Stash propensity

My parents' small condo is bursting at the seams. My father is a packrat who
probably has saved every piece of paper he's ever received. My mother is afraid
of running out of necessities -- the shelves in garage are sagging under the
weight of canned goods, juices, rolls of toilet paper, etc., etc.

I just placed an order with Nordic Needle for stuff that I might use someday.

Am I a stashaholic because I inherited a gene or because I grew up in an
environment where little was discarded or wasted?

Why do you think you've amassed a stash?

--
another Anne, add ingers to frugalf to reply

"anne" wrote in message
ews.com...
My parents' small condo is bursting at the seams. My father is a packrat
who
probably has saved every piece of paper he's ever received. My mother is
afraid
of running out of necessities -- the shelves in garage are sagging under
the
weight of canned goods, juices, rolls of toilet paper, etc., etc.

I just placed an order with Nordic Needle for stuff that I might use
someday.

Am I a stashaholic because I inherited a gene or because I grew up in an
environment where little was discarded or wasted?

Why do you think you've amassed a stash?

--
another Anne, add ingers to frugalf to reply

I think of it as a different kind of comfort food. When you're sad, you can
look at your stash and smile for being lucky enough to have extra stuff.
When you're bored, you can look at your stash and spend endless time
deciding what to do next. And most of all--what would I do with all the
room it takes up in my home and my heart??

Lucille

p.s. My mother was the same--she had extra of everything from food to
toiletries, but most of all she had yards and yards of fabric and boxes and
bags full of yarns and a ton of needles and pins and sewing related
whatevers so you're most probably right and it's genetic.

Hi Anne

My parents were just the opposite!
They had to run to the store every single time they needed something.

So perhaps my packratting tendencies came from hating to be out of something
I needed.

Although, since moving and unloading everything, I still have major packrat
tendencies, but they are much more orderly due to a lack of space.

I was, besides many other things, a renovation contractor that specialized
in historical homes. So I never threw anything away, not even broken stuff
that could be repaired. Most of it would never be used, but I always seemed
to have just the right piece to repair or replace something missing from
an older home. The trouble was finding it until I developed a better storage
system.

Since I am now semi-retired and have moved to a new state, where I have very
limited storage space, my packrat tendencies are being strained to the max.
Space is allocated for consumables first. I found that by buying consumables
in fairly large quantities you save a great deal of money, even with storage
space at a premium.

I still rarely throw anything away, but rather than packratting it away,
possible never to use. I find a useful purpose for it and save until I have
enough to do the project I was packratting it away for. The point being
is that it does get allocated to a project and when enough of the item is
amassed, the project comes into fruition and gets completed.

You had mentioned paper!
Rarely does a scrap of paper get discarded into the trash.
Although I don't subscribe to a newspaper, it still ends up in our yard every
morning, along with a mailbox full of advertising.
The amount of paper that I receive every day would fill a whole trashbag
per week. Trashbags cost money that is just thrown away.
I purchased a heavy duty crosscut shreader that can eat whole envelopes along
with the staples with a large shreaded paper bin.
Instead of buying mulch for around the bushes, I began using this shreaded
paper instead. From a distance it looks like stone. The only trick to using
shreaded paper is to wet it down so it don't blow around, once dampened it
stays in place. Since it is paper it disintegrates fairly rapidly and needs
replacing. My mailbox is an endless source of FREE new mulch! So the front
yard especially, always looks new and crisply mulched.

I have learned not to packrat things that I no longer can find a use for.
And some things I was packratting away with a project in mind, when I could
not longer get the item I was packratting, and not having enough to do the
intended project, I either found a use for the items or discarded them.
More often than not I would find a use for them or someone else who needed
more of the same.

I just picked up several skeins of assorted embroidery floss. Already they
have been matched to DMC color codes if possible, and the oddball skeins
placed in my basting and gridding box of floss.
I normally keep a full set of DMC colors in reserve. One thing I hate is
to run out of a floss and can't find it locally and have to stop my project
until I can order it. Floss is not THAT expensive to build up a reserve
set of your favorite brand. It also helps when you are coding up a new work
or have stray floss you need to figure out the number for.

Since different floss companies colors will vary slightly from DMC numbers
and even some DMC dye lots vary slightly, I have established a simple system
to keep these oddball colors in a useable fashion. If I know the manufacturers
number, it is written on the bobbin too, but if not, I use a DMC number that
is the closest and always place an L or a D ahead of the number. L or D
for lighter or darker than the actual DMC color.
You would be surprised at how fast you can use up the oddball colors when
working on a project and actually make the project look better by doing so.
Almost anything with a flower petal, you can use a shade lighter on the
left and a shade darker on the right of the petal with the true color in
the center and it gives it more depth of body. Most of my work is photo-charted
images, so I can more easily get by with using off-shades for the confetti
stitches and get by with it.
We make a lot of bookmarks using scrap Aida and sections of undefined floss
colors. So oddball colors don't last long around here.

The biggest hurdle I had to overcome with my stash of all things, was to
be able to locate it when needed and have it sorted in a useful fashion so
it would get used up. All to often I would run across something I knew I
would need, and when the time came that I did need it, it was nowhere to
be found.

I obtained about 1000 set-up boxes all the same size, and another 500 or
so larger boxes also all of the same size. This made sorting and stacking
a whole lot easier than a haphazard collection of boxes and cartons and cans.

If I don't have enough of a single item to fill one of the set-up boxes,
I combine like items into the same box.
When I'm sorting (this is just an example using something simple), I may
make a box for pencils, one for pens, one for markers, etc. But find that
all of the above items combined will not fill a single box, so I compact
all into one box named writing instruments or perhaps two boxes, one for
writing instruments and one for drawing instruments, which would include
color pencils and markers, chalks, etc.
The shelves in the storage room are also divided up into categories or departments
if you prefer. Hardware, Automotive, Crafts & Hobbies, Notions, etc. the
latter having subdivisions.
Items that can be used with almost anything, like glues, pastes, tapes, etc.
are kept on a shelf marked Office Supplies. In my case, Hardware consumes
the most shelf space and is divided up into plumbing installation, plumbing
repair, electrical installation, electrical repair, electronic, cabinetry
parts, painting, woodworking, and the tools section is divided into the various
trades including a gardening section.

My wife has carried some of the shelves she uses most to the point of painting
the ends of the boxes for the type Notions they contain. Sewing items are
in yellow boxes while embroidery items are in blue boxes, crafts oil painting
are in green boxes and crafts misc is in pink ended boxes. She paints a
white box with ornate trim as a writing place on the ends of the boxes.

The shelves are set up so that set-up boxes can stack three high side by
side, allowing the least amount of moving to get to the bottom box. Often
it can be simply slid out and replaced back on the top of that stack of three
without messing up the system.

Everything is not in the same size boxes, but each stack is like kind boxes.
Floss is stored in the plastic bobbin boxes, wound onto the bobbins and
stacked 8 boxes high. We each have our WIP boxes that we keep with us at
our worksite. A piece of cardboard hangs in front of the bobbin boxes, and
if we remove the last bobbin of a color, that number is written down on the
cardboard. If one of us goes to the LNS and they don't have that color in
stock, we place an X in front of it to know we need to order it on-line.
If one of us orders it, we place a checkmark behind it and when it comes
in and is wound on a bobbin and put back into the case, we cross it off the
list. Some colors like 310 (black) for example, we keep at least 5 skeins
of the same dyelot in a backup box. We do the same thing on WIP colors that
are needed in mass for that project. When that WIP is completed, THEN the
unopened skeins are wound on the bobbins and placed into the stacked boxes
in numerical order.

Unfortunately, since moving, ridding ourselves of the unneeded stash we had,
and are starting over per-se, we are not quite as organized yet as we once
were. Much of what we did move is still packed in the original moving boxes,
untouched, until we can find the room to unpack, resort, and restore.
We went from 1,600 sq. ft. of storage space to less than 500 total sq. ft.
of useable storage space and it's mostly filled with unopened boxes since
the move with no room to move, much less get organized, hi hi.....

TTUL
Gary

Gary, it sounds like it was a great endeavor to organize everything so well,
but I can certainly appreciate being able to find what you need when you
need it. I frequently run into the situation of knowing I have something,
but not locating it without tearing the whole place apart a time or two. Of
course, there are also times when I've just recently thrown/given away the
item that is needed, after keeping it forever. As they say, timing is
everything. Best wishes in getting re-organized.
--
Carey


"Gary V. Deutschmann, Sr." wrote in message
...

Hi Anne

My parents were just the opposite!
They had to run to the store every single time they needed something.

So perhaps my packratting tendencies came from hating to be out of
something
I needed.

Although, since moving and unloading everything, I still have major
packrat
tendencies, but they are much more orderly due to a lack of space.

I was, besides many other things, a renovation contractor that specialized
in historical homes. So I never threw anything away, not even broken
stuff
that could be repaired. Most of it would never be used, but I always
seemed
to have just the right piece to repair or replace something missing from
an older home. The trouble was finding it until I developed a better
storage
system.

Since I am now semi-retired and have moved to a new state, where I have
very
limited storage space, my packrat tendencies are being strained to the
max.
Space is allocated for consumables first. I found that by buying
consumables
in fairly large quantities you save a great deal of money, even with
storage
space at a premium.

I still rarely throw anything away, but rather than packratting it away,
possible never to use. I find a useful purpose for it and save until I
have
enough to do the project I was packratting it away for. The point being
is that it does get allocated to a project and when enough of the item is
amassed, the project comes into fruition and gets completed.

You had mentioned paper!
Rarely does a scrap of paper get discarded into the trash.
Although I don't subscribe to a newspaper, it still ends up in our yard
every
morning, along with a mailbox full of advertising.
The amount of paper that I receive every day would fill a whole trashbag
per week. Trashbags cost money that is just thrown away.
I purchased a heavy duty crosscut shreader that can eat whole envelopes
along
with the staples with a large shreaded paper bin.
Instead of buying mulch for around the bushes, I began using this shreaded
paper instead. From a distance it looks like stone. The only trick to
using
shreaded paper is to wet it down so it don't blow around, once dampened it
stays in place. Since it is paper it disintegrates fairly rapidly and
needs
replacing. My mailbox is an endless source of FREE new mulch! So the
front
yard especially, always looks new and crisply mulched.

I have learned not to packrat things that I no longer can find a use for.
And some things I was packratting away with a project in mind, when I
could
not longer get the item I was packratting, and not having enough to do the
intended project, I either found a use for the items or discarded them.
More often than not I would find a use for them or someone else who needed
more of the same.

I just picked up several skeins of assorted embroidery floss. Already
they
have been matched to DMC color codes if possible, and the oddball skeins
placed in my basting and gridding box of floss.
I normally keep a full set of DMC colors in reserve. One thing I hate is
to run out of a floss and can't find it locally and have to stop my
project
until I can order it. Floss is not THAT expensive to build up a reserve
set of your favorite brand. It also helps when you are coding up a new
work
or have stray floss you need to figure out the number for.

Since different floss companies colors will vary slightly from DMC numbers
and even some DMC dye lots vary slightly, I have established a simple
system
to keep these oddball colors in a useable fashion. If I know the
manufacturers
number, it is written on the bobbin too, but if not, I use a DMC number
that
is the closest and always place an L or a D ahead of the number. L or D
for lighter or darker than the actual DMC color.
You would be surprised at how fast you can use up the oddball colors when
working on a project and actually make the project look better by doing
so.
Almost anything with a flower petal, you can use a shade lighter on the
left and a shade darker on the right of the petal with the true color in
the center and it gives it more depth of body. Most of my work is
photo-charted
images, so I can more easily get by with using off-shades for the confetti
stitches and get by with it.
We make a lot of bookmarks using scrap Aida and sections of undefined
floss
colors. So oddball colors don't last long around here.

The biggest hurdle I had to overcome with my stash of all things, was to
be able to locate it when needed and have it sorted in a useful fashion so
it would get used up. All to often I would run across something I knew I
would need, and when the time came that I did need it, it was nowhere to
be found.

I obtained about 1000 set-up boxes all the same size, and another 500 or
so larger boxes also all of the same size. This made sorting and stacking
a whole lot easier than a haphazard collection of boxes and cartons and
cans.

If I don't have enough of a single item to fill one of the set-up boxes,
I combine like items into the same box.
When I'm sorting (this is just an example using something simple), I may
make a box for pencils, one for pens, one for markers, etc. But find that
all of the above items combined will not fill a single box, so I compact
all into one box named writing instruments or perhaps two boxes, one for
writing instruments and one for drawing instruments, which would include
color pencils and markers, chalks, etc.
The shelves in the storage room are also divided up into categories or
departments
if you prefer. Hardware, Automotive, Crafts & Hobbies, Notions, etc. the
latter having subdivisions.
Items that can be used with almost anything, like glues, pastes, tapes,
etc.
are kept on a shelf marked Office Supplies. In my case, Hardware consumes
the most shelf space and is divided up into plumbing installation,
plumbing
repair, electrical installation, electrical repair, electronic, cabinetry
parts, painting, woodworking, and the tools section is divided into the
various
trades including a gardening section.

My wife has carried some of the shelves she uses most to the point of
painting
the ends of the boxes for the type Notions they contain. Sewing items are
in yellow boxes while embroidery items are in blue boxes, crafts oil
painting
are in green boxes and crafts misc is in pink ended boxes. She paints a
white box with ornate trim as a writing place on the ends of the boxes.

The shelves are set up so that set-up boxes can stack three high side by
side, allowing the least amount of moving to get to the bottom box. Often
it can be simply slid out and replaced back on the top of that stack of
three
without messing up the system.

Everything is not in the same size boxes, but each stack is like kind
boxes.
Floss is stored in the plastic bobbin boxes, wound onto the bobbins and
stacked 8 boxes high. We each have our WIP boxes that we keep with us at
our worksite. A piece of cardboard hangs in front of the bobbin boxes,
and
if we remove the last bobbin of a color, that number is written down on
the
cardboard. If one of us goes to the LNS and they don't have that color in
stock, we place an X in front of it to know we need to order it on-line.
If one of us orders it, we place a checkmark behind it and when it comes
in and is wound on a bobbin and put back into the case, we cross it off
the
list. Some colors like 310 (black) for example, we keep at least 5 skeins
of the same dyelot in a backup box. We do the same thing on WIP colors
that
are needed in mass for that project. When that WIP is completed, THEN the
unopened skeins are wound on the bobbins and placed into the stacked boxes
in numerical order.

Unfortunately, since moving, ridding ourselves of the unneeded stash we
had,
and are starting over per-se, we are not quite as organized yet as we once
were. Much of what we did move is still packed in the original moving
boxes,
untouched, until we can find the room to unpack, resort, and restore.
We went from 1,600 sq. ft. of storage space to less than 500 total sq. ft.
of useable storage space and it's mostly filled with unopened boxes since
the move with no room to move, much less get organized, hi hi.....

TTUL
Gary

Gary V. Deutschmann, Sr. said
Almost anything with a flower petal, you can use a shade lighter on the
left and a shade darker on the right of the petal with the true color in
the center and it gives it more depth of body.

Thanks for the tip -- I don't have an artist's eye so I muddle along when
mixing and matching colors in my very, very free style embroidery.

p.s. although we live at opposite ends of the same city, one of these days we
ought to get together ;-)

--
another Anne, add ingers to frugalf to reply

Why do you think you've amassed a stash?


For me, it's a matter of buying when I can afford so I can keep
stitching when the money isn't there. I have a full set of DMC - two or
more skeins of most colors, in fact - plus a box of various fabrics and
two boxes of patterns. I'll obviously have to replenish fibers more
often than the rest, but that's at a significantly lower price so it's
less likely to create a real hardship, and I'm likely to be able to find
other projects that don't need the particular colors that are missing if
I really can't afford to restock.

And for the record, both my mother and grandmother are/were packrats.
Mom isn't as bad about it as gramma (who managed to fill FIVE 10 by 10
storage closets with clothing and books and dishes and heavens only
knows what else in a single year living in a retirement community) but I
definitely see the potential for serious problems with her as well. I
fight tooth and nail against the clutter because I really really really
don't want to turn into them.

--
Jenn L.

www.needleful-things.com
Current projects:
Home of the Brave (Sally Rung - soldier remembrance project)
Autumn Sampler (Nathalie Forster/Crazy For Cross Stitch mag)
Spring in the Air (Just Nan)
Nordic Needle Rose (Silver Lining)
Lady of the Flag (Mirabilia) Starry Night (Van Gogh)

anne wrote:

snip
Why do you think you've amassed a stash?

I have fought hard to not amass too much stash. Everything fits in one
10-gallon rubbermaid and 3 darice boxes. Other than floss, which I
amass because I like being able to change color schemes from the
original pattern, and it's nice to have the colors to choose from and
not have to go to the store to do so, the stash I have on hand is either
patterns (mostly mags), frames and fabrics that were gifts, or a few
things for projects that haven't been started. Because projects take me
so long to do, I have purposefully not kitted up until I intend to
actually start the project.

Barbara HJ

Like most of us, I need to be better organized. When my mother moved to
a retirement apt. and we had to clean out her stash of about
everything, I vowed to clean up my mess. One thing that helped was
finding a FreeCycle group in my town. It is a Yahoo group in many areas
where people can "offer" things they no longer need instead of just
throwing them away.

I offered some interior wood shutters and by the time I hauled them from
where I had stashed them in the basement, there were 52! Personally I
think they multiplied down there. I felt good knowing someone was using
them and I didn't have to throw them out. I had 20 people respond to
the offer. Also several responed to some old windows I was saving for
what?

FreeCycle is an alternative to throwing out and it has made my letting
go of things easier.

Jane

Jane said
FreeCycle is an alternative to throwing out and it has made my letting
go of things easier.

For a brief period of time, I participated in the Freecycle group for my area.
Bags and bags of computer disks were the only things taken that I posted. Got
an Amvets truck coming soon to pick up the household debris that I no longer
want.

--
another Anne, add ingers to frugalf to reply

Stashaholic I like that, it is better than Packrat. Hubby just looks at the
freezer and shelves of food, he just says, "want's for dinner". I love the
ideal of a "Stash" gene then I have a wonder great come back for his
shakings head thing. I have a freezer of meats, shelves for food, canned
and bagged.



I have "MY ROOM" (the junk room I cleaned out) a 10 by 12 room. That is
funny how I cleaned it out and hubby just agreed it for my Stitching/Stash.
It is everything from a day bed to chest drawer of pattern, books of
patterns, storage chest for dmc, and fabric storage. I use the closet for
fabrics. I just turn green as green could get when I saw my sister Mega
fabric Storage chest for fabric a 6 ft h x 4 x 4. Yes sister, I do think
stashing stuff is a learn thing because Mom had the ten commands somewhere,
according to Dad. I do it for the times when things are tight or I need a
shade of linen, right. I got it from mom and dad. They both grew in the
depression and it a poor rural area. So shelves of food, freezer of meats,
and everything else is stashed. Consequently, why not the little hobby of
fabric and needle. I really do it for comfort that warm fuzzy feeling

I get knowing it there.



.. I a really bad Stashaholic. I just love Stashaholic, it's a gene , Love
it.

"just a lil imp playing in the sands"
Anna