Letting Go: A Fiber Lover Downsizes Her Stash

Letting go of some of your prized fiber stash (gulp) can be emotional for a fiber lover.

Facing another move myself, I’ve had to be selective about what stays and what goes. So I scanned the web for motivation. Here are some things I found helpful:

Minimalism

We’ve all seen images of beautifully spare rooms, which look like no handspinner has ever left hair balls of spinning fiber on the pristine white rug. Cleanliness aside, moving offers the opportunity to unload some items that take up space but are rarely, if ever, used. Twenty years ago, I baked cheesecakes for friends and family, but haven’t touched my springform pans since. This old hobby no longer needs to take up space in my life; I can easily let the pans go.

Sparking Joy

Fiber and yarn stash is trickier; my life revolves around needlecrafts. In The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Marie Kondo asks readers to question, “Does it spark joy?” Well, yes . . . it’s yarn . . . and fleece . . . and tools! The “KonMari” method of decluttering won’t help many fiber enthusiasts release their stash. But maybe I don’t need three spinning wheels.

My grandmother’s brightly colored aluminum knitting needles bring me joy. Photo by Elizabeth Prose

Swedish Death Cleaning

Move over hygge! Swedish death cleaning has become the hot new Scandinavian trend, but it’s not quite as morbid as the name sounds. The Swedish word döstädning is a mashup of the words dö, meaning “death,” and städning, meaning “cleaning.” Author of The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning Margareta Magnusson recognizes that preparing for our eventual exit is a gift to our surviving friends and family. She advocates discarding our unused belongings as we face our later years. Magnusson herself is over 80 and asks readers a different question than Kondo. She has us ponder, “Will anyone be happier if I save this?” This question makes me remember what joy it brings me to see my grandmother’s brightly colored aluminum knitting needles in their vase each day.

One way I’ve been able to scale back my stuff is by switching to digital versions of my favorite craft magazines, knitting patterns, and how-to videos and courses. Stuff stored in the cloud won’t require buff movers to relocate it.

I still struggle with my attachment to yarn and fiber. Letting go will be hard, but I’m sure I can find a good home for some of it. (I know a few spinners, knitters, and crocheters.) I also remind myself that sheep grow new fleece and fiber companies offer new yarn. When my time comes, hopefully several decades in the future, maybe my beloved stash will end up in a knitting guild’s charity sale, but at least it’ll still “spark joy.”

—Elizabeth

Featured Image: Keep the stash that “sparks joy.” Photo by Jenn Rein.