Destashing, Yarn Dieting, And Other Myths

I keep seeing all these articles about destashing and only not buying new yarn until you've used X amount of yarn from your stash and getting rid of all the yarn you haven't used in a year. I've got to say, these things are like applied physics to me--I understand the individual words that are being used and I recognize the sentence structure. However, I struggle with the meaning.

Now, this may be an unpopular view, but I like my stash. All of it. I like the cheap stuff and the expensive stuff. I like the stuff I bought years ago and forgot all about. And, regardless of whether or not I'm going to use my stash any time soon, I don't feel like I need to get rid of any of it just because I have it.

It's not hoarding. I don't have mountainous piles of yarn, blocking us from carrying on with our daily lives. It's not wasteful. If I can't afford to buy yarn, I don't. No child of mine--no one within my direct area of influence--has ever gone without anything so I could buy yarn. It's not overly self-indulgent. Well, okay. Maybe it is that. But I'm perfect in every other way, so that's not really a glaring character defect.

Do I knit with my stash? Yes. Absolutely. It's very gratifying to see a new pattern and think "Oh yay! I've got just the yarn for that!"

Do I sometimes buy yarn without a particular project in mind? Sure. Especially if it's on sale.

Do I have more yarn than I could ever possibly use in my lifetime? Maybe. But I plan to live a long time. So, we'll see.