Thursday, April 05, 2007

How did I get into this mess?

Well I actually know the answer but I still wonder how I got into this mess. My STASH of yarn "runneth" over! Why? oh Why? is it so hard to give away get rid of throw away this stuff?

Do I have the "depression" mentality? Feast or famine? If I give it away I won't have it when I need it or yearn for it back mentality! The bottom line is that I spend far too much time sorting my stash, trying to find a "good" spot for all the yarn the perfect container, plastic bags or boxes, stacked or in drawers, hours and hours of time I could be knitting but no I'm sorting. By the way sorting is different from cleaning, but I digress.

What to knit from this stash, MY STASH "runneth" over!

I know some may say send it to me I'll knit something, but I can't part with that color or that one feels so wonderful or look at that texture, but there is not enough there to make anything yes but maybe a stripe.

I live in "maybe land", then finally one day I accomplish "the filling up a bag" with the intention of taking it to my local charity and then suddenly I need just that color I gave away. Now I have to buy it and my DH says but you have so much why do you have to buy more? I need THAT color!

This is the universal "Murphy's Law" the minute I finally give something away I need it the very next week. It could have sat there waiting to be utilized for years but no not needed. Then one day I finally decide to give it away to my favorite charity (The Boys and Girls Club of Venice) or for yarn give away my favorite charity is (Stitches from the Heart), I just know that in a week or two I will need just that item. As they say Oh Well... this should be my biggest problem in life. I know this is a minor problem but never the less very annoying.

The bottom line is I have more "stuff" than I know what to do with, so week (or when I remember to do it) I run around the house and choose 27 items to put in the give away bag I do "The 27-Fling Boogie". The items could be anything and if I come home with a bag I fill up that bag with something old and give it away.

Once in a while I visit the "Fly Lady's" site which is where I learned about the "The 27-Fling Boogie"

Declutter 15 Minutes a Day - 5 Great Tools That Make it Easy!

Your home is filled with clutter of all shapes and sizes. This is why you are unable to keep it clean. You have too much STUFF. All we ask is that you set a timer and spend 15 minutes a day decluttering. That's it. Anyone can do anything for only 15 minutes, even if you have to break it down into 5 minutes segments. These are the five tools we give you to help you declutter and also make it fun for you! When you get the e-mail reminders/checklists from FlyLady, try them yourself. What do you have to lose (besides clutter LOL!)?

1. The 27-Fling Boogie

We do this assignment as fast as we can. Take a garbage bag and walk through your home and throw away 27 items. Do not stop until you have collected all 27 items. Then close the garbage bag and pitch it. DO NOT LOOK IN IT!!! Just do it.

Next, take an empty box and go through your home collecting 27 items to give away. Suze Orman taught me this in her book, The Courage to be Rich. This will change the energy in your home and bring about good feelings. Every time I do this I feel better and my home is becoming decluttered in the process. As soon as you finish filling the box, take it to the car. You are less tempted to rescue the items.

Rule of thumb: if you have two of any item and you only need one, get rid of the least desirable.

I also sing a wonderful song as I am doing this fun job: "Please Release Me, Let Me Go" as sung from the stuff's point of view.

2 comments:

Yarnartist said...

This 27 thing toss is a great idea. But not in my studio! Just everywhere else.
I feel your pain!

Ellen Bloom said...

Stash-a-holic Sisters, Unite!

Yeah, yeah....we all talk about de-stashing. Ana gives yarn to the Boys & Girls Club. Ellene gives away yarn and also sells it. I give yarn as presents to all the young girls at the WeHo SnB....we STILLLLL have huge amounts of yarn.

Remember....it's not a stash. It's a COLLECTION.

Happy collecting, Goils!