It's about time I joined this thread, not that I've been lurking, it's just a thread I notice in a guilty fashion as I trawl thru the 'Cat.

I recently replaced my decrepit old shopping trolley with this top-of-the-line trolley which is perfect for taking stuff to charity shops.

I live in a large 4-room apartment but have lots of past & present hobbies & interests & now have less of the past stuff, but there is lots more to go. I got onto a roll after hesitantly removing a few things, then off I went. Some of the stuff which lives on the floor (starts as neat mountain ranges, ends up as lava flows ...) has been put into empty shelves, but ...

When I stopped dressing dolls in period costume in 1988, I kept a trunk full of fabrics (vintage fabrics, small lengths of expensive silks, satins, velvets etc + lots of cheap dress lining fabrics) & after 2 trolley loads almost all of the fabrics are gone. I have kept a few pieces in a large plastic zip-lock bag. One load of usable lengths & other needlework stuff went to a fabulous charity shop formerly called The Needlework Cave (& I only bought back a couple of vintage embroidered items!) I'm heading back with my lace & embroidery books soon (several trolley loads there) & will take with me an unfinished vintage embroidery to buy the threads I need to complete it. The shop is really a treasure chest! 2 large plastic bags of linings & short lengths went to Reverse Garbage -The experts in reuse home of several previous loads of stuff, including storage boxes. Reverse Garbage is haunted by teachers & artists & parents looking for project material.

When I stopped making bobbin lace in the late 90s I gave away most of the threads & my inexpensive utilitarian bobbins, but kept all my handmade wooden bobbins, my books, a huge box of patterns (why??) & some of the threads.

One day the handmade bobbins will be a display on the wall - one day I will have more wall space instead of wall-to-wall cupboards & bookcases with lots of stuff on top!

After sorting my thread collection, & taking most of them to the Needlework Cave, four of my eight 2-pound coffee jars have gone to another charity shop, along with a set of four 1970s nesting kitchen canisters like these. I'm keeping a set of seven Depression pressed glass jars with Bakelite lids so all I have left is 1 tin + 4 jars of thread. I don't count the 3 large boxes of knitting yarns, cos they are a different matter & in current use!

To be continued

sandra