Letting Go (of yarn)
My yarn matches the cloth and the picture! Well, sort of.
Do you hide yarn? Do you feel like you need to sneak it onto the house when no one is home? Do you yarn shop alone so no one knows how much you are buying? These seem extreme, but trust me, I hear stories about this all the time! Let’s get something out of the way before we start letting go: If you are a yarn collector, own it! There are much odder, less useful things to collect…a quick google search told me that people collect water bottle labels, airsick bags, do not disturb signs and banana stickers! (Seriously, banana stickers!) And each of these people have their collections proudly displayed. They are not hidden under beds and in closets or disguised as throw pillows! So first, display your favourite skeins. A clear glass bowl with beautiful yarn on your coffee table, a book shelf for seasonal colours, a pretty little stack on a dresser. Yarn you see is yarn you use!
That said, many of us have yarn that for some reason doesn’t make the cut anymore. There are all kinds of valid reasons for this…the colour doesn’t suit your current hair colour, it was an impulse buy and now you have no idea what you were thinking, your friends said it looked great but it’s a colour you never wear. And of course, don’t forget all the leftovers that you are determined to make into a scrappy blanket or preemie hats you plan to donate to your local hospital.
Yarn hiding in closets, boxes and under tables!
This is the yarn that is hidden because every time we see it we feel a little guilty. Get rid of the guilt yarn! This yarn is taking up space in your home (and more importantly, in your head) that could be used for much better things! It is ok to let go of these yarns. I promise you will feel better!
Can I bring in a business term now? Have you heard of the “Sunk Cost Fallacy”? The sunk cost fallacy is the tendency to continue investing in a project based on the cumulative prior investment (time, money, or resources) rather than future potential benefits.
Let’s put this into yarn terms. First, you visited a yarn store, it was an hour away. You found some yarn you loved. It was a little expensive, but beautiful and you knew you would find something to do with it. Besides, you drove all this way (time, gas, money) you need to get something! You bring your yarn home and you still love it and really want to use it. So you start thinking about it, what it might want to be. You go to your computer and start looking for patterns, you go down several rabbit holes, and before you know it, the whole evening is gone and you still don’t have a project. The yarn sits on the coffee table for a bit and you stroke it and think about it and look for the “right pattern”. Then guests are coming and you need to clean up, the skein gets swept into a box and stashed out of sight. You still occasionally think about that skein and think, “I should really do something with that.” Much later, you are cleaning out the closet and you come across the skein. It’s still lovely. But now you are also thinking about all the yarn you have since accumulated, see the price tag, remember how much mental time you spent on this skein and now you feel a little guilty because you’re pretty sure you are never going to find the right project. So you stick it back in a box and pretend you will use it, or you hide it in the box hoping to also hide from the guilt.
A few of my skeins-in-waiting. I'm not getting rid of these! They still make me smile everytime I see them.
Sound familiar to anyone? You can’t get rid of the yarn because you have already sunk a lot of costs (time, money, space, mental energy) on it. But it is also not bringing joy and is in fact, costing you joy! You will not be able to let go of the yarn until you can let go of those costs. But what if you could gain more by letting go than you spent acquiring? (No, this is not a get-rich-quick scheme, in fact, will be no financial gain, rather a release from guilt, restored joy and the recovery of storage space!)
I don't have a lot of space anymore, so my yarn is part of my decorating scheme!
This is a very timely blog for me as I am in the process of downsizing. When you have a lot of space, you don’t realize just how much stuff you have (and I’m not just talking yarn). But, sticking to yarn, I’m a little ashamed of all the yarn I have that I know I have no intention of using. I kept the because it was perfectly good yarn and getting rid of it seemed a waste. But now in retrospect, hoarding it seems even worse! So I’m letting go of a lot of yarn. And it feels good. I have a friend who has a friend who wants it all. She will sort through it and keep what she wants and donate the rest.
Are you ready to unload some yarn but don’t know where to start? Here are a few ideas to get you started.
Bits and pieces...I might get rid of these, someday.
I did use these bits and pieces! (So that means I should keep them all right?)
Get rid of the UFOs that you know you will never finish. The sweater you started when you were pregnant and decided to keep and finish for your 1st grandbaby, the yarn that makes you itch just thinking about it, the really complex pattern that you put in time out 3 years ago and now have no idea where you are in the pattern: let it go.
The yarn from a friend’s friend who was clearing out her mother’s house. Seriously, you didn’t pick this yarn, you have no planned projects and it is probably yarn you would not have chosen for yourself. Keep 1 or 2 skeins you love, make something for the friend’s friend and let go. It’s ok, you are not ungrateful: let it go.
Yarn that you have kept in a box for more than _____ (you decide the time…maybe three years?). If you haven’t used it yet, will you ever? If you are really brave and really determined to destash, don’t even open the box, just let it go!
Bits and pieces. I know the leftovers from a sock or sweater doesn’t look like much, but when they get all put together, they take up so much space! Unless you have proven to yourself that you do actually use the bits (instead of just planning to use them): let it go!
Inexpensive yarns that are easily replaced if you change your mind. I have (had) a lot of yarn that can easily be found for $3-$5/skein. This was the hardest for me. But with limited space, it just didn’t make sense to try to store it all when it was so easily replaced *if* I needed it again. (I didn’t get rid of all of it).
So, you’ve set aside the yarn you are ready to let go of? Now what? Get it out of your house as fast as possible!!! Churches, nursing homes and schools are good places to start. Check for weaving guilds or craft groups in your area that might be interested. My local second-hand shop always takes yarn too.
I'm going to fill this with yarn!
There, now, don’t you feel so much better? I know it was a relief for me to give myself permission to let go! (Plus, now I have more room for yarn I really love!) And won’t it look lovely on this buffet and hutch?
By the way, if you really love your yarn and can’t bear to part with any of it, that’s ok too…so long as it isn’t interfering with your daily living, by all means, enjoy your stash!
The Rogue Weaver
