In Defense of Stash

I’m in a study for new contact lenses. I won’t get into the gritty of it, but these new contacts, at least at this stage, are a bit uncomfortable.

With tired eyes, my go-to is heat. I’ll do the trick where you rub your hands together and put your palms over your eyes, but I needed a little more. I was dreading going out in this awful weather the mid-United States is experiencing to get a hot/cold eye compress, but a search through the Target app showed me no stores with any in stock. “F#$% it,” I said. “I’ll make my own.”

I found this eye pillow pattern online and dug through my scrap bag for some flannel. Naturally, I had rice in my pantry, so everything I needed was already here. All it took was a quick cut, sewing around the border of the flannel pieces, filling it with rice, and seaming over that opening (I sewed the other side as well, to make it even. That may have been silly since I use crazy scraps, but I did it).

The whole process took 15 minutes. I saved money and waste by not buying out. I saved money, time, and stress by not driving out in the arctic conditions. This would not have been possible if I hadn’t kept a stash of fabric around.

Feel free to use this anecdote (or the one about masks in the spring lockdown) whenever anyone questions your own stash!