewing machine tables. We had a house out in Washington that had a one car garage that my husband used for a workshop. When we moved back to Michigan we bought a house with a one car garage also. No way will I park my car outside in the winter. In the summer, it's full of bikes. Lucky for him the house has a pole barn and a shed for his tools and yard equipment. No way was he going to use the garage.