2013 Annual DeStash-Along

[alwaysinmyroom]

lol mel--now that is an odd way to destash

lovesclutter--I saw the pictures and immediately starting drooling over all the things I wanted!

[lovesclutter]

lol mel--now that is an odd way to destash

lovesclutter--I saw the pictures and immediately starting drooling over all the things I wanted!

Very happy to share AIMR. I love that others posted their spaces too. You know you always think you are alone in your addictions.

[alwaysinmyroom]

My philosophy is that addiction is not necessarily a bad thing unless it affects yours or someone you love in a bad way...whatever works!  My hubby will speak up if he can't find things or has to walk around too much stuff...we each have our own rooms, so not much complaining...plus, he hoards drums and CD's, so there!

I am inspired, though, to declutter all parts of my life...as I get older, simpler is better!

[meleriffic]

I'm on a decluttering kick too. Clutter just stresses me out (well the thought of cleaning up the clutter stresses me out) and then I get upset easier. So I figure if I get rid of the clutter the happier I will be.

[nisforneville]

My stash, well, what I can get to at the moment anyway, haha.

Paint, beads, felt, and other odds and ends in containers.


5 bags full of yarn.


More yarn in a hamper and just piled everywhere.


More yarn, cross stitch supplies, and origami paper. In boxes, so out of the way at least, unlike my yarn.


2 packages ready to send off to knit-a-square in South Africa, an unfinished jumper, and 2 more bags of yarn... hard to tell, but it's all there.

[alwaysinmyroom]

If it helps any, I basically got a few bins and just went around my whole house, closets, etc. and gathered up all yarn and yarn projects...next, I spent a few hours each week sorting, discarding, further organizing...the first step for me was to figure out what I had...

Now I can figure out what to do with it!

Jan 3--$0 spent!

Done:
1. Organized yarn
2. Gathered up all interfacing into a bin
3. Cut cardboard to wrap more fabrics I found while organizing yarn
4.  Put all ATC's in notebook in order of my themes!
5.  Took all non-fiber supplies out of my craftroom into junky art room (I'll do that one in the summer! )

Now I am going to make something white with my sport yarn!

[trinalocakary]

I am using the free android app (it costs for apple) called inkpad to list what I buy for art, the best part is I can sync the stuff I input and access it on my phone, my tablet and on my laptop via their site

Today I bought $.78 worth of a hole punch, I have one and can't find it and the one project in my backpack I am allowing myself to do between now and when the room is done needs it.  Since I am rounding Up to the next $.50 I input it as $1

As for dealing with cleaning and having physical and or mental health issues (depression makes it hard to motivate and the mess can make depression worse) there is one blog on Tumblr that is epic in straight talk and honest motivation. 
The blogger has straightforward advice and posts other people's successes, many of the people who post have serious mental and physical issues and they take motivation from her and each other.
  Though there is a lot of swearing the blog is not obscene in that the photos and content are safe for work if language is not an issue...and trust me when I see that mess of art supplies I want to cuss too.
http://unfuckyourhabitat.tumblr.com/
She advocates making yourself take breaks, a 20/10 would be 20 mins of cleaning and 10 mins of break but she points out that even a 15/45 is better than 0/0 for getting stuff done.  She also points out that while the occasional marathon cleaning session might be called for in horrible messes they teach bad habits and in the long run maintenance is easier than marathons.

[Ruby Copperhead]

Hehe, Wulf, okay, I see the problem.

Time for my pictures:
My yarn and fabric archive

This looks tidy, but it's not good, the boxes just got filled up with whatever was around when we moved, and they're not in the order I need them to be in. My goal is to get all the boxes numbered (only the red ones are numbered right now), and sort them through, and make a list of what's where.
Also, on the right, rogue boxes taking up what was supposed to be a crafting space. Not good!


Then I have these, and more of these, former fabric boxes who didn't make it whole throught he move and need to be replaced, hopefully going into the archive, too...


and this is the stash that drives me nuts! It's work-in-progress boxes and unfinished projects boxes (those counts as stash, too) for which I have no good place right now, and other crafty stuff that got put here "for a few days". Definitely need to inventorize and organize these, and put them to use. And I need a better working space so I can have some in-progress projects around.

I have another place for stashing boxes, but these three are the ones that I want to sort through in January. Plus the sewing table (not pictured).

[fishstix43]

Ruby,  what kind of boxes are those in your fabric and yarn archive? 

[alwaysinmyroom]

Trina--I like the idea of not doing marathon cleaning and organizing...you are right...it just happens over and over for me...I feel like I am stuck in that movie Groundhog Day!  But, after all these years, I am also much more accepting that you can't clean and create...and I would much rather make something than dust...but, there has to be compromise and balance...I don't want to be frustrated by my clutter and I don't want to have so much stuff that when I die, it all goes to the landfill!

I like a lot of the storage ideas, but what I really need is a bigger house! Since I can't have that, I have to get rid of stuff, period.