Cleaning is good

I'm sorry I didn't post about this earlier, but today Intown Quilters was collecting fabric donations to go to local sewing charities and guilds to make blankets and other items for children suffering from trauma or illnesses. This was something the owner thought would be good for the Day of Service.

I found it while scrolling through things to do on the Day of Service, and that sounded like something that would be easy to do, as well as help me clear out my fabric stash.

I learned how to sew at a very young age, and I am a packrat. Perhaps I should capitalize PACKRAT. Over the years I have accumulated lots and lots of fabric. Some came from older relatives who have passed away. Some came from other friends and relatives who were clearing out. Some came from a fat quarter surprise group I had joined when I first started quilting. I had boxes and bins of the stuff. (More than I care to think about.)

This seemed to me a perfect time to go through and weed out the fabric I thought I might use someday and donate it to a great cause. So I took some time yesterday and today, and I ended up with a lot of plastic grocery bags of fabric to donate. I can't tell you how good that feels. I probably would have never used much of it, and I hate to think of someone going through it after I die thinking "Why in the world did she keep all this?" I kept some, but they are projects I've truly worked on and just set aside since knitting is so portable.

As for the reception I received at Intown Quilters - I think the woman who helped me was flabbergasted when I came in with 5 bags and said there's more in the van.

The real question - was this service? In my mind, not really. What I did find though, while perusing the list, there is a nature preserve within about 5 miles of my house that I didn't even know existed. That's something I can go help with, even if it's just showing up and picking up trash from time to time.

The other question is (drumroll please) is why do packrats tend to hang on to things that have not much value? I suppose it's thrift, but I should probably clean out the collection of old and used twist ties in the kitchen drawer. At least I avoid using plastic sandwich bags too much, so I don't feel compelled to rinse and re-use them. (In my next life can I please be a packrat for something really good? Maybe I'll collect diamond tiaras instead of old peanut butter jars. That was another surprise when I decided to clear out one of the kitchen cabinets. You would have thought there was about to be a world wide shortage of old peanut butter jars. I'm sure the recycling guys were not happy that week.)

Oh well, thanks for letting me babble on about thrift and how that contributes to packratitis. Just call me if you need a couple of twist ties or an empty kitty litter box to hold some magazines. I'm sure I can round one up for you.