AllyStitches

Hi Everyone,

Well, I think I've posted a few times about the sense of overwhelm I feel regarding my "stash," (hoarde??) and how I feel it holds me back from working in my sewing room.

I'm a person who enjoys clear spaces. My mom, a collector, calls me a minimalist, and to some degree that's true. Often when I feel stressed, I go through closets and donate things. It helps me feel better, for some reason. My mom is the opposite - she keeps everything, and every object has a story for her.

Lately my sewing room has been really bothering me. Every piece of fabric in my stash was intended for some project or another, and when I look at my fabrics, all I see are UFO's, and more projects than I'll ever be able to attend to in my life. This feels wasteful and ridiculous - so I've begun purging and decluttering. So far I've only kept items related to projects I currently have in progress. Which is way too many, if you ask me. I don't know if I'll be able to even get through just those.

The tough part is - many of my fabrics were purchased a decade or more ago. The quality of the fabric is so much nicer than what I find today. I have a hard time letting go of it, but the reality of the situation is, I'm never going to be able to use it. I want to be able to go into my (tiny) sewing room, and feel peace, not frustration.

I've given two bags of fabric to my husband's friend's daughter, who got a sewing machine for Christmas. A great deal more has been earmarked for my mom. Some of it will go to our local hospice organization, which operates a second hand sewing store. I have beautiful wools, silks, quilting fabrics, and many gorgeous garment fabrics.

Uncharacteristically, I'm finding this very difficult. But I really need to do it, because for at least the last year, I've actually been considering just getting rid of my entire sewing room - that's how much stress it has brought me. I'm hoping this will be beneficial in the long run, and I'll be able to keep sewing. I have a closet and one of those metal shelving units with 6 or so Rubbermaid tubs on it, full of fabric.

And, I suppose, if I don't feel better after I get through all of this, then I know that I'm meant to move on and move my office into my sewing room (another bone of contention - my desk is in the living room, which drives me nuts.) Our home is very small (700 square feet) and I don't have space to waste.

Has anyone been through anything similar? I could use a lift!!

zozee

Ally, first let me say you are not alone in your struggle. Letting go is hard...but look at your progress! Look at the courage and strength you've dug deep to find. See the freedom you've found in baby step decluttering. Your honesty with yourself about the UFOs and your desire (or lack thereof) to finish them is so important.Many of us fool only ourselves into thinking "I'll get to it someday" when the gut-level truth is, that project no longer does anything for me. I may not be finished sewing it, but i AM finished with it! It might just be in a stage of dineness where someone else may want to pick it up. But if not, that's not your problem. Remember it doesn't have a pulse, it has no feelings, it has no value other than what someone ascribes to it. Hoarders or collectors or keepers (call them whatever you like) tend to anthropomorphise everything -- that is, to give human characteristics to nonhuman things.

If if that's one of your tendencies, stop. Retrain yourself to think "it's just a thing. It's not a life." One of the hardest things I had to learn was that getting rid of an object does not mean I'm getting rid of the memory or getting rid of the person who gave that object to me. But I can assure you, once I started letting go of stuff and just keeping memories and people dear, I was so liberated. I should say it's an ongoing process .

Burden or blessing? Ask yourself which it is with everything you touch in your sewing room. Don't overthink it. Drop your burdens --you've already begun. Keep the blessings.

One more thing that helps is to take pictures of your progress. It will give you a visual pick-me up to see bags, boxes, bins, stacks, piles of burdens gone! I'd love to see your progress!

lots2do

What do you think is holding you back? I wonder about that. Maybe baby steps would feel more comfortable. You've already purged quite a bit. Maybe you need to give yourself permission to take a break from the process. If you do decide to stop sewing, that isn't the end of the world either. Something else that you value will takes its place in your life. But I do wonder if you are feeling a little burned out from the process right now. Be kind to yourself.

Davena

I just went through one closet in my sewing room to also downsize my stash, it was hard at first until I found a young woman who is a stay at home mom who wants to get into sewing and can not afford a lot. So I offered her some material and she said she would love anything I wanted to pass on to her. I felt so good , knowing how excited she was and how much fun she will have . My closet is almost empty and only the stuff I know I will use is in it. So maybe find someone like the friends daughter who may have some friends that also need material , and feel good about making a difference in someones life. Good luck and enjoy your journey.

NJ Quilter

I find I tend to feel very 'claustrophobic' when there is lots of clutter around. I don't have that issue with fabric 'stash' per se as I've only ever bought for projects at the time I start them. I just don't have room to have a 'stash'. Plus, early in my quilting 'career' I read here and other sites about many people either feeling overwhelmed by their stash or many fabrics just no longer appealing to them. Since I tend to change my mind frequently about preferred colors; furniture arrangements; etc., concluded having no stash was the answer for me.

As zozee says, 'things' are not human and, thus, have no feelings. Purge guiltlessly. Don't bother so much with the reorganization until you think you are done purging. Just put things away as you can. Just because you put the seam ripper in 'that' drawer today does not mean it needs to stay there after tomorrow.

Good luck.

romanojg

I think alot of us have and do feel like that. I haven't made anything in my sewing room for awhile because I have to reorganize it. I do it after each project so that I don't have to search for things. The people are very lucky who are getting your fabric. I like to keep most of my fabric out where I can see to encourage me to work from my stash and not buy more. I have lots of fleece thanks to a friend of mine and that I keep in totes in another room. Maybe this would help you and then you won't be giving up high quality fabric and may have a need for it in the future. Getting good garment fabric around here is so hard, mostly its quilting fabric. I've just recently gotten back into making clothes again but when I go shopping for fabric its depressing because I dont' want to put all the time and effort into it and use crappy fabric. Maybe go thru some of your fabric and set it aside in some totes for now so that you hastely don't give away more than you should. I feel like I'm never going to get my things done that I want. Especially when it comes to embroidery. I joined a club two yrs ago and get new designs every month, this will be my last year because I'll never use alot of my designs that I already have. When I get my emails about embroidery and fabric sales, I don't even open them, I just hit delete. Too tempting. Maybe one day when life settles down I'll have more time and get more things done and then I'll feel more like getting more but not now. Getting my fabric organized on the shelves has helped me not buy hardly any in the store like I used to. Good luck and there are lots of us like you but you have to find your own way of dealing with it.

Kris P

Good for you. I, too, find clutter frustrating, and avoid my sewing room when it's too messy and overwhelming. (I was the same way for 10+ years with my stamp room, too)

I often feel fidgety when things are out of control, and I get great satisfaction from filling a bag or box with things to go to GoodWill.
Sometimes, when I want to sew, I have to plan to spend about 2 hours cleaning up first. I'm a scrappy quilter, so when i'm making a quilt, it's not just a neat pile of fabrics that came home from the LQS in a tidy little bag... It's bin after bin of scraps, and lots of piles of FQs and half yard cuts that don't always get put away when I'm interrupted in the middle by DH and DDs.
I've been quilting just over 5 years and really need to go through and purge those clearance fabrics I purchased at JAF that I had no plan or business buying. Really, What was I thinking?

Geri B

It sounds to me like you no longer enjoy the process of quilting and you are looking for a reason to pack it up and give it up....you say your house is small...I have no conception of what 700 sq feet is comparable to- living room, kitchen, 2 bdrms? If your sewing machine sets on a desk in its area...perhaps you can move your computer/laptop onto that desk/table and cover or move the s/m to the side...and just switch places when you're in the mood again....and thin out and tub all your fabric and "hide" it for now......
I had to, at one time, share my sewing with working desk in a bedroom converted to a tv room...sewed late at night when kids and DH were sleeping.....

KLO

One or two of the top selling books out right now are Japanese (I think)and are about decluttering. So I think you are definitely not alone as others have already said. I have a daughter who is pretty much a minimalist. I for some reason am just the opposite. However, like you I have started to feel overwhelmed with all the stuff and fabric I have collected. I find I am just jumping from one project to another without actually finishing any of them. Plus I am not getting any younger and need to clean out and up so my daughter doesn't feel the need to say nasty words when I am gone and she needs to go through our "estate". This is my year for that. I have started with the Christmas things before putting boxes back up in the attic. I want to make charity quilts with a big chunk of my stash and have even offered my quilt guild to come "shop" my stash for free if they need anything for a project. It's going to take a while and some perserverence (and some gritting of teeth) before I get to where I want to be but that's okay. I know I will breathe easier in the end.

My hope for you is that you too can perservere and eventually get to where you want to be. Remember, you did not acquire all your goodies in one day, one week, one month, or maybe even one year so give yourself time to get done what needs to be done to make you calmer and more in charge of your house/life. It won't happen over night but pace yourself and you will get there. Best of luck to you (and me!)

ManiacQuilter2

I don't know what you would do with this donation our church received recently. We all look aghast at each other and we all knew that NONE OF HAD THIS MUCH STASH at our home. This quilter had to be moved into a nursing home. So very sad.