Walking past a yarn store, fabric store, or craft store without buying anything—is that even possible?

Dear users, dear authors,
can you walk past your favorite yarn, fabric, or craft store without buying anything?

Mod tip: Here you’ll find patterns for working with your favorite yarn, favorite fabrics, and favorite materials.

Well, for me, it’s very, very rare that I walk by and don’t buy anything :-))))

Best regards, Inge

Walking past, sure. But once I’m inside... it’s very hard to walk out without buying something.

If there were a store like that here, I couldn’t even just walk by. I’d definitely pop in every time and always find something.
That probably wouldn’t be such a bad thing, because when I order online, I usually end up picking out much more than I planned so I can get free shipping—or at least make the shipping cost worth it—since you don’t just order a single missing skein.

I’ve actually gotten really good at it by now, and I often leave without buying anything when I just feel like “browsing.” I guess I’ve become really picky, and my storage space is limited…

I’m very good at that, too, since I shop almost exclusively for specific projects. My piles of yarn tend to come from leftover scraps because I “always buy a little more than called for, just to be safe.”

Is that even allowed? Isn’t it against the law not to go into craft stores and not buy anything?

;)

Since I walk past the yarn shop almost every day, that would eventually become financially unfeasible 😂 But I often go in to chat and check out what’s new

YES, I can do it!!! (Sometimes… ;-)) 🙈

Actually I’ve put myself on a yarn and fabric diet, at least for the rest of this year, because my supply closet is bursting at the seams—and I’ve made a very, very firm resolution to empty at least half of it… meaning to use it up! Buuuut I absolutely must not look at what’s new in my favorite yarn shops right now… because, unfortunately, that’s where I tend to give in. The only thing I’m allowing myself right now is neutral colors that I need for mixing and matching!

Did you manage to resist?

In most cases, I can stay strong.
Since I have to drive to a craft store first—and that doesn’t happen very often—it’s not a big deal for me to not buy anything.

If I had a store like that here that I just happened to walk past, I’d probably end up going in all the time—and then I wouldn’t be able to walk out without buying something 🙈

Yes, walking past stores like that is very hard, especially when you already have specific plans swirling around in your head. It doesn’t bother me when I’m in the car. A yarn store is especially hard to resist. With fabric, it’s still manageable.

Dear Ruth, I feel exactly the same way. I just keep wondering how you can protect yourself from this. I already only take a limited amount of cash with me—and I don’t bring my card.