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If it’s not too late, they distribute fabrics and sewing materials among poor women in Iraq, thanks to the initiative of a US soldier, and you can send a flat rate box to him.

Just a though!
Best wishes with everything.

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I do however enjoy many crafts and even at age 64 do not wish to part with the stuff. At the same time, I do not want my 4 children nor their spouses having to deal with all this “stuff” after I’m gone. So I will either have to really get busy using it or give it away! I just bought a nice new embroidery sewing machine and really do enjoy sewing for my children and 9 grandchildren. But I have way too much fabric.

Not only do I plan to organize the stuff, but I promise, after reading your posting, to get rid of most of it. I know I will never, ever use it all. And I’m sure there is someone out there who would use it NOW! I don’t even want to take pictures of it and sell it on Ebay. I’m just going to haul it to Goodwill and be done. Then I plan to take the time to organize what I decide to keep so I’ll know what I have.

This has been an eye-opening experience for me. Reading your information may just have saved me from deep embarrassment should my family be forced to someday deal with all my accumulations. Oh…and I also have developed a love for scrapbooking. Don’t worry. I have ALL my stuff soooo organized. And I’m in the process of making scrapbooks for each of my 4 children and their families (from events this past year) for Christmas gifts. I guess I enjoy too many crafts and have too many interests in life! I also enjoy golfing and am a Master Gardener. But your writing has inspired me to get in gear here and get more organized! Thanks so much and God bless you and your siblings for being so willing to help your mother. I’m praying she will use up the fabrics she now ready access to!

My question, what are you going to do with the bags of fabric that you purged? Please tell me you did not throw it away!!!

I also love the storage system that she has! Those beautiful shelves! I can only wish!

Good job that you and family did for your mom! I wish I had family that could come over and help me control the mess in my sewing room! Oh well, I can dream.

Most hoarders/extreme clutterers will see this as a space which NEEDS to be filled. If your mother can be encouraged to fill this space with fabric already in the home, that would be a major victory.

I worked as a professional organizer for a few years with a special interest in “chronic disorganization” (aka “cluttering,” “hoarding,” “packrat behavior”). Probably the best recent book on the subject is “Buried in Treasures” by Frost, Steketee, and P___ (can’t remember his full name ATM). Although the book is aimed at the self-help for the clutterer, others (family, friends) affected by the clutter can gain insight into this behavior and learn ways to help by reading it.

My MIL’s house was down to narrow paths in 2003 when DH and I began the Great Declutter. MIL needed to use a rollator / wheelchair in the house, and the paths weren’t wide enough for her to do so, much less for her to do so *with* the help of my FIL. Given the clear and present risk to her health and safety, as well as the H&S of my FIL, DH and I worked one weekend a month for five YEARS. It would have been soooo good to have help from his three siblings, but his two sisters are clutterers themselves and his brother travels too much for his job for us even to ask him for help. He helps in other ways, never fear.

I’m happy for you that your sibling group, or at least some of it, worked with you in this Great Fabric Venture. The mutual help and encouragement are essential to success.

However, unless your mother is undergoing counseling and/or some kind of clutter-related therapy, the chances of backsliding are approx. 98%, according to Steketee & Frost. I say this not to discourage you from the work, but to encourage all of you to urge your mother to seek help. It CAN be overcome, but the emotional needs which give rise to the behavior must be satisfied to achieve a lasting success.

Groups like Messies Anonymous and the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization provide insight and help both for clutterers and affected family members/friends.

Best wishes with this very important work.

That being said I can fully understand how hard it is to part with your stash, no matter what it is or how trivial it seems to other people. “It’s just fabric, geez!” “They’re just silly old clock radios, why do you want to keep them?” I really think you were the best person to sit down and go through it all with her and I love the idea of going through the whole stash more than once just to whittle it down even more.

When I purge, my internal dialogue is “have you picked it up this year? If not, then clearly you don’t need it, clearly it’s not something you go to use, it goes in the OUT pile”.

That’s inspiring- seeing all the pretty organized colors, purging, admitting there is a problem, but I can also imagine the daunting feeling hanging over something like that to even get started.

I have the fabric I have because my aunt has brown boxes filling her garage. Luckily though, when I said I was taking a class and needed some- all my aunts opened their doors. I’m working really hard on making things with what I have before accumulating anything more. I only buy something if I cannot in any way substitute something I already have.

Thank you so much for the organization inspiration, congratulations on all the hard work you’ve accomplished so far and definitely sending positivity to you for the future goals.