I’ve been spending a great deal of time and effort on simplifying my surroundings.

I’m fairly certain I’ve blogged about this recently… or at least in the last two years (and with how busy my life has been in the last two years, 23 months ago might seem like recently to me).

Part of this process has been to downsize my collections. This has been extremely easy, for the most part. Cut the shoe collection in half. Donate acrylic yarn I’m even ashamed that I purchased years ago when novelty yarns were a thing (maybe they still are a thing, heck, I don’t know). Sell that 4th set of dishes you just don’t need anymore because really, 4 sets of dishes?!

I haven’t been left regretting any loss. Nothing has been missed. If anything, I feel relief knowing those things are out of my life forever.

I most recently turned my attention to my larger craft supplies. I went through a phase (and what an expensive phase it was) where I couldn’t get enough wool in my life. I have even owned 3 spinning wheels at the same time. Guys, I can’t be trusted when it comes to Craigslist items. I only brought one spinning wheel to Portland, though, I’m not that crazy.

I have a lot of things and not a ton of time to play with them. The one item that I used in this past, fiberista life, that I didn’t use for personal items was a drum carder. The spinning wheel spins yarn I knit with, my loom will eventually weave gorgeous scarves and shawls. However, that carder was only used to make things to sell. I don’t do that anymore. I don’t see myself doing that anymore. I honestly don’t have the time to do that anymore.

It had to go.

And lucky me! The resale value on equipment like that is quite high. I love returns on investments (who wouldn’t). After a couple of weeks posted on various internet forums, the carder sold. Easy, peasy.

What wasn’t easy, though, was packing it up for the last time. Guys, I almost cried. This item has sat unused for close to 2 years, and yet, I hesitated as I carefully wrapped it up for shipping. Each time I added a small bag of colorful fiber perfect for the new owner to play with, I thought back to the exact time I added that bit of fiber to my collection. Memories of fiber festivals filled my thoughts. Photography sessions on my front porch on Conner Street played in my head like a slide show of some of my favorite creations.

I was so sad.

I quickly shoved everything else in the box, wrote a sweet note for the new owner, and taped it up. It’s heading to Brooklyn tomorrow. I can’t cancel the sell.

I mean, I don’t want to. So why has this made me so sad?

Strange things, memories are, strange things.