Hoarders- Fabric Addict Edition

You all have seen "Hoarders" on TLC right?  The show that makes you want to clean your house while you watch it.  While I have never found one of my cats buried underneath a stack of stuff in my office, and I never save soda cups my husband hauls home from McDonalds, I do have other problem areas.

There's my cupboard of coffee and tea.  Everyone keeps about five pounds of coffee and four boxes on tea on hand at all times right?  I mean, at least if a meteorite hit Earth, I'd be good to go for a couple months.  And I know you're thinking, "Kaylee, you can't make coffee without electricity."  Not so!  While my coffee pot is a plug in, I also have a back up French press.  I'd just need to build a fire, boil some water, and Boom!  I'd be good to go!

There's also my books.  I have a couple crates in the basement that haven't even seen the light of day sense I got married.  But, I intend to read them someday, and the basement is dry so I think they'll be just fine.

I also keep the cabinet stocked with extra shampoo, condition, body lotion, shower gel, face cleanser, and all sorts of things of that nature.  If I have a coupon and can  get a deal, I like to stock up.

But, there's one area that I can't justify away.  My fabric stash.  Dun dun dun!!!

 I thought I should explain in pictures why I'm not letting myself buying any fabric at the moment.  This is my stash.  I hauled it all out of my office/sewing room and into the living room.  There two milk crates, two drawer totes,  a bunch of stuff I keep in my cedar chest, two baskets, and two shopping bags.  This is ridiculous.  Maybe if I was a quilter, it would be okay, but I just sew, and most of what I sew is just bags, purses, and little things.  Can you imagine how many tote bags I could make if I sewed up my stash? 

So how'd it get so out of hand?  Fabric is a relatively cheap thing to collect.  You see a piece you like, and you can get a whole yard for between $5 and $10.  Plus, I love thrift shopping, and I can't pass up a deal.  I'll see something for a buck or two, and I can't resist.  Even if I'm not super wild about the fabric. 

Before long, it got out of hand, and now, it's just kind of turning into a headache to store it all.  At least tea boxes are small.  My fabric stash really takes up a lot of room in my office.  So, I'm making a couple resolutions.  Nothing crazy, like "No buying fabric until I use up everything in my stash!".  That's just setting myself up for failure.  Here's what I decided instead.

1. Stay out of the fabric shop unless I am looking for something specific for a project that's in process.  It's too easy to wander in "just to look" and end up walking out with a bag of fabric with no plan in mind and it ends up sitting in my stash for months or even years.

2. Give some away.  Be on the look out for some fabric giveaways.  I'm also giving away some finished projects, and some sewing books and supplies.  So be on the look out, starting on Thanksgiving.

3. Sew it up!  I don't really see any point to sell it on Ebay or Etsy, when it's perfectly fine, and there's no reason not to use it.  I just need to use it!  And I have plenty of patterns, interfacings, zippers, and the like, so there's no reason not to.

So, hopefully by the end of next year, I'll have it down to a more manageable size.  Having a stash is not a bad thing, but when it starts eating into your workspace, action needs to be taken.  How big is your fabric stash and how do you store it all?  Are you looking to increase your stash or working on downsizing it?