Panic In the Stash Cave
After last week’s post, I felt convicted to go spend some time in my Stash Cave. The time had come to reorganize and get an updated handle on my Stash Status.
I knew my stash size was doing the tango with SELE (Stash Exceeds Life Expectancy) Status, but I needed to sit with it for a while.
I’m optimistic about how many years I have left to me on this planet. Based on the number of sweater and blanket quantities I reorganized, I should have enough time to work through my stash… if I’m diligent. I would estimate fifteen to twenty years. And that’s if I don’t purchase more yarn. (Can you hear my cackling through your device?)
Carefully Curated
If I’m going to have any stash—whether it’s one box or twenty—I would like to have a curated stash, rather than a collection. Being a yarn “curator” sounds way better than “hoarder,” but it does require me to be brutally honest about what I want and will use.
In a preliminary stash review early in the week, I donated sixteen skeins. I felt a bit lighter.
Now that I know that my life won’t go up in flames if I release some of my stash, perhaps I can work toward letting go of more of it. Unfortunately, I still have hopes and plans for most of the skeins!
Relinquishing yarn can be tough.
Focusing On Fewer Dance Partners
As part of my goal to enjoy my stash by using it, I’m also leaning toward having fewer, more intentional Works In Progress (WIPs) at one time. In an effort to turn my Stash Dreams into Stash Action, this is the plan I’m forming in my mind:
At all times, have approximately six projects on the needles.
A design
A blanket
A sweater
A shawl
A sock
A small project
This set of projects will allow me to work through my major stash categories consistently.
The Risk
Lots of opinions float around the internet regarding whether you should feel grand or guilty about your stash. You’ll hear plenty of lovely people in the virtual space proclaiming the virtues of a bountiful stash. I totally get that viewpoint—I love “shopping” my stash, and I find a great deal of hope and inspiration from the gorgeous skeins I’ve acquired over the years.
However, a large stash can also be an emotional and, therefore, physical bane. While reorganizing, lightheadedness forced me to sit down often as I battled the encroaching panic gliding across the vast dunes of yarn that surrounded me. That level of anxiety is not an appropriate response to boxes of balls of string.
Curating a collection may be a positive goal, but the journey there can be incredibly stressful. Especially if you are inclined to hoard adore your acquisitions.
But setting the goal is the first step, right?
In fact, let’s see how many steps this program would require….
Decide
Organize
Release the yarn that no longer serves your craft
Queue projects/yarn
Knit/Crochet the project
Finish the project
Repeat for years on end
AT THE SAME TIME, buy significantly less yarn than you use
There, I’ve fixed all of my stashing problems. (Although, do we need add the step of apologizing to loved ones?… Nah.)
If you would like some assistance with Steps 4 or 5, check out patterns, tutorials, and general knitting fun from Mountain Song Designs around the internet.
