Resolved

I am not that big on resolutions, New Year's or otherwise.  They mostly seem to me like unrealistic plans which will be forgotten or messed up within a couple weeks.  Not very useful.

But this year I do have one.  Don't buy craft stuff.

It's pretty simple on the surface, but really all-encompassing.  I want to clear out my belongings, slim down my "stuff."  Most of my stuff is yarn and fabric, so not buying anything new, and working with what I have, seems like a reasonable approach.  I also struggle with untidiness and would like to keep my space neater - again, less stuff equals more space and less chance for clutter.  Finally, I'm trying not to spend money.  Partly just as a general rule, mostly because I'm saving up for a two-week music program in Italy this summer.  Not buying yarn/fabric equals money I'm not spending and therefore money I can squirrel away for Italy.  Good plan.

There are two exceptions to this plan though.  One is for materials required for specific commissions -- "I want a knitted elephant in orange and teal."  (Why would you?  But whatever.)  So since I don't have orange and teal yarn I could buy that.  (And since they're paid commissions, I'm not spending my money, and they'll be leaving the house.)  The other is for notions/accessories necessary to the finishing of projects I already have all the other materials for.  So, buttons for that blouse I cut out three years ago.  A zipper for that skirt that's been hanging around mostly finished since high school.  Batting for the quilt that's using up some of my entire shelf-full of cotton fabrics.  That kind of thing.  But only if I don't already have something in the house that could be used in its place - and only if it will be used immediately.

So there I am.  Really this should not be hard.  I am quite, quite certain that it will take me more than a year to work through every single item in my extremely extensive stash.  I am fairly certain it would take me more than a year even if I did nothing else at all except knit and sew and quilt and do weird counted cross-stitch things of raccoons (don't ask.)  But I have a recital and my last semester of grad school and an opera and oral exams and probably moving and maybe Italy - and that's just through July.  So I think I can probably manage to muddle along without buying more yarn for another 12 months.

(I am breaking my un-resolution already with two skeins of sock yarn.  My only justification is that they have been in the shopping cart at KnitPicks since last year, so really it doesn't count, right? and also they are saving me money by qualifying my order for free shipping.  So.)