How to best get rid of craft supplies?

[egoldber]

Over the years I have had many crafty hobbies.

I now have a large collection of yarn, sewing patterns, fabric and books of all sorts. I don't want to get rid of it all, but I do want to significantly purge.

I could probably sell the patterns, but so not worth my time. Any thoughts on how to best get rid of this stuff?

[Puddy73]

Our local senior center appreciates donations of craft items, especially knitting and crocheting supplies.

[KrisM]

I've donated things like yarn, ribbon, paper, etc to DD's preschool. I sent a huge box of patterns to my MIL who shared them with her friends in the senior housing she lives in.

[rin]

If you have a local freecycle (yahoo group) you could post them there, or else in the "free" section of craigslist, and then whoever you decided to give them to could come pick them up.

[AngelaS]

Fabric?? :)

[bandgsmama]

Over the years I have had many crafty hobbies.

I now have a large collection of yarn, sewing patterns, fabric and books of all sorts. I don't want to get rid of it all, but I do want to significantly purge.

I could probably sell the patterns, but so not worth my time. Any thoughts on how to best get rid of this stuff?


i bet some mommas on here would love to buy fabric from ya if you put it on the yahoo buy/sell group!!

[vludmilla]

Are you looking to sell things or just get rid of them to someone who will use them?
HS art teachers sometimes have creative crafts classes that could use the materials. I'm also sure that someone on freecycle would be interested. Donate to goodwill?

[egoldber]

Will Goodwill take stuff like that?

Honestly, if I tell myself I will sell it, it will just continue to sit in my basement. That just won't happen.

[vludmilla]

Will Goodwill take stuff like that?



Good question. Seems like to be sure you need to call the store. But it does seem like your items could be resold by them.

From wikipedia...
Goodwill has various policies on donations, including items that they can and cannot accept. It is a good idea to call a particular store before donating if you have questions. Broadly speaking, Goodwill will accept items that they can re-sell, either in the retail stores or as bulk lots.
Goodwill generally will not accept donations of auto parts, furniture showing signs of damage, large appliances such as stoves, refrigerators, washers/dryers, or exercise equipment. Most stores also cannot accept hazardous materials like paint, medications, or building materials such as doors, wood, nails, etc. For liability reasons, Goodwill generally will not accept baby cribs or car seats. Some branches do not accept computers, which may contain sensitive data,[7] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodwill_Industries#cite_note-6) and also have a high incidence of non-usability, which results in expensive disposal costs.[8] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodwill_Industries#cite_note-7) There are, however, some branches that will accept computers and TV's and recycle them if they aren't sellable, including ones that do not turn on. Sanitary regulations prohibit Goodwill from accepting mattress donations, and although some Goodwills do sell brand new mattresses most Goodwills can not. Recently, due to safety concerns (in particular, concerns over lead content in painted products), some Goodwill stores will not accept some toys, particularly those made in China.[9] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodwill_Industries#cite_note-8)
Goodwill will generally always accept donations of clothing, shoes, books, accessories (handbags, belts), dishes, pieces of furniture in good condition, household decorations, and consumer electronics (ex. alarm clocks, blenders, etc.). Even if they are deemed unfit to be sold in Goodwill's retail stores, these items can be sold as bulk lots, and thus can still generate income.

[Momof3Labs]

The fabric and yarn could go to Project Linus:

www.projectlinus.org (http://www.projectlinus.org)

Or Newborns in Need

www.newbornsinneed.org (http://www.newbornsinneed.org)

Or a local animal shelter may have people who make blankets/mats for the dogs and cats, and could use the yarn.

[bandgsmama]

our goodwill has a craft section, so i would think yes, they should take it.

[Twoboos]

I would say art room at school, and the senior center. We have a book donation place around here called 1800Got-Books, not sure if there's something similar near you.. They have bins around or they I'll come to your house. Or you could donate them to the library.

I hear ya on the selling = stuff sitting around.

Eta: there is a section in the March 2011 Oprah mag that details where to donate stuff. It might be online?

[karstmama]

local developmental center? local center for the blind? senior center? quilt guild? preschool? kindergarten? goodwill? art school? local stitch & bitch? we have a craft clearinghouse that gives stuff to preschools, but i don't know if that's just here.

[egoldber]

Just to clarify, this is not high quality yarn that I am planning to give away. ;) Mainly old skeins of acrylic from when I taught myself to knit when I was in grad school. Maybe preschool would take this.

I also was really into cross stitch for awhile and have hundreds of skeins of DMC and pattern book that it is unlikely I will ever use again.

I have unused sewing patterns that I have bought over the years at the 99cent pattern sales that I will never use. I don't think preschools would use these or even senior centers. But this is the one thing I have that is possibly worth selling.

I'm not plugged into the crafty set here. And the crafts here tend to be knitting, beading and scrapbook type stuff, not sewing or needlecrafts.

[jgenie]

Most of the big churches around here have annual rummage sales. We have a church close by that takes stuff year round. I just drive up to the church hall and unload boxes as I fill them. They take almost everything and then sort and sell it at the big sale. Maybe you can find something like that so you can drop it all off in one trip. GL

[bubbaray]

What about giving the stuff to your DDs daycare programs? I know ours is always happy to get craft consumables.

[american_mama]

My neighbor is a big sewer and is active in a local sewing guild and quilt guild, so similar groups would probably take the patterns. You could also try the international/refugee option. I know a lot of refugee women sew either for their family or for a job, so you could contact ESL programs/refugee centers to see if anyone would want the patterns.

Also, my neighbor has donated sewing stuff to a group bringing supplies to Haiti, I think, and given them to a friend who does research in Cuba and says sewing is popular, but those options are harder to find out about.

[egoldber]

Good idea about asking daycare about the yarn. I have given them lots of other things so they may take that.

They may want the enbroidery floss too. Althought that is small.

The biggest thing for me to get rid of is half finished projects I started and never finished. :o Horrible. A waste of time and money, but better to just get rid of it than let it continue to clutter up my basement. Sigh.