De-Cluttering the Fabric Stash

I recently have been working on simplifying my life and de-cluttering our house. I mean, the baby doesn't have her own room for heaven's sake. The most recent de-clutter that happened was the fabric and yarn stash. I came up with a method that I felt worked really well and thought I would share it with you all.

Fabric Method

I have a lot of fabric. Well, not as much as I could, but still it felt a bit overwhelming. My method for going through the fabric was this:

 Make four piles: Scraps, Give Away, Keep, and Re-visit. As you go through fabrics, you have to move quickly. After the initial go through, you can do a second, slower, and more thoughtful one if needed.

Scraps

If they are small they go straight into the garbage. I know, you could use it for something, but will you? No. Toss it. It will feel good.
My scraps are now in a basket. I am currently working on a quilt that uses a lot of scraps, and I have plans for a second scrap quilt. After those two are completed, the remaining scraps will be processed. They will be tossed or made into layer cakes or charm squares.

Give Away

Of course, this is the pile of fabric that you are going to give away. It's fabric that you won't use, or isn't your taste anymore. It's also big enough to be usable by another person. It is NOT scraps.

Re-Visit

As you are rushing through the fabrics, you will happen on some pieces that you put in the Give Away pile and then pull out again, or in the Keep pile and then pull out again. These are fabrics that you can't really decide on in a split second. You set them aside for the second round of sorting when you can take more time to think about them.

Keep

I have rules for my keep pile. They have to have a designated project, I have to be realistic about whether I really will make that project in the next six months or less. If not, it needs to go. There are a few fabrics that were kept because I love them. They don't have a specific project, but since I will be using all the other fabrics in the next few months, I will see them a lot and be able to come up with a project for them.

If not, I will be going through the fabric again in a few months anyway.

Throughout this whole process you have to be honest, and a little ruthless. Otherwise you won't be de-stashing. You will just be sorting.

After the initial sort, I take a little more time and go through the Re-Visit pile, and the Keep pile again. This way I'm already on a roll of getting things out, and I can ride that wave and get rid of even more fabrics.

What to do with the Give Away Pile

I take my Give Away pile and photograph every fabric, or in groups depending on size. A group of fat quarters in one picture, for example. I then post these pictures on Facebook and ask for any takers. I usually am able to get rid of all my fabric this way.
Instagram is another option. I know people who de-stash by posting fabric there, usually with a price. However, if I were to post I would not ask people to buy it. The point of de-stashing is to get rid of the fabric and move it out of my house.
After posting, I wait about a week. Any remaining, unclaimed fabric heads off to Goodwill.



If you are feeling awesome about all this de-stashing, and having all that space uncluttered, go ahead and set yourself a goal. Maybe it's to complete a certain number of projects in a month. Or to not buy any new fabric for a specific amount of time (100 days anyone?).

Then pat yourself on the back, and sit back and relax at your sewing machine to use up your newly found favorite fabric that you bought five years ago.

#seweveryday

Along with the yarn stashbusting going on this summer, I also am working on stashbusting fabric. I have quite a collection.

Well, honestly it's not as big as it used to be, but I've been working on simplifying the past year or so. A few months ago I went through my stash and gave away quite a bit of it. Now, I have a manageable stash and I'm focusing on using it up this summer. I have plenty of things that I would love to make and have the supplies for.

Last year I tried a challenge called #100daysofsewing. While this was a great undertaking, I don't remember if I actually made it 100 days. I know I made it 100 days without buying yarn or fabric... but sewing every day for 100 days? Don't think I made it.

This time around, I'm endeavoring on a #seweveryday challenge. For me, this does not mean I have to sew every day when I start out. I have to work up to that. My current goal is to sew more days than I don't sew during the month.

An added benefit of this is one I noticed last year with the 100 days of sewing. I made some good progress on finishing projects. Over the course of the summer, I hope to finish quite a few projects at the same time I'm making a dent in my stash.

Stay tuned! And keep an eye on the Finished Object posts the last day of each month to see how I do.

100 Days of Sewing- Sort of

So, awhile back I decided to sew every day for 100 days straight. And I almost made it.

You see, I started in the summer when things weren't as crazy as they could have been, so I did awesome. Then, two weeks ago, I started a new job. New job, new hours, new responsibilities. It was a bit overwhelming (and still is). On the night of day 72, I crawled into bed exhausted. As I drifted off to sleep I realized that I hadn't sewn that day. At all. Had this been a few months ago during school and all that, I would have dragged myself out of bed and sewn a seam, lost sleep would have been no big deal.

But I just couldn't. I was waaaaaay too tired, and stressed, and worried about being late to work and falling asleep in training, and all that stuff that could make the new bosses not look too kindly on me. I decided it was okay to take a break, and it's been a couple of weeks now.

Today is day 50 of no buying yarn (minus ones needed for a custom order placed). 50 Days! . And it's day 31 of no fabric. I'm on a roll! So I decided to go ahead and take advantage of the streak and start 100 Days of sewing again. I'm sure I can make it, no problem. I've got quilt blocks, quilts, a skirt, and an alteration already lined up to be done. Not to mention the giant box of stash that needs to be used too!

Here's a look at what all got finished-finished in the first round of 71 days:
(Not pictured, yet, a vest for myself and a bean bag that I will be posting on in the near future)

#100DaysofSewing and Thesis Writing

I saw the hashtag "100daysofsewing" on Instagram awhile ago. Honestly, I didn't really research it or try to find out if it was  a challenge from another blogger, or sponsored website, or what. I just saw it and liked the idea. So I decided to go for it.

It was off to a rough start. My machine was acting up, and I got about 10 days into it and decided I couldn't stand it and sent the machine to the shop. When I got it back, it worked a lot better (still not perfect, but much better than before) so I started the count all over again.

Then things went swimmingly for awhile, until I realized that we had a vacation scheduled in the middle of the 100 days, days 30-34 to be exact. I made plans to bring some hand sewing stuff, but in reality it didn't happen.

So... I'm going to start again this week. While it's a rough two weeks I have in front of me (thesis needs to be complete, turned in, and defended) I think the sewing will help. Why?

It will provide a few moments each day that are just for me. I will be making something, and that is what I love to do. Even if the finished product isn't going to remain in my possession, it will become something new.

Sewing a little bit each day allows me to see progress happen each week. As frustrating and stressful as this whole thesis deal has been, I often feel like I am starting over from square one on the 90+ pages I've written. Since starting the #100daysofsewing I have completed 7 projects. The 8th will be finished in the next couple of days, and I've started one other 'big' project. Those 29 days produced more sewn items than the previous year. Seriously.

I'm able to finish half done projects, and start new ones. I love finishing projects that are just sitting around. It's great to see something that was 'abandoned' for whatever reason, picked up, taken care of, and given a new life. It's even better when I have a new home for it to go to!

Stash busting. Yep. STASH BUSTING. I don't have time to keep going to the store to get new fabric for a project idea right now. I am forced to use fabric I already have, or to come up with new ideas that suit the fabric I already have. It's actually kind of fun.

Finally, money. You heard me right, money. Since stashbusting is a huge thing for me this year, as I go through the fabric I find some pieces that I don't think I will ever use, or that I had a specific idea in mind for it when I obtained it several years ago. In these cases, I take pictures and I list on various sites for selling (eBay, Craigslist, even Instagram).

Also, since I'm producing more than before, I have plenty of new items ready to be put in the Etsy shop once I re-open it (after thesis stuff is done). I'm working on a new Etsy item policy for myself since we are so limited on space it's difficult to store everything without explosions happening each time I need a new skein of yarn or fabric from the fabric bin.

I almost forgot; this project has led me to have 5 Christmas presents already done and ready to go. 5! It's only June! The productivity has me ready to tackle the rest of the presents asap, this way when December comes it will already be taken care of and I can relax and enjoy the month.