The Feel Good De-Stash and Tidy

I seem to spend a lot of my free time these days in what my Current Husband and I call a 'Space Maximisation Programme' for our flat. In preparation for our new arrival, all of our belongings are being evaluated to see how much we love/want/need them and we are putting up shelves, squeezing in new storage and getting new cupboards.

I feel bad asking my CH to get rid of anything because really, I am the person with the most stuff. When you like visiting charity shops and have hobbies like knitting and sewing it is really, REALLY easy to accumulate stuff. Everywhere. Paradoxically I don't really like clutter, so these two tendencies are in eternal conflict.

So, I have been sorting out and tidying my stash -Here's the drawers which hold my fabric and wool - labelled with contents (unlabelled are non-stash stuff)

Look at these lovely organised drawers of my wool, grouped in colour and yarn thickness and put together in zip lock plastic bags....mmmmm.....tidy:

(In the interests of full disclosure I also have another little box of yarn)

And the picnic basket on top is also full - but look how organised and easy to see what's there!

And as for my scrap fabrics....

This is actually a reduced amount from what I used to have and is now roughly organised by colour/fabric weight (and labelled!). I really need to do a bit of reduction on this so will be looking into some good projects for scrap busting. I'd like to try a scrap quilt and I'm sure some baby projects would be good too.

Here's where I have been getting rid of things:

eBay: The classic. For clothes, shoes, china and other bits and pieces that might be worth something.

Friends: Nice if unwanted items can be used by people you know

Gumtree: For larger items too heavy to post or too much hassle to eBay (sewing machine, knitting machine, box of sewing patterns). Gumtree is really for people too lazy to use eBay. Most of the listings are appallingly written, sometimes with photos that people can't even be bothered to turn up the right way. On the plus side it's free, local and if you have made an effort with the listing your item will probably sell.

Music Magpie: We got rid of 130 CDs which freed up some space (for, er DVDs) and you can make a bit of money from this. Be warned that most of your beloved CDs are worth 25p each (literally, I'm not joking here) but that makes it all the more exciting when you find one they will give you a whole £2 for. It also becomes quite fascinating to see which of your CDs they think are worth more than others. You can download their app for your phone, scan the barcodes and they collect CDs (plus DVDs and even clothes and electricals) for free from your house and then once they've checked the condition they give you the money.
 
Charity Shops: For a variety of things (still of decent quality of course) like clothing, books etc.

Freecycle: Great for getting rid of items with not much value or larger items. You also get the feelgood factor about giving your stuff away for free. I gave 2 bags of fabric to an NHS Sewing Group for people with mental health issues plus 2 bags of wool to a group of senior citizens who knit for charity. I was really chuffed that my items were off to a good home, but I also got lots of interest from beginner knitters and seamstresses out there. I know a few of you probably got your first sewing machines from Freecycle too.

3 bags of wool, off to a new home

By coincidence, I suppose that all my clearing out and reorganising activities reflect me dropping the 'Finds' part of my blog name. I still look in charity shops but I've been pretty disciplined about what I decide to bring home. Have you been doing any de-stashing or tidying recently?

K x