Crafting Meltdown
 

Here is a short bio on a friend of mine. She is married with two sons. One is 15, the other is 3. She holds a stressful full-time job in the tech industry. She is on the board of the Junior League. She is an SU demonstrator and holds meetups in her house at least once a month. She used to own a scrapbook store, which, not surprisingly, closed a few years ago.

She is a hoarder.

Not only does she have tens of thousands (no joke) of dollars in craft supplies, her house is packed with other stuff and a total disaster. The yard is a mess.

I knew it was only a matter of time because no one can sustain that kind of life forever.

Yesterday, she posted on Facebook that she was giving away crafting stuff and to just come by and pick it up. I figured she had culled out some of the other things that she no longer wanted. No. She was giving away EVERYTHING! Please were hauling away truckloads of years worth of SU and other brands of papers, inks, marker, punches, die cuts - you name it. Even the stash of cards she had made.

I took a few things but felt terrible. She was so sad. She said she just wanted all of it gone. Having gone through a similar experience, I knew what she was feeling. (I sent her a gift card for a place the whole family could use.)

This is what I was thinking. If you would like to send her an encouragement card, please pm me. Not knowing how she would feel about giving out her address, I'll send you mine, and put together a package for her (she lives close to me). Please don't say anything about getting back into crafting. Rather, please send encouragement that things will get better and that she has people who support her and her decision. Ironically, her name is Angel.

Sorry for the long post, but I this is a wonderful gal who puts others' happiness above her own. Thanks for listening.

Which of us has not thought of getting rid of it all? I know I have

Maybe your friend did have a craft meltdown or maybe she decided it was taking too much time and space in her life and home .

Joan B did it when she and her husband decided to buy a new condo and reduce things to just what they needed . IF I recall she kept her Silhouette and two copy boxes of craft supples . She gave away all the other things and she had an entire craft room filled with craft stuff . They also gave away all their books and bought a Kindle. and pared everything else down to just what they needed. Numerous RubberMaid totes of Christmas decorations were given away along with lots of kitchen stuff .

Beate who was very involved in Splitcoast for 10 years and made most of the tutorial videos here gave it all up about a year ago . She sold what she could but she said it was time to move on to other interests .

There was a woman named Rose ( I forgot her last name) who also dumped everything .

It happens more often then you realize. People get fed up with the mess, the time to try to keep things organized, the cost of the supplies and the time involved making cards or scrapbooks

I am teetering on dumping most of it too

Your friend may have a few weeks of shock that all the stuff is gone and then she will go on to build a less stressful life .
Or maybe she will feel very relieved that it is gone and not staring her in the face .

I wish her the best !
Barbara

Any chance of taking it all and doing a 50/50 craft yard sale? Or even a name your price yard sale? Even if she doesn't want for the money it could raise funds for a school or charity.

I realize she doesn't want to take on another responsibility so it would be up to you and whether you could or you knew someone that could.

I just want to say that she is so blessed to have you for her friend. You support and love her no matter what and that is a priceless gift. :)

Imagine the mixed emotions she is feeling. Probably grieving for all the "gone" stuff but feeling liberated at the same time. Probably feeling lost about what to do next but she may be feeling good about the possibilities ahead. I hope she learned the old saying that will always apply about all things in moderation. Crafting and its stuff are great, too much is not. Keep supporting your friend and ask her how she is feeling.
Mary Beth

I applaud your friend in her efforts to make her life better by letting go and purging. I think you are a wonderful friend for wanting to help her feel good about herself and her decision. I do have a concern though.

Getting people to send handmade cards of encouragement could have an different effect than you expect, she may want to keep and hoard all those cards which is counter productive. Also as a card maker she will probably examine how they were all made, envisioning what she would have done to make the same card. This could lead her to second guess all the crafting stuff she has gotten rid of so far and cause her to not want to get or rid of the rest of it. She could end up either frozen in doubt and not finish purging or worse go on a buying spree to replace things.

Stacy, you make a good point. I think she's off in a new direction now - quilting. I see the handwriting on the wall - stacks and stacks of quilt fabric. Once an addict, always an addict :)

At least she has found a creative outlet, maybe she is not as lost as feared and hopefully you and other friends can help her remember not to go overboard this time. Just keep reminding her how overwhelmed she was before when she had too much card making stuff.

besides she may not love quilting near as much come summer... nothing like a lap full of fabric and batting when it's a 100+ outside...

Having worked with hoarders as a professional organizer, I know the pain she is going through relinquishing ALL she has. The key to overcoming this problem behavior is learning to set boundaries...this applies to all facets of life, including card making. Since her hobby is just that - a hobby - and not her only income producing activity, she should be able to (with some help) decide which of her card supplies/tools/equipment are Friends, Acquaintances, and Strangers. If it is a friend, she'll keep it. An acquaintance can be given or sold to another who has better use of it while the stranger is a give away or toss. It is easiest to start with the "strangers" first as there is less emotional attachment. I wouldn't want to see her give up something that once brought her pleasure. Moving on to quilting is like a newly reformed smoker moving on to eating excessively to replace the need for something in their mouth. There are professional organizers who understand the organic nature of the problem and can help. Check the organization NAPO (National Association for Professional Organizers) for a resource of help near her. [the post would not allow the link but it ends with .net]

Stampndenton, I am so fascinated with your work and your insight! Love the relational concept with items - that is very helpful. Thank you for sharing!

You are a very good friend. I know that this has been heart breaking for her. It was a major step for her to give it away. God bless her. I do hope vultures didn't over take it all and people who could use the supplies actually were able to get their hands on some stuff.

I feel bad for her but happy that she has such a good caring friend as you. She's on her way to healing. Craft hoarding is one thing, but over all hoarding is a real issue for her obviously. She's going to keep going and growing out of this you'll see, especially with a friend like you helping her. (((Hugs))) to her.

good for her!!!

balance is hard to achieve.