# Sorting The Stash - Where Do I Start?



## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

Prior to finishing work a few years back, I had convinced myself that I wouldn't be able to afford to buy yarn when I retired. As luck would have it, the yarn sales were plentiful, and the prices were great! Unfortunately, at the time I had a craze on a particular baby blanket, that required a total of nine / fifty gram balls of yarn. The trouble was I couldn't seem to make up my mind on colour, so I bought enough to make blankets in six different colours, and from there the obsession began to grow! When the shops opened, between lock downs I bought even more! I then needed to watch for sales on plastic bins to put all the bargain yarn into. You can see where this is going!!!

Anyway, I now have at least five large plastic bins full of yarn that I seriously need to get some law and order into. I am not exaggerating when I say I have everything, 3 ply, 4 ply, 8 ply, chunky, sparkly, synthetic, hairy, wool and also cotton in a mixture of thicknesses.

How would you go about sorting this? I would really appreciate your comments.


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## MMWRay (Dec 2, 2016)

I wish mine were separated by weight first, ie dk, worsted, bulky, etc. That is the first thing you must consider when you choose a pattern. Then by fiber content if possible. I have twice as many bins as you maybe. Mine is thrift store and mill end bags mostly so lots of one and two skeins of matching colors.


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

MMWRay said:


> Mine is thrift store and mill end bags mostly so lots of one and two skeins of matching colors.


Thanks for making me feel less ashamed of my collection!! Yes, I also have a selection of thrift store yarn, and also lots of part balls of various yarn.


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## MMWRay (Dec 2, 2016)

I draw the limit at parts of skeins unless I have a whole skein to match. For charity hats I do save some worsted weight yarn for colorwork. Most part skeins I donate.


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## Naughty Knitter (Apr 1, 2011)

I sort by yarn weight. I also do some by projects, yarn and pattern in bag. And some by work in progress( like needing to be blocked and seamed)


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## MarilynKnits (Aug 30, 2011)

StitchNStash said:


> Prior to finishing work a few years back, I had convinced myself that I wouldn't be able to afford to buy yarn when I retired. As luck would have it, the yarn sales were plentiful, and the prices were great! Unfortunately, at the time I had a craze on a particular baby blanket, that required a total of nine / fifty gram balls of yarn. The trouble was I couldn't seem to make up my mind on colour, so I bought enough to make blankets in six different colours, and from there the obsession began to grow! When the shops opened between lock downs I bought even more! I then needed to watch for sales on plastic bins to put all the bargain yarn into. You can see where this is going!!!
> 
> Anyway, I now have at least five large plastic bins full of yarn that I seriously need to get some law and order into. I am not exaggerating when I say I have everything, 3 ply, 4 ply, 8 ply, chunky, sparkly, synthetic, hairy, wool and also cotton in a mixture of thicknesses.
> 
> How would you go about sorting this? I would really appreciate your comments.


I sort my worsted by color then by fiber content. I keep cotton together. I keep sock yarn together. If I have a project in mind it goes into a large zip bag with the pattern then into a plastic tub. I stay with clear plastic tubs in a closet in the back room.

Having a stash rules! Enjoy looking through it and finding "Easter eggs" you had forgotten.


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## ulrika (Jul 2, 2011)

I have a room designated for my stash. I have 4 storage cabinets with 6 open shelves that I put boxes filled with yarn in. Plus I each of the cabinets have 2 boxes on top filled with yarn. I sort the boxes by colour of yarn and sometimes type of yarn depending on space. I also have my sewing machine in my craft room and a desk where I can sit to line up projects that I want to make. And oh I forgot I have an open book shelf that includes all my patterns neatly organized plus jars of buttons.


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## ggmomliz (Jan 31, 2016)

I have quite a bit more than you do and it stays pretty well sorted at all times. The majority of it is in clear plastic bins, mostly the 16-20 gallon size. I have 2 bins of what I refer to as novelty yarns, eyelash, fun fur, sparkly, etc. All my boucle is together, it's mostly Homespun but there are others. I'm down to 3 bins of Lion Brand Wool Ease, one worsted, one sport weight, one mixed. All my baby yarn is together, sorted by brand and color, as is my sport and dk. All except the cotton. I have one bin just for #10 and #5 crochet cotton, the rest is in another. Sock yarn is sorted by brand and color, as is my 4 bins of lace weight. Worsted is sorted the same way.
Leftovers are split, the Wool Ease, sock, lace and Big Twist are all with the full skeins but the general acrylic and cotton orts are in smaller sweater bins sorted by weight. I make a lot of toys and doll clothes so frequently I need pieces as small as 12".
If knit/crochet was my only vice I would be in great shape. Unfortunately, I also do just about every other craft including sewing, jewelry, painting (numerous types): and many others.


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## Lilyan (Dec 16, 2015)

StitchNStash said:


> Prior to finishing work a few years back, I had convinced myself that I wouldn't be able to afford to buy yarn when I retired. As luck would have it, the yarn sales were plentiful, and the prices were great! Unfortunately, at the time I had a craze on a particular baby blanket, that required a total of nine / fifty gram balls of yarn. The trouble was I couldn't seem to make up my mind on colour, so I bought enough to make blankets in six different colours, and from there the obsession began to grow! When the shops opened between lock downs I bought even more! I then needed to watch for sales on plastic bins to put all the bargain yarn into. You can see where this is going!!!
> 
> Anyway, I now have at least five large plastic bins full of yarn that I seriously need to get some law and order into. I am not exaggerating when I say I have everything, 3 ply, 4 ply, 8 ply, chunky, sparkly, synthetic, hairy, wool and also cotton in a mixture of thicknesses.
> 
> How would you go about sorting this? I would really appreciate your comments.


I did the same thing prior to retirement. Purchased yarn because I was convinced that I would not be able to afford yarn. Ha, ha, ha! I was so very foolish.
So during the pandemic, I organized my substantial stash. I found it best to do a little each day so it would not become overbearing. My yarn is now sorted by weight, which for me works best. And, I packaged yarn with its intended pattern in plastic or organdy bags.
Yarns that were purchased without an intended purpose are sorted by weight in plastic bins. Yarn that I no longer loved was donated to several different charities.
It is now very enjoyable to know what I have, and my pre-made up kits make my life so easy.


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## chooksnpinkroses (Aug 23, 2012)

I keep my yarn organised by weight first, then fibre. I have 2 X 60litre bins of sock yarn. 2 or 3 bins of 5ply/sport weight. 3 or more bins of 8,ply/DK. 2 bins of cotton in 4ply, +8ply. I also have a small amount 2ply/lace weight and 10ply/Aran weight. These bins fit under my bed, so 6 or 7 are nicely out of the way. 😊
I've been going through it bit by bit and donating any I know I'll never get around to using.


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## yooperdooper (Jan 3, 2013)

I keep any plastic zippered bags that sheet sets come in and put balls of worsted weight yarn in them of different colors. I also use big plastic jars that pretzels or cheese balls come in. I like to keep them in the living area so I can use them for a hat cuff or part of a slipper. I sort by keeping the weight and type of yarn together. These are partial skeins. I keep my red heart super saver in plastic tubs in closet and my sock yarn separate in a small chest. I always have some handy to take to a Dr visit usually in a knitting bag.


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## chickkie (Oct 26, 2011)

ulrika said:


> I have a room designated for my stash. I have 4 storage cabinets with 6 open shelves that I put boxes filled with yarn in. Plus I each of the cabinets have 2 boxes on top filled with yarn. I sort the boxes by colour of yarn and sometimes type of yarn depending on space. I also have my sewing machine in my craft room and a desk where I can sit to line up projects that I want to make. And oh I forgot I have an open book shelf that includes all my patterns neatly organized plus jars of buttons.


I envy your buttons. I thought I packed my button box when we moved last year but I have not been able to find it so it must have been missed and put in the thrift store donations. Now trying to find buttons is hard, and also expensive.


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## momma p (May 9, 2011)

I started to count the number of large, see-through bins containing my stash - so I could add something constructive to this discussion. Now I feel like a psychotic hoarder. However, I think I may have a few "pointers" to offer. The "see-through" description is helpful if you are planning future acquisitions of bins. I can remove a bin from its shelf and check for colors without opening and digging through the container. I have also saved many a clear plastic bag so I can keep multiple skeins of the same yarn together...in the bins.

Once upon a time I purchased stick-on labels for my bins (waste of money! they 'un-stick' after a while). I now use pieces of duct tape to identify the contents. (Duct tape and permanent markers are my good friends!). Each bin is labeled (front, sides, top, etc - depending on how the bins are stored - to be read as they sit, without having to pull each out. The easiest ones to access are on industrial shelves, rather that stacked upon each other. It depends upon what you have the room for.

Decide on your criteria. This will depend on the nature of your acquisitions. It can start with something as simple as "hand wash" vs "Machine wash"... or natural vs man-made fibers. I have bins labeled "Merino and blends", "wool and blends", "alpaca and blends", "silk and blends", etc. Each bin contains differing weights, but all require the same care (and can be held together if I want to do that).

I have a *lot* of man-made fibers! These are the ones that are sorted by weight...lace, fingering, DK/sport, light worsted, worsted, bulky (or 1,2,3,4,5,6,etc). Cotton yarns are also sorted by weights, and kept together.

Now that you are retired, you may also need a few *extra *bins for those projects that you loved doing...but haven't got a home... yet. I have bins (on the very tippy-top shelves) labeled "shawls", "baby blankets", "scarves", "hats"...and, the ever pertinent designation of "W.I.P.'s" (needs ends tucked in...got bored with it...wrong size...has to be blocked...et al.).

Do what works for you. If you live with someone who denigrates your acquisitions...dump them (the "nay-sayer"...not the yarn!). My DH has figured out that I can't leap up to strangle him if I have a lap full of a project! 

Take your time. Enjoy the process. You may re-discover 'lost' treasures!


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## mathrox (Jun 17, 2019)

*I just sorted through my stash, again. And I gave an honest look at the yarn to get rid of what I will never use. So I have a bag of yarn to bring to people at my three knitting groups.
Sounds great, right?
So why do I have less room to store the yarn I kept? I actually had to press an empty plastic tub into service to store the (suddenly) extra!
I know that hangers multiply in the closets in the dark but YARN? *


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## mathrox (Jun 17, 2019)

*I store my yarn in stacked crates that interlock (my daughter used them as a bookcase in college). Most of my yarns are simply slid in but I also save those vinyl, zippered bags you get when you purchase sheets, pillowcases, quilts … 
I have stored a lot of my yarn in those with notes visible … Cotton/100%, Cotton 50/50, 45/55, etc. keeps them clean from dust but I can see through them and bring an entire group down at once from a shelf to look through.
The open crates are stacked under the closet rod and are within easy reach.

My stash is truly STABLE, SABLE, SELE (whichever acronym you prefer).

I am fortunate that I have a guest room/craft room/grandkids’ play room with a closet with no clothes. Just yarn and toys.
the shelves tucked into the far left side (last picture) is where I store my ‘tools’ for knitting and sewing.
The big tub on the floor was empty before I organized. sigh






















*


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## adamsdh (Jul 10, 2015)

I have my yarn organized by fiber type, weight and brand. I use the Stash feature in Ravelry to catalog my yarn. I can assign the yarn to a particular container or location. It’s a lot of work at the beginning, but it’s so handy to be able to browse all my yarn without having to physically dig through it. I can go straight to the correct box to find a particular skein. If you use Ravelry to track your projects, you can even deduct the amount of yarn used from your stash and you will know how much you have left for future projects.


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## headlemk (Feb 16, 2011)

Weight, fiber, color ...


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## BethKlinger (Oct 2, 2018)

StitchNStash said:


> Prior to finishing work a few years back, I had convinced myself that I wouldn't be able to afford to buy yarn when I retired. As luck would have it, the yarn sales were plentiful, and the prices were great! Unfortunately, at the time I had a craze on a particular baby blanket, that required a total of nine / fifty gram balls of yarn. The trouble was I couldn't seem to make up my mind on colour, so I bought enough to make blankets in six different colours, and from there the obsession began to grow! When the shops opened between lock downs I bought even more! I then needed to watch for sales on plastic bins to put all the bargain yarn into. You can see where this is going!!!
> 
> Anyway, I now have at least five large plastic bins full of yarn that I seriously need to get some law and order into. I am not exaggerating when I say I have everything, 3 ply, 4 ply, 8 ply, chunky, sparkly, synthetic, hairy, wool and also cotton in a mixture of thicknesses.
> 
> How would you go about sorting this? I would really appreciate your comments.


YOU are a very organized person! My stash (rarely a full skein) is tossed into a large container and used when the whim hits me LOL like when I feel stripes are good. I seldom buy different weights or ply so that really is not an issue for me ... YET!


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## Montana Gramma (Dec 19, 2012)

I sort by weight, and or project, my afghan color wishes are all together. Don't have to open so many bags then. I also use the vacuum bags with zeal. Before I close them I put a bay leaf and a surfactant packet in all, just in case of a leak to air. If air can get in so can critters or moisture. So far have been lucky. I also make up take a long kits for the time I am not the driver or sitting forever somewhere, these I put in see through zipper or large ziplock bags. When we move the surplus not being worked on will be in a storage area of the hangar so the shrink bags are great space savers. I am on a yarn and fabric diet now, I was feeling like a hoarder. Someone else can benefit from the super sales or thrift store finds. Oh a tip I use, all thrift store finds go into the freezer for a couple months , just in case something is buried in a skein. Orphans they remain before I feel it is safe to add to the collection. I also wind those finds , just in case there might be a surprise. So far, so good.


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## mathrox (Jun 17, 2019)

yooperdooper said:


> I keep any plastic zippered bags that sheet sets come in and put balls of worsted weight yarn in them of different colors. I also use big plastic jars that pretzels or cheese balls come in. I like to keep them in the living area so I can use them for a hat cuff or part of a slipper. I sort by keeping the weight and type of yarn together. These are partial skeins. I keep my red heart super saver in plastic tubs in closet and my sock yarn separate in a small chest. I always have some handy to take to a Dr visit usually in a knitting bag.


*I also save plastic pretzel containers and I keep my circulars in labeled sandwich bags that I then store in plastic fruit trays that come with attached, hinged lids.
My local store has octagonal ones. Easy to thoroughly clean out from fruit.*


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## Pocahontas (Apr 15, 2011)

mathrox said:


> *I store my yarn in stacked crates that interlock (my daughter used them as a bookcase in college). Most of my yarns are simply slid in.But I also save those vinyl, zippered bags you get when you purchase sheets, pillowcases, quilts …
> I have stored a lot of my yarn in those with notes visible … Cotton/100%, Cotten 50/50, 45/55, etc. keeps them clean from dust but I can see through them and bring an entire group down at once from a shelf to look through.
> The open crates are stacked under the closet rod and are within easy reach.
> 
> ...


A picture is worth a thousand words! Thank you for sharing yours.


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## riversong200 (Apr 20, 2014)

At the beginning of the pandemic I bought some grid cubes and sorted through all my yarn by weight. I packed everything in zip lock bags and cataloged it in a notebook. I still have too much acrylic so when my knitting granddaughter came for a visit I let her take what she wanted. The neighbors had a yard sale a month ago so again I went through the yarn and put quite a lot of what I won't use in the sale. I made about $130 so of course I went right out and bought more yarn - lovely wools this time though.


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## jeanpf (Apr 26, 2014)

StitchNStash said:


> Prior to finishing work a few years back, I had convinced myself that I wouldn't be able to afford to buy yarn when I retired. As luck would have it, the yarn sales were plentiful, and the prices were great! Unfortunately, at the time I had a craze on a particular baby blanket, that required a total of nine / fifty gram balls of yarn. The trouble was I couldn't seem to make up my mind on colour, so I bought enough to make blankets in six different colours, and from there the obsession began to grow! When the shops opened between lock downs I bought even more! I then needed to watch for sales on plastic bins to put all the bargain yarn into. You can see where this is going!!!
> 
> Anyway, I now have at least five large plastic bins full of yarn that I seriously need to get some law and order into. I am not exaggerating when I say I have everything, 3 ply, 4 ply, 8 ply, chunky, sparkly, synthetic, hairy, wool and also cotton in a mixture of thicknesses.
> 
> How would you go about sorting this? I would really appreciate your comments.


I sorted mine into Rubbermaid bins, generally by weight. I have a lot of #4 worsted, so I have 2 of those, which I sorted by colour. I also have one bin with just cotton.


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## Celt Knitter (Jul 13, 2011)

StitchNStash said:


> Prior to finishing work a few years back, I had convinced myself that I wouldn't be able to afford to buy yarn when I retired. As luck would have it, the yarn sales were plentiful, and the prices were great! Unfortunately, at the time I had a craze on a particular baby blanket, that required a total of nine / fifty gram balls of yarn. The trouble was I couldn't seem to make up my mind on colour, so I bought enough to make blankets in six different colours, and from there the obsession began to grow! When the shops opened between lock downs I bought even more! I then needed to watch for sales on plastic bins to put all the bargain yarn into. You can see where this is going!!!
> 
> Anyway, I now have at least five large plastic bins full of yarn that I seriously need to get some law and order into. I am not exaggerating when I say I have everything, 3 ply, 4 ply, 8 ply, chunky, sparkly, synthetic, hairy, wool and also cotton in a mixture of thicknesses.
> 
> How would you go about sorting this? I would really appreciate your comments.


You have a long way to go before you reach my mess. Since I was living between the US and the UK, I have accumulated rooms full, especially since I knit a lot for charity....and then the groups I belong to leave bags full for me because they know I'll knit the stuff out of guilt! I thought knitting machines would help, but then I kept collecting them. I've bought a lot of vacuum bags, and several of them are the big cube ones that stack well and you can see what is in them. I tend to sort by yarn type and weight, but I end up being irritated because because different yarn manufacturers have different weight specifications. I thought getting knitting machines would help, but then I began to collect them!

One really big mistake I have made is not knitting good yarn first!

The journey of a thousand miles begins with just one step......you will feel better when you make that first step....good luck


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## 5th Angel (Jul 16, 2012)

Okay, I will admit that I have over 30 tubs of yarn. 80% of it is fingering weight which I don't particularly like to knit with now. At the time of my purchase of all this fingering yarn, I liked the patterns introduced, so therefore, the buying sprees. It took me a long time to enter every single skein in my Ravelry account (stash), but it's all there. In my Ravelry stash information, I include a bin number, for easier yarn search location. My bins are mixed brands and yarn weights and now I really don't like this system when trying to find a particular skein of yarn. I would rather have it tub sorted by: (1) large groups of the same yarn brands and (2) yarn weights. Since a lot of my yarns are in blue tones, sorting my yarn by color wasn't that important to me. 
StitchNStash, since you still have a yarn stash that you can get under control, figure out the system that works best for you at this time. But I bet in time, like me, you will find your stashing system doesn't always work out well for you in the future. 
Happy knitting and yarn stashing!


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## KnitWit 54 (Oct 28, 2012)

Take your bin stash and multiply by at least 20 and you might come close to my stash! There….does that make you feel a bit better?! I do have mine sorted by weight. That was the most important to me. I have tried to keep brands together as well, just because gauge is more likely to be the same. I also have separated by content. 100% cotton fills up 5 large bins all by itself! 
I admit to being a bit of a nerd. Ex librarian and ex finance clerk . I have most of my yarn inventoried on my computer. Part of this is because I also used to work in an LYS!
The hardest part of all this, is that keeping track of my stash takes time away from knitting. I do think that everyone needs to organize in a way that works for them. Honestly, it’s part of the journey that is being a knitter.
Relax, enjoy and be happy!


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## KateLyn11 (Jul 19, 2014)

How does your brain work? How do you start projects? To me that determines how you organize your stash. I usually start with color. Mostly, I use acrylic yarn for charity knitting and that I organize by color. That is the largest percentage of my stash. The rest of my stash is relatively small amounts of different “types” of yarn. So my sock yarn is all together and I can see at a glance what I have. My “thin” yarn (2s and 3s) is together, my fun fur is together. How I organized is based on both the amount of each type of yarn I have and after that color. If you have a lot of different weight yarns and yarn weight is where you start your process, you might want to organize your stash differently.


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## Curmudgeon (Dec 4, 2017)

I sort by fiber first, then by weight, then color. That way, when I need a an extra strand to bulk up a sport wgt to use with a worsted wgt, it's easy to mix & match. 
My yarn is 95% from thrift stores, so ... a lot of mix-match scrap blankets.


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## MASHEPP (Mar 13, 2011)

I have 13 plastic totes full. Since I knit a lot of sweaters, the sweater quantities are sorted by color, a bin for each color. Smaller quantities are sorted by weight for shawls, hats, mitts, socks, etc. All my stash is wool or other natural fibers, much of it hand dyed, so each tote has lavender sachets to prevent infestation of critters. It works for me so when I want to start a new project I can easily see which bin to reach for.


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

Naughty Knitter said:


> I also do some by projects, yarn and pattern in bag.


I rather like that idea, no chance of forgetting what project you had in mind!!


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

MarilynKnits said:


> I sort my worsted by color then by fiber content. I keep cotton together. I keep sock yarn together. If I have a project in mind it goes into a large zip bag with the pattern then into a plastic tub. I stay with clear plastic tubs in a closet in the back room.
> 
> Having a stash rules! Enjoy looking through it and finding "Easter eggs" you had forgotten.


You are very well organised! I'm part way there with the clear plastic bins. I also enjoy having a selection to choose from!


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

ulrika said:


> I have a room designated for my stash. I have 4 storage cabinets with 6 open shelves that I put boxes filled with yarn in. Plus I each of the cabinets have 2 boxes on top filled with yarn. I sort the boxes by colour of yarn and sometimes type of yarn depending on space. I also have my sewing machine in my craft room and a desk where I can sit to line up projects that I want to make. And oh I forgot I have an open book shelf that includes all my patterns neatly organized plus jars of buttons.


Your room sounds similar to mine, though yours sounds far more organised!! At least I have the bookcase part fairly well sorted. Grading by colour is also another good option. Thanks for posting!


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## chickkie (Oct 26, 2011)

clear bins are fine as long as they are not in a bright sunny area, or lots of strong light as the yarn may fade where the light hits it (the end or sides of the tote). I know it looks pretty and it seems everyone wants it out where they can see it, but it may fade......


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

ggmomliz said:


> I have quite a bit more than you do and it stays pretty well sorted at all times. The majority of it is in clear plastic bins, mostly the 16-20 gallon size. I have 2 bins of what I refer to as novelty yarns, eyelash, fun fur, sparkly, etc.


You are so well organised, and it must be so gratifying when you need to find something in a hurry! I think the older you get the more interests you acquire. After sorting the yarn, I will be tackling the sewing stuff next!


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

Lilyan said:


> I did the same thing prior to retirement. Purchased yarn because I was convinced that I would not be able to afford yarn. Ha, ha, ha! I was so very foolish.
> So during the pandemic, I organized my substantial stash.


It is a scary thought not being able to afford yarn!! I commend you for spending your lock down time so wisely! I also like your idea of bagging the stash into pre-made projects with patterns.


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## charliesaunt (Apr 22, 2011)

I have my yarn divided first by weight, then by category of color. I find it is easier to decide what yarns I have for a pattern I may be deciding on making and if I don't have sufficient yarn to make it in a solid color I can see what colors I have that will "go" nicely together before beginning. I would say 75% of my yarns are discontinued colors and so doing it this way keeps me from being disappointed if I begin to run out of yarn, knowing it will be almost impossible to find the same color much less the same dye lot. Hope this helps. I do the same with my knitting needles. I categorize them by size, and length. I have some straight needles that were my mom's and they came in different lengths. I have circular needles in a loose leaf bind in plastic sleeves....again size and length of cable.


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

chooksnpinkroses said:


> I keep my yarn organised by weight first, then fibre. I have 2 X 60litre bins of sock yarn. 2 or 3 bins of 5ply/sport weight. 3 or more bins of 8,ply/DK. 2 bins of cotton in 4ply, +8ply. I also have a small amount 2ply/lace weight and 10ply/Aran weight.


Thanks for making me feel better. If my husband ever decides I have too much yarn, I will definitely be showing him your post, to convince him otherwise! Seriously, I commend you for being so well organised!


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

yooperdooper said:


> I keep any plastic zippered bags that sheet sets come in and put balls of worsted weight yarn in them of different colors. I also use big plastic jars that pretzels or cheese balls come in. I like to keep them in the living area so I can use them for a hat cuff or part of a slipper. I sort by keeping the weight and type of yarn together. These are partial skeins. I keep my red heart super saver in plastic tubs in closet and my sock yarn separate in a small chest. I always have some handy to take to a Dr visit usually in a knitting bag.


Thanks for your post. You are so well organised having everything at your fingertips, and I love your idea of having a 'ready to go' project packed.


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## chooksnpinkroses (Aug 23, 2012)

chickkie said:


> clear bins are fine as long as they are not in a bright sunny area, or lots of strong light as the yarn may fade where the light hits it (the end or sides of the tote). I know it looks pretty and it seems everyone wants it out where they can see it, but it may fade......


Some of my bins are where bright light hits them. I have them covered with heavy cloths to exclude the light. Don't want my lovely yarn colours fading...


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

chickkie said:


> Now trying to find buttons is hard, and also expensive.


Thanks to Aliexpress I have a substantial stash of beautiful buttons, at a very reasonable cost. Have a look at the link below, refine search further by selecting the types of buttons you are interested in. *Should you decide to purchase, be sure to read the feedback first! Happy hunting!!!*





__





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## peppered (May 16, 2014)

I like my yarn organized by color b/c when I make something, I choose color first. From that I decide what kind of yarn I want to use.


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

momma p said:


> Now I feel like a psychotic hoarder.


Thanks for your humorous post, it really made me chuckle! Thanks also for your many great ideas! I dare say I will find some buried treasure in amongst the stash! PS: I hope your DH's luck holds out, silly man, yarn would be the ideal weapon!


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

mathrox said:


> So why do I have less room to store the yarn I kept? I actually had to press an empty plastic tub into service to store the (suddenly) extra!
> I know that hangers multiply in the closets in the dark but YARN?


Thanks for your post. I think it was just the yarn expanding from being so tightly packed together, that's what you tell you husband anyway!!


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

momma p said:


> I started to count the number of large, see-through bins containing my stash - so I could add something constructive to this discussion. Now I feel like a psychotic hoarder.


Apology for double post, my computer froze before I had the chance to finish writing. Many thanks for your comments. Your post made me chuckle! Sorting yarn into machine or hand wash bins is also another great idea! At least I am on the right track with the clear bins, but do think I might need to buy a few more for my other interests.
PS: I do hope your husband's luck doesn't run out!


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

adamsdh said:


> I use the Stash feature in Ravelry to catalog my yarn. I can assign the yarn to a particular container or location. It’s a lot of work at the beginning, but it’s so handy to be able to browse all my yarn without having to physically dig through it.


Thanks for posting about the stash feature on Ravelry. I never knew this even existed, and am thinking I will look at this before proceeding with the sort out.


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

Montana Gramma said:


> I sort by weight, and or project, my afghan color wishes are all together. Don't have to open so many bags then. I also use the vacuum bags with zeal. Before I close them I put a bay leaf and a surfactant packet in all, just in case of a leak to air. If air can get in so can critters or moisture. So far have been lucky. I also make up take a long kits for the time I am not the driver or sitting forever somewhere, these I put in see through zipper or large ziplock bags. When we move the surplus not being worked on will be in a storage area of the hangar so the shrink bags are great space savers. I am on a yarn and fabric diet now, I was feeling like a hoarder. Someone else can benefit from the super sales or thrift store finds. Oh a tip I use, all thrift store finds go into the freezer for a couple months , just in case something is buried in a skein. Orphans they remain before I feel it is safe to add to the collection. I also wind those finds , just in case there might be a surprise. So far, so good.


Thank you so much for all your interesting tips. I hadn't thought about the use of bay leaves and surfactant packets for moth and moisture protection. The tip about freezing thrift yarn, as a precautionary measure, sounds like another good idea too. I am supposing you would just transfer the yarn to a dry bag, prior to storing with the other yarn?


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

riversong200 said:


> I packed everything in zip lock bags and cataloged it in a notebook.


Thanks for your post. Another couple of great tips!!


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

Celt Knitter said:


> You have a long way to go before you reach my mess. Since I was living between the US and the UK, I have accumulated rooms full, especially since I knit a lot for charity....and then the groups I belong to leave bags full for me because they know I'll knit the stuff out of guilt! I thought knitting machines would help, but then I kept collecting them.


Thanks for your humorous post! Fortunately for me I have no desire to own a knitting machine, there is not much room left with three knitting machines!


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## LEE1313 (Jan 25, 2011)

StitchNStash said:


> Prior to finishing work a few years back, I had convinced myself that I wouldn't be able to afford to buy yarn when I retired. As luck would have it, the yarn sales were plentiful, and the prices were great! Unfortunately, at the time I had a craze on a particular baby blanket, that required a total of nine / fifty gram balls of yarn. The trouble was I couldn't seem to make up my mind on colour, so I bought enough to make blankets in six different colours, and from there the obsession began to grow! When the shops opened between lock downs I bought even more! I then needed to watch for sales on plastic bins to put all the bargain yarn into. You can see where this is going!!!
> 
> Anyway, I now have at least five large plastic bins full of yarn that I seriously need to get some law and order into. I am not exaggerating when I say I have everything, 3 ply, 4 ply, 8 ply, chunky, sparkly, synthetic, hairy, wool and also cotton in a mixture of thicknesses.
> 
> How would you go about sorting this? I would really appreciate your comments.


 Welcome to the TOTE CLUB !!
I just recently replaced my old colored totes with clear totes. NOW I can see what is inside.
I have my yarn sorted by weight and fiber. Worsted? acrylic OR worsted/wool. And so on....
And I have my very special yarns in another tote.

The parial skeins and "balls" got into a tote all by themselves. And they become hats/wild afghans, mittens etc. And most get donated to needy or to the library to sell during their fund raisers.
Believe me it is VERY worth it to organize the yarns. {{ keeping it that way~~~ well that wont last lol}}
I also found the missing crochet hooks or knitting needles mixed in with the yarn.

Have fun. Oh yeah have a large stash of chocolates and a nice "drink" nearby. 
You are among friends. MOST of us understand ~~


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

5th Angel said:


> Okay, I will admit that I have over 30 tubs of yarn. 80% of it is fingering weight which I don't particularly like to knit with now. At the time of my purchase of all this fingering yarn, I liked the patterns introduced, so therefore, the buying sprees.


Thanks for your wonderful post! You are not wrong about our tastes changing over time. I think the Ravelry stash system would be a useful way of tracking your stash, and at the same time be useful to anyone looking for a particular yarn. Maybe between us yarn hoarders, we could get a superb yarn swap community going!!


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

KnitWit 54 said:


> Take your bin stash and multiply by at least 20 and you might come close to my stash! There….does that make you feel a bit better?! I do have mine sorted by weight. That was the most important to me. I have tried to keep brands together as well, just because gauge is more likely to be the same. I also have separated by content. 100% cotton fills up 5 large bins all by itself!
> I admit to being a bit of a nerd. Ex librarian and ex finance clerk . I have most of my yarn inventoried on my computer. Part of this is because I also used to work in an LYS!
> The hardest part of all this, is that keeping track of my stash takes time away from knitting. I do think that everyone needs to organize in a way that works for them. Honestly, it’s part of the journey that is being a knitter.
> Relax, enjoy and be happy!


Thanks for your post! The more I read, the better I feel!! I rather like the idea of having a yarn inventory on my computer. Knitting time is as precious as my stash!!!


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

KateLyn11 said:


> How does your brain work? How do you start projects? To me that determines how you organize your stash. I usually start with color. Mostly, I use acrylic yarn for charity knitting and that I organize by color.


Thanks for your post and also your tips for organising the stash!


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

Curmudgeon said:


> I sort by fiber first, then by weight, then color. That way, when I need a an extra strand to bulk up a sport wgt to use with a worsted wgt, it's easy to mix & match.
> My yarn is 95% from thrift stores, so ... a lot of mix-match scrap blankets.


Thank you for taking the time to post. I have been keeping my scraps, as I am rather keen to knit one of these 10 stitch scrap blankets that I saw someone on KP had recently posted.


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

MASHEPP said:


> I have 13 plastic totes full. Since I knit a lot of sweaters, the sweater quantities are sorted by color, a bin for each color. Smaller quantities are sorted by weight for shawls, hats, mitts, socks, etc. All my stash is wool or other natural fibers, much of it hand dyed, so each tote has lavender sachets to prevent infestation of critters. It works for me so when I want to start a new project I can easily see which bin to reach for.


Thanks for your post. The more I read the better I feel! Your suggestion about lavender is great, smells so much better than mothballs!


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

chickkie said:


> clear bins are fine as long as they are not in a bright sunny area, or lots of strong light as the yarn may fade where the light hits it (the end or sides of the tote). I know it looks pretty and it seems everyone wants it out where they can see it, but it may fade......


That is such a great tip, thanks for sharing!


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

charliesaunt said:


> I have my yarn divided first by weight, then by category of color. I find it is easier to decide what yarns I have for a pattern I may be deciding on making and if I don't have sufficient yarn to make it in a solid color I can see what colors I have that will "go" nicely together before beginning.


Many thanks for your post. I admire your organisation, it certainly sounds like you have everything under control. I am so looking forward to getting the yarn chaos organised!


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

chooksnpinkroses said:


> Some of my bins are where bright light hits them. I have them covered with heavy cloths to exclude the light. Don't want my lovely yarn colours fading...


That is a great idea, the sun can be your worst enemy!


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

LEE1313 said:


> The parial skeins and "balls" got into a tote all by themselves. And they become hats/wild afghans, mittens etc. And most get donated to needy or to the library to sell during their fund raisers.
> Believe me it is VERY worth it to organize the yarns. {{ keeping it that way~~~ well that wont last lol}}
> I also found the missing crochet hooks or knitting needles mixed in with the yarn.


Thanks so much for your inspiring post and awesome tips! I love being a member of the KP Tote Club!


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## mathrox (Jun 17, 2019)

StitchNStash said:


> Thanks for your post. I think it was just the yarn expanding from being so tightly packed together, that's what you tell you husband anyway!!


*my hubby has more expensive collections than I do …. He wouldn’t dare comment on it.
but you might be right about my not squeezing the yarn in as tightly and it expanding. I was so excited to possibly have an empty crate … and now I had to use an extra tub!*


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## JillKay (Mar 17, 2013)

StitchNStash said:


> Prior to finishing work a few years back, I had convinced myself that I wouldn't be able to afford to buy yarn when I retired. As luck would have it, the yarn sales were plentiful, and the prices were great! Unfortunately, at the time I had a craze on a particular baby blanket, that required a total of nine / fifty gram balls of yarn. The trouble was I couldn't seem to make up my mind on colour, so I bought enough to make blankets in six different colours, and from there the obsession began to grow! When the shops opened, between lock downs I bought even more! I then needed to watch for sales on plastic bins to put all the bargain yarn into. You can see where this is going!!!
> 
> Anyway, I now have at least five large plastic bins full of yarn that I seriously need to get some law and order into. I am not exaggerating when I say I have everything, 3 ply, 4 ply, 8 ply, chunky, sparkly, synthetic, hairy, wool and also cotton in a mixture of thicknesses.
> 
> How would you go about sorting this? I would really appreciate your comments.


I don't know how helpful this is because my stash is all in closed boxes and not really sorted at all. However all relevant details are recorded on a spreadsheet so I know what I have and where it is (the only downside is I am a bit slack about recording when I have used something - I am pretty good about putting it back in the right place).


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## Stellanator (Oct 8, 2017)

jeanpf said:


> I sorted mine into Rubbermaid bins, generally by weight. I have a lot of #4 worsted, so I have 2 of those, which I sorted by colour. I also have one bin with just cotton.


I sort mine by weight also. I don't use giant bins, so I can sub-sort by yarn by other factors.


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

mathrox said:


> I was so excited to possibly have an empty crate … and now I had to use an extra tub!


I know that feeling well! I don't quite know how it happens, but any available space gets refilled to overflowing, as quickly as it appears. Thanks for the reminder, but I think I may need to go and buy another bin!!


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## mathrox (Jun 17, 2019)

StitchNStash said:


> I know that feeling well! I don't quite know how it happens, but any available space gets refilled to overflowing, as quickly as it appears. Thanks for the reminder, but I think I may need to go and buy another bin!!


*Remember Murphy’s Law: you expand to fill the space you have
so buy another bin and you WILL shop for yarn to fill it.*


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## sharmend (Feb 14, 2012)

I do what most people do and sort by weight in different bins. I also list all my "better" yarn (not acrylics pretty much) on Ravelry so that I can go there first to find out which particular bin number it is stored in. It is all mostly listed "for sale" if anyone is looking for certain yarns. I'm not as organized as I would like, but I can still find most of what I am looking for if I have a certain project in mind. I can also go onto Ravelry and choose my stash by yardage, so that if I need a certain amount for a sweater, I can see right off what I have in that yardage category.


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## Cmac (Jul 5, 2016)

StitchNStash said:


> Prior to finishing work a few years back, I had convinced myself that I wouldn't be able to afford to buy yarn when I retired. As luck would have it, the yarn sales were plentiful, and the prices were great! Unfortunately, at the time I had a craze on a particular baby blanket, that required a total of nine / fifty gram balls of yarn. The trouble was I couldn't seem to make up my mind on colour, so I bought enough to make blankets in six different colours, and from there the obsession began to grow! When the shops opened, between lock downs I bought even more! I then needed to watch for sales on plastic bins to put all the bargain yarn into. You can see where this is going!!!
> 
> Anyway, I now have at least five large plastic bins full of yarn that I seriously need to get some law and order into. I am not exaggerating when I say I have everything, 3 ply, 4 ply, 8 ply, chunky, sparkly, synthetic, hairy, wool and also cotton in a mixture of thicknesses.
> 
> How would you go about sorting this? I would really appreciate your comments.


I am so glad to find I am not alone with an overwhelming stash. I’ve added a new letter to SABLE, to read stash acquired beyond daughter’s lifetime. 

I have shelves around the upper reaches of my craft room, plus the closet turned into shelves plus three books cases filled with yarn. It’s a craft room because i also weave (48 inch counterbalance floor loom), stitch, paint, draw, as well as knit, so my room is pretty stressed. I stumbled upon clear plastic shoe boxes at the dollar store and sorted my yarn tinto those. My best friend is paint pens because you can write right on the clear plastic and when you change your mind or use the yarn, you can erase it and write something else. I started by using the blackboard labels, but realized that i was adding a step. 

What great ideas in this thread. Thank you for starting it.


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## mathrox (Jun 17, 2019)

Cmac said:


> I am so glad to find I am not alone with an overwhelming stash. I’ve added a new letter to SABLE, to read stash acquired beyond daughter’s lifetime.
> 
> I have shelves around the upper reaches of my craft room, plus the closet turned into shelves plus three books cases filled with yarn. It’s a craft room because i also weave (48 inch counterbalance floor loom), stitch, paint, draw, as well as knit, so my room is pretty stressed. I stumbled upon clear plastic shoe boxes at the dollar store and sorted my yarn tinto those. My best friend is paint pens because you can write right on the clear plastic and when you change your mind or use the yarn, you can erase it and write something else. I started by using the blackboard labels, but realized that i was adding a step.
> 
> What great ideas in this thread. Thank you for starting it.


*How about SEDLE? Stash Exceeds Daughter’s Life Expectancy *


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## Jessica-Jean (Mar 14, 2011)

MMWRay said:


> I draw the limit at parts of skeins unless I have a whole skein to match. For charity hats I do save some worsted weight yarn for colorwork. Most *part skeins I donate.*


Ah! So you’re to blame for all the partial skeins in my stash! I pick them up from secondhand stores, and church bazaars.


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## Jessica-Jean (Mar 14, 2011)

adamsdh said:


> I have my yarn organized by fiber type, weight and brand. I use the Stash feature in Ravelry to catalog my yarn. I can assign the yarn to a particular container or location. It’s a lot of work at the beginning, but it’s so handy to be able to browse all my yarn without having to physically dig through it. I can go straight to the correct box to find a particular skein. If you use Ravelry to track your projects, you can even deduct the amount of yarn used from your stash and you will know how much you have left for future projects.


I began doing that, but deleted almost all entries, when asked for some I had used, but forgotten to delete. 🫤


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## Jessica-Jean (Mar 14, 2011)

chickkie said:


> clear bins are fine as long as they are not in a bright sunny area, or lots of strong light as the yarn may fade where the light hits it (the end or sides of the tote). I know it looks pretty and it seems everyone wants it out where they can see it, but it may fade......


Worst than fading, an abundance of light *weakens *the fibres, be they natural or synthetic.


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## Jessica-Jean (Mar 14, 2011)

WHEN the skein has a label, I try to keep same brands together, but that’s the minority of my stash.
I first sort by fibre. I do a burn test on all new (to me), unlabelled acquisitions. 100% wool goes with other 100% wools. Sadly, there’s only one way I know of to sort superwash from shrinkable - knit up a goodly swatch, toss in laundry, inspect.
Shrank? Use as a potholder. Label remainder as not superwash.
Didn’t shrink? Unravel, add to remainder, and label as superwash.

If the burn test suggests it’s a blend, I label it as such, and re-donate it. Someone _else_
can deal with it, maybe for an art installation.

100% synthetic? Then I sort vaguely by yarn thickness.
While I like the idea of everything in see-through containers, I refuse to invest in any more than I already have. Most of my stash is in cardboard boxes. Some of the bins and boxes are even labelled!
My goal is to reduce the stash enough to be able to discard all the cardboard boxes! (Ha! Like that’ll ever happen!!)

The biggest closed (has a door) room in the house has most of my stash, though it has overflowed into the next room, and some WIPs are on shelves near the furnace/laundry area. I posted some photos of some of my mess a few months back.[/I]


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## jannyjo (May 4, 2011)

mathrox said:


> *I store my yarn in stacked crates that interlock (my daughter used them as a bookcase in college). Most of my yarns are simply slid in but I also save those vinyl, zippered bags you get when you purchase sheets, pillowcases, quilts …
> I have stored a lot of my yarn in those with notes visible … Cotton/100%, Cotton 50/50, 45/55, etc. keeps them clean from dust but I can see through them and bring an entire group down at once from a shelf to look through.
> The open crates are stacked under the closet rod and are within easy reach.
> 
> ...


quit tidy with your yarns but your SEWING notions are a different story ahhahahahaha very nice most of mine is out in the large bins in the garage. One whole wall floor to roof. We moved 5 years ago to a lot smaller home. I built shelves so their only 2 high but all the way up. 
good job.


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## mathrox (Jun 17, 2019)

jannyjo said:


> quit tidy with your yarns but *your SEWING notions are a different story *ahhahahahaha very nice most of mine is out in the large bins in the garage. One whole wall floor to roof. We moved 5 years ago to a lot smaller home. I built shelves so their only 2 high but all the way up.
> good job.


*I really don’t sew, except buttons and repairs, so the top shelf has my sewing box and a wooden rack of threads. 
In an effort to make sure my 3 year old grandson can’t reach anything dangerous, I have placed anything sharp up there and pushed it to the back … not visible.
The various containers hold circular knitting needles, crochet hookd, Tunisian hooks, tape measures, yarn bobbins, small tools ….
the other boxes hold double points, small Tunisian hooks, and other packaged circular needles.
There is a lot of stuff on those shelves, but I actually know where everything is.*


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## grandmatimestwo (Mar 30, 2011)

I’m retiring at the end of the school year, so I’ve been stocking up for the last 6 months! I will never use all this yarn, but I want choices! I have sorted mine by weight, then brand. For example. I have a whole bucket of worsted weight cakes, a bucket of Hobbii tweed, etc. I hope once I retire I will have time to do more knitting and I’d like to learn to crochet!


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## Morgan Girl (Jun 8, 2014)

Stash organization is something I seriously should do. I can remember when I first joined KP and people talked about their stash, I would think to myself why on earth would anyone have so much yarn in advance of a project? Then saw yarn that caught my eye while I was picking up some for a scarf, so I bought it so I would have it for when the scarf was done. Then one time I was picking up some yarn and DH was wandering the aisles and came up to me with some in his hands "this is pretty"........ Now I am sitting here and there are 7 tubs, 7 boxes, 2 bags and a basket full of bits and bobs! and 1 tub with finished baby blankets in it. 😂


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## Jessica-Jean (Mar 14, 2011)

mathrox said:


> …
> *There is a lot of stuff on those shelves, but **I actually know where everything is.*


And THAT is the most important thing. It’s mostly true of my unholy mess too.


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## pattymea (Apr 5, 2017)

Love the idea of storing circulars in ziploc, then plastic fruit containers - thanks for sharing! Am so tired of sorting thru needles…


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## ElationRelation (9 mo ago)

I would say your choice is by color, weight, or project. If a project, various sizes of ziplock type or organza bags along with the pattern or a sketch and name, is ideal. I run across fabulous yarn that I had a great idea for, and cannot remember the great design.

I tend to forget what is in bins, clear or not. I try to fit all assortments into clear Sterilite or Rubbermaid sweater holders as I can see what is within. Some get a label or writing on with indelible ink can be taken off with rubbing alcohol. Most sweater's worth of yarn fits this container and baby types can fit 2-3 - seeing the box I know what else is within. Some projects are in clear zipped bags that clothes or bedding comes in and also organza bags so I can easily grab them - never started or started and a WIP. Those are lined up by priority along the floor to grab.

I bought shelving that has an upper bar held up with screws (I used lag bolts) and the standard is anchored with one screw near the bottom that can even holds in sheetrock. Then everything is in sight. In fact, I shelved a whole room this way but making sure anything near a window is blocked from sunlight and also using blinds. 

Best, Elation


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## ElationRelation (9 mo ago)

I would say to watch out for yarns stored in opaque shop bags. They can often be confused for trash by others and get tossed. Several people have told stories of these nightmares.

Best, Elation


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## ElationRelation (9 mo ago)

StitchNStash said:


> yarn expanding from being so tightly packed...what you tell you husband anyway!!


One must abundantly feed husbands and yarn supplies! LOL

Best, Elation


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## Nannycatx3 (Apr 13, 2017)

mathrox said:


> *I store my yarn in stacked crates that interlock (my daughter used them as a bookcase in college). Most of my yarns are simply slid in but I also save those vinyl, zippered bags you get when you purchase sheets, pillowcases, quilts …
> I have stored a lot of my yarn in those with notes visible … Cotton/100%, Cotton 50/50, 45/55, etc. keeps them clean from dust but I can see through them and bring an entire group down at once from a shelf to look through.
> The open crates are stacked under the closet rod and are within easy reach.
> 
> ...


That is amazing! I wish my closet looked like that! My closet looks like someone went through it searching for valuables and left bitterly disappointed!


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## bluemoon knitter (Sep 18, 2011)

StitchNStash said:


> Prior to finishing work a few years back, I had convinced myself that I wouldn't be able to afford to buy yarn when I retired. As luck would have it, the yarn sales were plentiful, and the prices were great! Unfortunately, at the time I had a craze on a particular baby blanket, that required a total of nine / fifty gram balls of yarn. The trouble was I couldn't seem to make up my mind on colour, so I bought enough to make blankets in six different colours, and from there the obsession began to grow! When the shops opened, between lock downs I bought even more! I then needed to watch for sales on plastic bins to put all the bargain yarn into. You can see where this is going!!!
> 
> Anyway, I now have at least five large plastic bins full of yarn that I seriously need to get some law and order into. I am not exaggerating when I say I have everything, 3 ply, 4 ply, 8 ply, chunky, sparkly, synthetic, hairy, wool and also cotton in a mixture of thicknesses.
> 
> How would you go about sorting this? I would really appreciate your comments.


i sorted mine by weight... i find it easy to see what i have and what I feel like working with (depending on season,travel, etc.) I'm also enjoying finding projects to match my stash and slowly working thru it... good luck and enjoy..


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## maxjones (Aug 2, 2011)

I’ve been experiencing this all lately. I’m downsizing and moving shortly. I can take lots of yarn, but not all I have. I first chose the yarns I love most. (Many are hand spun/ dyed from abroad.) Then I did research to find the pattern that fit that yarn. I put its name and location on a slip into the bag with the yarn. I have very little left that is not yet designated. I took 3 carloads of yarn out to a donation center. (One was to a woman who requested yarn on our local newsletter. She said she felt like she had walked into a candy shop.) I have one carload left to deliver, and still have bins of yarn. So if anyone should be embarrassed it would be me! 😄


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## Jessica-Jean (Mar 14, 2011)

maxjones said:


> I’ve been experiencing this all lately. I’m downsizing and moving shortly. I can take lots of yarn, but not all I have. I first chose the yarns I love most. (Many are hand spun/ dyed from abroad.) Then I did research to find the pattern that fit that yarn. I put its name and location on a slip into the bag with the yarn. I have very little left that is not yet designated. I took 3 carloads of yarn out to a donation center. (One was to a woman who requested yarn on our local newsletter. She said she felt like she had walked into a candy shop.) I have one carload left to deliver, and still have bins of yarn. So if anyone should be embarrassed it would be me! 😄


Embarrassed? Why should anyone be embarrassed about having more yarn than they can possibly use up? 
Did you enjoy the act of buying it?
Have you enjoyed imagining what you might make from it? 
Have you enjoyed giving some away?
Has the act of giving caused you enjoyment?

If so, what’s to be embarrassed about? You have had joy and given joy. Isn’t that enough? It doesn’t matter that you didn’t actually work it ALL into projects.


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## Rosewood11 (Jan 25, 2011)

Years ago, working at a bookstore in Nashville, TN, I used to keep up a display made of tempered glass cubes that were held together with round plastic spacers (for want of a better term). They were so versatile and easy to care for--very minimalist and highly attractive. I was really impressed with how they were made, and how well they worked for us.

Several years later on KP, I saw a lady's post about getting a set of cubes to organize her stash for her birthday. Her son bought them, and came over to set them up for her. She happily put her stash up in them, and I was thrilled silly!!! Those were my "cubes," now in plastic and available to all knitters and anyone else needing handy, inexpensive storage. I discovered there are several manufacturers, although I presenly like KOUSI's products. Most come with doors to protect from dust and conceal their contents if you prefer, while others have a frosted quality to the plastic that allows the color of the contents shine through. They're available through Amazon, and since we are blessed with a Amazon warehouse near us, we also now have a "companion" auction site for our local area (Youngstown, Ohio to Pittsburgh, PA).that sells off items returned/opened in transit/etc. to their facility. (ours is called MaC.Discount; actual site mac.bid ) I've gotten several sets of these cubes for use throughout my house for all kinds of storage/organizing needs for anywhere from $18 to $40

Here's a link to just one of the many, many styles/designs. I hope this works:

KOUSI storage cubes


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## joycevv (Oct 13, 2011)

I’m making an inventory now based on amounts of matching skeins. I want to have one storage area for bags with enough yardage to make adult sweaters. Then it will be easier to concentrate on organizing smaller amounts. A notebook for remembering what’s stored will be helpful too!


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## Jessica-Jean (Mar 14, 2011)

joycevv said:


> I’m making an inventory now based on amounts of matching skeins. I want to have one storage area for bags with enough yardage to make adult sweaters. Then it will be easier to concentrate on organizing smaller amounts. A notebook for remembering what’s stored will be helpful too!


Ravelry? 
You can list your yarns and their locations.
You can start project pages listing what pattern you intend to use with which yarn. 
AND you cannot lose it!


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## mao (Apr 20, 2011)

I’m another fan of Ravelry’s stash function!
My yarn is stored in bins in my unheated garage, but in MN it is too cold to be out there browsing for about half the year. Instead, I can look online for what I want for a particular project, then make a quick trip to the correct bin to retrieve it. Ravelry will search my stash by whatever variable I want - weight, fiber, tags, quantity available, etc.- so it is easy to see all the possibilities for a particular project.
Making entries for all of your existing stash seems overwhelming, but you are going to be handling each skein anyway as you decide how to sort it - using your phone or iPad to take a picture and enter info is pretty fast, and if you have several colors of the same yarn you can use “add a colorway” without having to reenter most of the info. Once your existing stash is all entered, adding later purchases takes just a few minutes.
Also, if you use the Ravelry database, you might find it unnecessary to have separate bins for different fibers, or weights, or whatever characteristics - you could instead just number your bins and indicate the bin number in your Ravelry entry 
I also use the Projects function on Ravelry - when I start the project I identify what yarn I am using, and when I finish I indicate how much yarn was used; this keeps my stash inventory current and also lets me look back to see what a particular pattern required for a particular size.


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## Swiss Miss KT (Jan 21, 2013)

chickkie said:


> I envy your buttons. I thought I packed my button box when we moved last year but I have not been able to find it so it must have been missed and put in the thrift store donations. Now trying to find buttons is hard, and also expensive.


I did the same thing 6 years ago when we sold our house and moved to an apartment. I had a big button box with new and reusable buttons. Have never found it since. Think a few things got into the St Vincent Du Paul donations. O well, maybe someone else enjoyed them.


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## MarieAntoinknit (Jul 7, 2012)

I just had to jump in because of the initial line: *"I had convinced myself that I wouldn't be able to afford to buy yarn when I retired.*" Yes! This was the driving force behind my acquisition of more yarn, then more, then even more. I kept saying I had to buy it now, while I was making good money (and the sales were never-ending), because once I retired I'd be poor. And it was no problem to buy another large bin to store it in, because after all, don't I have that large "family room" area in the basement, that is not used for anything else? I now have 50+ bins, which I recently reorganized, numbered & entered on Ravelry. I can now find it all quickly, including the stuff I forgot I had. As Jessica-Jean noted, it's also a great way to note specific yarns for specific project plans (queue and/or favorites). And I may never need to buy another skein in my life, unless it's to make a repeat of something. Many happy knitting days ahead, making a little of anything I want since I have some of everything!


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## mathrox (Jun 17, 2019)

pattymea said:


> Love the idea of storing circulars in ziploc, then plastic fruit containers - thanks for sharing! Am so tired of sorting thru needles…


*make sure you label the sandwich baggie with a permanent marker so you can easily find the tip size and cord length. I put one circular in each bag and I store them in size groups (#1-4, #5-8, #9-11 …) in the round or octagonal, hinged lid fruit containers. Luckily we eat a lot of cut fruit … lol … and my husband likes the UTZ pretzel rods in the tall containers so I put my straight needles in those.*


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## KIHermann (Jun 23, 2012)

ulrika said:


> I have a room designated for my stash. I have 4 storage cabinets with 6 open shelves that I put boxes filled with yarn in. Plus I each of the cabinets have 2 boxes on top filled with yarn. I sort the boxes by colour of yarn and sometimes type of yarn depending on space. I also have my sewing machine in my craft room and a desk where I can sit to line up projects that I want to make. And oh I forgot I have an open book shelf that includes all my patterns neatly organized plus jars of buttons.


Now you sound like my. A fellow yarn stasher with many bins and areas that you keep your yarn in.🙂


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## naughtyknitterjan (Feb 6, 2015)

StitchNStash said:


> Prior to finishing work a few years back, I had convinced myself that I wouldn't be able to afford to buy yarn when I retired. As luck would have it, the yarn sales were plentiful, and the prices were great! Unfortunately, at the time I had a craze on a particular baby blanket, that required a total of nine / fifty gram balls of yarn. The trouble was I couldn't seem to make up my mind on colour, so I bought enough to make blankets in six different colours, and from there the obsession began to grow! When the shops opened, between lock downs I bought even more! I then needed to watch for sales on plastic bins to put all the bargain yarn into. You can see where this is going!!!
> 
> Anyway, I now have at least five large plastic bins full of yarn that I seriously need to get some law and order into. I am not exaggerating when I say I have everything, 3 ply, 4 ply, 8 ply, chunky, sparkly, synthetic, hairy, wool and also cotton in a mixture of thicknesses.
> 
> How would you go about sorting this? I would really appreciate your comments.


I feel for you, I have the same amount of yarn, all over the house and now my days of knitting may be coming to a close.Most of my friends use worsted or heavier yarns but what to do with DK and Fingering I have yet to figure out.

Jan


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## ILR1950 (7 mo ago)

StitchNStash said:


> Prior to finishing work a few years back, I had convinced myself that I wouldn't be able to afford to buy yarn when I retired. As luck would have it, the yarn sales were plentiful, and the prices were great! Unfortunately, at the time I had a craze on a particular baby blanket, that required a total of nine / fifty gram balls of yarn. The trouble was I couldn't seem to make up my mind on colour, so I bought enough to make blankets in six different colours, and from there the obsession began to grow! When the shops opened, between lock downs I bought even more! I then needed to watch for sales on plastic bins to put all the bargain yarn into. You can see where this is going!!!
> 
> Anyway, I now have at least five large plastic bins full of yarn that I seriously need to get some law and order into. I am not exaggerating when I say I have everything, 3 ply, 4 ply, 8 ply, chunky, sparkly, synthetic, hairy, wool and also cotton in a mixture of thicknesses.
> 
> How would you go about sorting this? I would really appreciate your comments.


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## rkr (Aug 15, 2012)

Haven't read most of the responses yet, but I think the first consideration is SPACE - to sort!! It can get overwhelming to try to sort when you're up to your knees in stash. An open space, with boxes or bins for sorting into, is the most efficient way to do this. Then go by wt/color/fiber/etc for however you'll be storing the yarns from there. And finally condensing them into the smallest area (bag/carton/cupboard/etc) for each of the sortings. It really helps to be able to view the contents w/o having to open them, so think about the permanent storage w/this in mind. EDIT - my DH was out-of-town for 6 weeks in the Winter and I had the time, leisure & SPACE to sort through my stash. I donated 9 tubs (2' x 3' x 3') of yarn and never looked back. I think it was partly a mind-set—as we reach our 80th yr—that I know how much yarn I'll need for charities & the GrGrandies and only saved what already had a purpose. It is SO FREEING!!!! And I'm reveling in the added space recovery....


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## rkr (Aug 15, 2012)

chickkie said:


> I envy your buttons. I thought I packed my button box when we moved last year but I have not been able to find it so it must have been missed and put in the thrift store donations. Now trying to find buttons is hard, and also expensive.


You just need to know where to look!! lol 
Please visit Julie on Etsy @ AJStuff - her variety of buttons (currently 211 pages worth) and prices are less than half what retail would cost, if they were even available.
And she ships (from Mesa AZ) extremely quickly.








AJStuff - Etsy


Shop Buttons, Ribbons, Inks, Craft Supplies and Collectables by AJStuff located in Mesa, Arizona. Smooth shipping! Has a history of shipping on time with tracking. Speedy replies! Has a history of replying to messages quickly. Rave reviews! Average review rating is 4.8 or higher




www.etsy.com





I usually order 11/16” as that size (just under 3/4”) are what I like for cardigans.


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## rkr (Aug 15, 2012)

StitchNStash said:


> PS: I hope your DH's luck holds out, silly man, yarn would be the ideal weapon!


LOL - Choking/Strangling Hazard!! That reminds me of the mystery movie where there was no evidence of the wife's murder implement - which had been a frozen leg of lamb but was a great roast by the time the inspectors came around...


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## rkr (Aug 15, 2012)

grandmatimestwo said:


> I’m retiring at the end of the school year, so I’ve been stocking up for the last 6 months! I will never use all this yarn, but I want choices! I have sorted mine by weight, then brand. For example. I have a whole bucket of worsted weight cakes, a bucket of Hobbii tweed, etc. I hope once I retire I will have time to do more knitting and I’d like to learn to crochet!


We always think that there'll be an excess of time to do our favorites, but you're likely to find out what we all have - "How did we ever find time to work, as we're now busier than ever!"


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## rkr (Aug 15, 2012)

naughtyknitterjan said:


> I feel for you, I have the same amount of yarn, all over the house and now my days of knitting may be coming to a close.Most of my friends use worsted or heavier yarns but what to do with DK and Fingering I have yet to figure out.
> 
> Jan


All thinner yarns can be 'thickened up' by Navajo-plying. AKA chain plying - It goes along quickly as you work and is the easiest way to make thicker yarns. Sarah A's method ( 



 ) actually further plies the 3 strands together on a spinning wheel, but as I don't own one, I just work w/the 3 held tog. This is work w/a crochet hook but the plying remains the same. Navajo 3-ply technique


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## Pocahontas (Apr 15, 2011)

rkr said:


> We always think that there'll be an excess of time to do our favorites, but you're likely to find out what we all have - "How did we ever find time to work, as we're now busier than ever!"


Yes, I've discovered that retirement is just another full-time job.


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## chickkie (Oct 26, 2011)

Pocahontas said:


> Yes, I've discovered that retirement is just another full-time job.


with far less pay, and no holidays


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## vikicooks (Nov 1, 2013)

StitchNStash said:


> Prior to finishing work a few years back, I had convinced myself that I wouldn't be able to afford to buy yarn when I retired. As luck would have it, the yarn sales were plentiful, and the prices were great! Unfortunately, at the time I had a craze on a particular baby blanket, that required a total of nine / fifty gram balls of yarn. The trouble was I couldn't seem to make up my mind on colour, so I bought enough to make blankets in six different colours, and from there the obsession began to grow! When the shops opened, between lock downs I bought even more! I then needed to watch for sales on plastic bins to put all the bargain yarn into. You can see where this is going!!!
> 
> Anyway, I now have at least five large plastic bins full of yarn that I seriously need to get some law and order into. I am not exaggerating when I say I have everything, 3 ply, 4 ply, 8 ply, chunky, sparkly, synthetic, hairy, wool and also cotton in a mixture of thicknesses.
> 
> How would you go about sorting this? I would really appreciate your comments.


I had to double check to see if I had written this!


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## mathrox (Jun 17, 2019)

rkr said:


> LOL - Choking/Strangling Hazard!! That reminds me of the mystery movie where there was no evidence of the wife's murder implement - which had been a frozen leg of lamb but was a great roast by the time the inspectors came around...


*… and Agatha Christie’s (?) murder plot with a large icicle that was used as an ‘ice‘ pick and then buried in the snow outside.
here we use our i-cord as a garrotte and then unravel the weapon and knit it into a sweater.
or simply use it as trim on an existing sweater (saves time).*


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## Celt Knitter (Jul 13, 2011)

I would add a warning about something I did that I regret (and I've got the bruises on my head to prove it). I am an eco warrior and, feeling very smug, I decided to buy a load of flat pack cardboard boxes stacked high. No matter how I arranged them what I needed was in the bottom boxes and I couldn't see what was in them. Of course, when I searched the boxes, I was excited and distracted....not much knitting done those days! Now I have a heap of tatty cardboard to recycle🤢.
I had ta knitting machine to solve the problem, as I wrote earlier, but when I went delving today another 5 had followed me home.....that's besides the ones in the other location😉. Does anybody have a pattern for a knitted coffin
🤣🤣?


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## mathrox (Jun 17, 2019)

Celt Knitter said:


> I would add a warning about something I did that I regret (and I've got the bruises on my head to prove it). I am an eco warrior and, feeling very smug, I decided to buy a load of flat pack cardboard boxes stacked high. No matter how I arranged them what I needed was in the bottom boxes and I couldn't see what was in them. Of course, when I searched the boxes, I was excited and distracted....not much knitting done those days! Now I have a heap of tatty cardboard to recycle🤢.
> I had ta knitting machine to solve the problem, as I wrote earlier, but when I went delving today another 5 had followed me home.....that's besides the ones in the other location😉. Does anybody have a pattern for a knitted coffin
> 🤣🤣?


*… just for the shroud …*


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## susanstamps (Feb 23, 2017)

Pocahontas said:


> A picture is worth a thousand words! Thank you for sharing yours.


Looks good, easy to spot colors and keeps yarn clean !


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## Celt Knitter (Jul 13, 2011)

mathrox said:


> *… just for the shroud …*


Oh well...just have to buy some more wool to felt for the coffin!
😢 😢


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## maisyb (Jan 12, 2012)

StitchNStash said:


> Prior to finishing work a few years back, I had convinced myself that I wouldn't be able to afford to buy yarn when I retired. As luck would have it, the yarn sales were plentiful, and the prices were great! Unfortunately, at the time I had a craze on a particular baby blanket, that required a total of nine / fifty gram balls of yarn. The trouble was I couldn't seem to make up my mind on colour, so I bought enough to make blankets in six different colours, and from there the obsession began to grow! When the shops opened, between lock downs I bought even more! I then needed to watch for sales on plastic bins to put all the bargain yarn into. You can see where this is going!!!
> 
> Anyway, I now have at least five large plastic bins full of yarn that I seriously need to get some law and order into. I am not exaggerating when I say I have everything, 3 ply, 4 ply, 8 ply, chunky, sparkly, synthetic, hairy, wool and also cotton in a mixture of thicknesses.
> 
> How would you go about sorting this? I would really appreciate your comments.


I would sort by ply, then by type.


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## chooksnpinkroses (Aug 23, 2012)

MarieAntoinknit said:


> I just had to jump in because of the initial line: *"I had convinced myself that I wouldn't be able to afford to buy yarn when I retired.*" Yes! This was the driving force behind my acquisition of more yarn, then more, then even more. I kept saying I had to buy it now, while I was making good money (and the sales were never-ending), because once I retired I'd be poor. .....


i had the same thought years ago when my daughter was turning 16 and my part single parents pension was about to stop... I was concerned I may not be able to afford fabric, knitting yarn or other craft supplies once I was fully 'on my own'.... 😐 I needn't have worried...😁 I still have a goodly amount of all those supplies with many more bought since. Before I retired I bought heaps of counted cross stitch kits for later... Most of them will never get done now as my sight isn't wonderful anymore. 😐 I've given quite a few away already... 😁😊 Best laid plans and all that.... 😊


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## goodcrocheter1 (Apr 4, 2017)

StitchNStash said:


> Prior to finishing work a few years back, I had convinced myself that I wouldn't be able to afford to buy yarn when I retired. As luck would have it, the yarn sales were plentiful, and the prices were great! Unfortunately, at the time I had a craze on a particular baby blanket, that required a total of nine / fifty gram balls of yarn. The trouble was I couldn't seem to make up my mind on colour, so I bought enough to make blankets in six different colours, and from there the obsession began to grow! When the shops opened, between lock downs I bought even more! I then needed to watch for sales on plastic bins to put all the bargain yarn into. You can see where this is going!!!
> 
> Anyway, I now have at least five large plastic bins full of yarn that I seriously need to get some law and order into. I am not exaggerating when I say I have everything, 3 ply, 4 ply, 8 ply, chunky, sparkly, synthetic, hairy, wool and also cotton in a mixture of thicknesses.
> 
> How would you go about sorting this? I would really appreciate your comments.


First of all sort into not only weights of yarn,then colours if you have space! It helps enormously to sort out your stash. If you haven’t used a particular yarn for at least a year and have no intention of using it,sell it or donate it! I try to do the thing where I must use up one lot of yarn before I buy any more…..doesn’t always work but I try to keep to that idea! It is surprising shen you start doeting out your stash that it gives you different ideas of what to use - for instance,maybe putting 2 lots of thinner yarns together to mske sonething thicker in weight fir an item? I had some double knitting yarn that was too thin a yarn. Had dnough of the yarn to use double thickness to make a slightly thicker cardigan. I am sure you can think of using thinner yarns for a different pattern? Good luck!


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## kiwilass001 (9 mo ago)

Thanks ladies, now I don't feel bad at all in having so much wool and patterns to go with it. Makes me happier in fact that I am not the only one that collects so much just in case.


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## annfarr (Nov 5, 2014)

StitchNStash said:


> Anyway, I now have at least five large plastic bins full of yarn that I seriously need to get some law and order into.


Five? 
I remember five.


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## Bummy (Sep 6, 2013)

Lilyan said:


> I did the same thing prior to retirement. Purchased yarn because I was convinced that I would not be able to afford yarn. Ha, ha, ha! I was so very foolish.
> So during the pandemic, I organized my substantial stash. I found it best to do a little each day so it would not become overbearing. My yarn is now sorted by weight, which for me works best. And, I packaged yarn with its intended pattern in plastic or organdy bags.
> Yarns that were purchased without an intended purpose are sorted by weight in plastic bins. Yarn that I no longer loved was donated to several different charities.
> It is now very enjoyable to know what I have, and my pre-made up kits make my life so easy.


Can you suggest some places to donate? I did give 2 black bags full to the Girl Scouts


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## bonnett (8 mo ago)

I just spent a long time organizing my stash into cube organizers. I was amazed at how much I have.They have a transparent door so can be easily seen. I sort them by weight, although I'm partial to bulky and rarely buy thinner yarn. There are lots of worsted leftovers put together by coordinating colors. Anything but bulky seems to take too long. I make shawls for charity and like to get them done quickly.


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## Diane D (Apr 7, 2012)

I have done all the above but this year i just kept my mind going by putting all the balls/skeins without labels aside, and i dontated them to the schools for arts and crafts and to ladies who crochet blankets. If we honest with ourselves, we will neva really use them and im tired off all the wool staring back at me begging to be used. So i pass it on to someone else


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## mousepotato (May 30, 2011)

StitchNStash said:


> Prior to finishing work a few years back, I had convinced myself that I wouldn't be able to afford to buy yarn when I retired. As luck would have it, the yarn sales were plentiful, and the prices were great! Unfortunately, at the time I had a craze on a particular baby blanket, that required a total of nine / fifty gram balls of yarn. The trouble was I couldn't seem to make up my mind on colour, so I bought enough to make blankets in six different colours, and from there the obsession began to grow! When the shops opened, between lock downs I bought even more! I then needed to watch for sales on plastic bins to put all the bargain yarn into. You can see where this is going!!!
> 
> Anyway, I now have at least five large plastic bins full of yarn that I seriously need to get some law and order into. I am not exaggerating when I say I have everything, 3 ply, 4 ply, 8 ply, chunky, sparkly, synthetic, hairy, wool and also cotton in a mixture of thicknesses.
> 
> How would you go about sorting this? I would really appreciate your comments.


Only five? I’ve travelled with that much. And, no, it isn’t sorted, other than the sock yarn. That has its own bin.


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## maureen0614 (Dec 16, 2012)

maxjones said:


> I’ve been experiencing this all lately. I’m downsizing and moving shortly. I can take lots of yarn, but not all I have. I first chose the yarns I love most. (Many are hand spun/ dyed from abroad.) Then I did research to find the pattern that fit that yarn. I put its name and location on a slip into the bag with the yarn. I have very little left that is not yet designated. I took 3 carloads of yarn out to a donation center. (One was to a woman who requested yarn on our local newsletter. She said she felt like she had walked into a candy shop.) I have one carload left to deliver, and still have bins of yarn. So if anyone should be embarrassed it would be me! 😄


I was in exactly your situation last year. Delivered lots of yarn to local schools and groups, mailed two large boxes full of yarn and all of the straight needles I no longer used to a group in Arizona that was aiding Somali refugees (the women requested only straight needles), and was fortunate to find a Project Linus group that not only accepted 4 shopping bags of acrylic, but had a connection to a craft group at an assisted living home that was thrilled to have excess cross stitch kits and supplies. The most difficult part was finding the recipients, not parting with the yarn. 

Wish you lots of luck in your move. Finally settled in our new place, with 8 large Sterilite storage bins, plus all of the drawers in the guest room dressers filled with yarn. The guest room also has a floor to ceiling bookcase packed with the knitting, embroidery and needlepoint books remaining after donating 4 cartons to the library book sale. 

Don't be embarrassed because you have the tools and supplies for something you love to do.


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## carmicv (Mar 21, 2014)

Jessica-Jean said:


> WHEN the skein has a label, I try to keep same brands together, but that’s the minority of my stash.
> I first sort by fibre. I do a burn test on all new (to me), unlabelled acquisitions. 100% wool goes with other 100% wools. Sadly, there’s only one way I know of to sort superwash from shrinkable - knit up a goodly swatch, toss in laundry, inspect.
> Shrank? Use as a potholder. Label remainder as not superwash.
> Didn’t shrink? Unravel, add to remainder, and label as superwash.
> ...


please reiterate the burn test. Thank you


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## maureen0614 (Dec 16, 2012)

Jessica-Jean said:


> Embarrassed? Why should anyone be embarrassed about having more yarn than they can possibly use up?
> Did you enjoy the act of buying it?
> Have you enjoyed imagining what you might make from it?
> Have you enjoyed giving some away?
> ...


Thanks JJ for expressing that so eloquently. You made me realize that enjoyment in and of itself has value. I had to donate a lot of things I prized (including a considerable amount of yarn) last year in the process of downsizing to move. I felt great sadness, and with respect to the yarn, a feeling of failure at not creating something with it. What pulled me out of the doldrums was seeing the smiling faces and hearing the thanks of the direct recipients, and knowing that the charities which accepted the rest of the items would turn those into dollars to help those in need. I realized that what I was doing was a "donation" similar to writing a check to the charity, and that never makes me sad, it makes me happy.


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## mathrox (Jun 17, 2019)

Bummy said:


> Can you suggest some places to donate? I did give 2 black bags full to the Girl Scouts


*Senior Centers often have a yarn group.
Libraries do, too.
Assisted Living facilities. Maybe even some nursing homes might have active knitters.
55+ retirement communities … around here we have 12 55+ communities and EACH one has a stitching group of some sort. We live on donations as some can’t afford to purchase yarn. We are very adept at moxing different co,ours to make festive shawls, lap robes, squeeze balls, Möbius fidgets, baby items, hats, scarves, mittens … all for donations to nursing homes, veterans hospitals, NICUs, home
ess shelters and soup kitchens and even. Schools in poor districts welcome hats, gloves, scarves and cowls for children who need them. Some communities even have annual holiday craft sales to raise money for the group to purchase yarn.
cowls, scarves, hats, fingerless gloves, washcloths, hot pads, placemats, potholders are all big sellers along with spinners and Christmas tree ornaments. 
I give my scrappy small balls to the Girl Scouts or the art teacher in an elementary school for various projects where bits are needed.*


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## Kimbo58 (Jul 11, 2015)

StitchNStash said:


> Prior to finishing work a few years back, I had convinced myself that I wouldn't be able to afford to buy yarn when I retired. As luck would have it, the yarn sales were plentiful, and the prices were great! Unfortunately, at the time I had a craze on a particular baby blanket, that required a total of nine / fifty gram balls of yarn. The trouble was I couldn't seem to make up my mind on colour, so I bought enough to make blankets in six different colours, and from there the obsession began to grow! When the shops opened, between lock downs I bought even more! I then needed to watch for sales on plastic bins to put all the bargain yarn into. You can see where this is going!!!
> 
> Anyway, I now have at least five large plastic bins full of yarn that I seriously need to get some law and order into. I am not exaggerating when I say I have everything, 3 ply, 4 ply, 8 ply, chunky, sparkly, synthetic, hairy, wool and also cotton in a mixture of thicknesses.
> 
> How would you go about sorting this? I would really appreciate your comments.


I sorted mine by ply. You're only just getting started with an obsession, addiction, or whatever you want to call it. Soon the tubs will need their own room, wardrobe etc, etc. Get my drift? 😆


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## Cindyallard (Dec 21, 2012)

Kimbo58 said:


> I sorted mine by ply. You're only just getting started with an obsession, addiction, or whatever you want to call it. Soon the tubs will need their own room, wardrobe etc, etc. Get my drift? 😆


First I would go through and separate by what you want to make with it, then sort by weight and color, you may find that you have a color that you don’t like, then donate it, all of it.


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## ldale0224 (8 mo ago)

Jessica-Jean said:


> WHEN the skein has a label, I try to keep same brands together, but that’s the minority of my stash.
> I first sort by fibre. I do a burn test on all new (to me), unlabelled acquisitions. 100% wool goes with other 100% wools. Sadly, there’s only one way I know of to sort superwash from shrinkable - knit up a goodly swatch, toss in laundry, inspect.
> Shrank? Use as a potholder. Label remainder as not superwash.
> Didn’t shrink? Unravel, add to remainder, and label as superwash.
> ...


Can you describe what happens with the burn test? I assume synthetics will melt/shrink.


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## mathrox (Jun 17, 2019)

*When I do a burn test, I try to do it outside (burning yarn smells up the house).
I take a 6 inch strand, hold it in a pair of tongs over a paper plate, light the tip with a barbecue lighter and watch it burn for a few seconds. Blow it out and note whether it melted, asked, or a combination.
Natural yarns ash. Synthetics melt. Combination yarns do a little of each. So the tip may feel like the end of a shoelace (the aglet) but ash will rub off on your fingers.
I find burning wool has a distinctive odor (like human hair burning when the hair dryer gets too close). *


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## Jessica-Jean (Mar 14, 2011)

carmicv said:


> please reiterate the burn test. Thank you


Take your pick: fibre burn test chart - Google Search


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## Grisby (Jan 12, 2019)

Cmac said:


> I am so glad to find I am not alone with an overwhelming stash. I’ve added a new letter to SABLE, to read stash acquired beyond daughter’s lifetime.
> 
> I have shelves around the upper reaches of my craft room, plus the closet turned into shelves plus three books cases filled with yarn. It’s a craft room because i also weave (48 inch counterbalance floor loom), stitch, paint, draw, as well as knit, so my room is pretty stressed. I stumbled upon clear plastic shoe boxes at the dollar store and sorted my yarn tinto those. My best friend is paint pens because you can write right on the clear plastic and when you change your mind or use the yarn, you can erase it and write something else. I started by using the blackboard labels, but realized that i was adding a step.
> 
> What great ideas in this thread. Thank you for starting it.


Hi Cmac, could you tell us and/ or show us your paint pens please? Can they be found online or in an art store? Are they refillable with acrylic paint ? I have 2 kinds but they are for watercolor or ink and wouldn’t work on plastic. Thank you !


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## mahalo (Jun 25, 2013)

I am so enjoying this discussion - all I can add is one big DITTO!


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## castoffloosely (8 mo ago)

Hello everyone,
I may be unusual but I sort into colour groups, say all my reds and oranges together, then shades of light blue, dark blue, turquoises and pale aqua, greens, whites and creams - seems to work OK for me. But I don't have a whole room full! If I say am crocheting a little blanket I mix and match till I get approximately the desired thickness and look/tone I want - it seems to work OK for me! Oh I do keep cottons in a separate area but otherwise I mix 'em up.


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

JillKay said:


> However all relevant details are recorded on a spreadsheet so I know what I have and where it is (the only downside is I am a bit slack about recording when I have used something - I am pretty good about putting it back in the right place).


That is such a good idea to use a spreadsheet! Sometimes when you have a lot of wool, it can be a bit confusing remembering what you have!


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

Cmac said:


> My best friend is paint pens because you can write right on the clear plastic and when you change your mind or use the yarn, you can erase it and write something else. I started by using the blackboard labels, but realized that i was adding a step.
> 
> What great ideas in this thread. Thank you for starting it.


I'm really enjoying seeing all the ideas different people have! *I rather like your idea of the paint pens too! Would you mind posting a link so I can see what they look like, not sure we have them in NZ or not. Thank you!*


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

jannyjo said:


> I built shelves so their only 2 high but all the way up.
> good job.


Thanks for your post, it's so good you have found a tidy way to store your stash!


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

mathrox said:


> There is a lot of stuff on those shelves, but I actually know where everything is.


Thanks for your post. You do sound as though you have things pretty well organised!


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

grandmatimestwo said:


> I’m retiring at the end of the school year, so I’ve been stocking up for the last 6 months!


Thanks for your post! Don't forget to buy lots of bins for your retirement stash!!


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

Morgan Girl said:


> Then one time I was picking up some yarn and DH was wandering the aisles and came up to me with some in his hands "this is pretty"........ Now I am sitting here and there are 7 tubs, 7 boxes, 2 bags and a basket full of bits and bobs! and 1 tub with finished baby blankets in it.


Thanks for sharing your amusing post!


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

ElationRelation said:


> I run across fabulous yarn that I had a great idea for, and cannot remember the great design.


Thanks for your post, it's nice to know I'm relatively normal!


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

maxjones said:


> I’ve been experiencing this all lately. I’m downsizing and moving shortly. I can take lots of yarn, but not all I have. I first chose the yarns I love most. (Many are hand spun/ dyed from abroad.) Then I did research to find the pattern that fit that yarn. I put its name and location on a slip into the bag with the yarn. I have very little left that is not yet designated. I took 3 carloads of yarn out to a donation center. (One was to a woman who requested yarn on our local newsletter. She said she felt like she had walked into a candy shop.) I have one carload left to deliver, and still have bins of yarn. So if anyone should be embarrassed it would be me!


Thanks for your post. I truly admire your discipline and determination to downsize your stash!


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

Rosewood11 said:


> Several years later on KP, I saw a lady's post about getting a set of cubes to organize her stash for her birthday. Her son bought them, and came over to set them up for her. She happily put her stash up in them, and I was thrilled silly!!! Those were my "cubes," now in plastic and available to all knitters and anyone else needing handy, inexpensive storage. I discovered there are several manufacturers, although I presenly like KOUSI's products. Most come with doors to protect from dust and conceal their contents if you prefer, while others have a frosted quality to the plastic that allows the color of the contents shine through. They're available through Amazon,


Thanks for your post. These cube organisers seem like a really good idea, certainly saves you from lifting one bin to get to another!


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

mao said:


> Also, if you use the Ravelry database, you might find it unnecessary to have separate bins for different fibers, or weights, or whatever characteristics - you could instead just number your bins and indicate the bin number in your Ravelry entry


Thanks for your post. Another valid reason to use the Ravelry stash feature!


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

MarieAntoinknit said:


> I now have 50+ bins, which I recently reorganized, numbered & entered on Ravelry. I can now find it all quickly, including the stuff I forgot I had.


Thanks for your inspirational post! I think the Ravelry stash idea is definitely the way to go!


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

naughtyknitterjan said:


> and now my days of knitting may be coming to a close.Most of my friends use worsted or heavier yarns but what to do with DK and Fingering I have yet to figure out.


Thanks for your post. I feel a bit sad that you feel your knitting days are coming to an end. My advice, please take your time to re-home your yarn, the right home will come along when you least expect it to!


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

rkr said:


> but I think the first consideration is SPACE - to sort!! It can get overwhelming to try to sort when you're up to your knees in stash. An open space, with boxes or bins for sorting into, is the most efficient way to do this.


Thanks for your post and suggestions for sorting my stash. I think having a good amount of space to begin sorting is a must!


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

goodcrocheter1 said:


> It is surprising shen you start doeting out your stash that it gives you different ideas of what to use - for instance,maybe putting 2 lots of thinner yarns together to mske sonething thicker in weight fir an item? I had some double knitting yarn that was too thin a yarn. Had dnough of the yarn to use double thickness to make a slightly thicker cardigan. I am sure you can think of using thinner yarns for a different pattern? Good luck!


Thanks for your post. It's funny you should write about combining yarn to make thicker yarn, I have been toying with this idea a bit recently.


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

castoffloosely said:


> I may be unusual but I sort into colour groups, say all my reds and oranges together, then shades of light blue, dark blue, turquoises and pale aqua, greens, whites and creams - seems to work OK for me.


Thanks for your post. I too, rather like the idea of sorting yarn into colour groups.


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## Jessica-Jean (Mar 14, 2011)

StitchNStash said:


> Thanks for your post. These cube organisers seem like a really good idea, certainly saves you from lifting one bin to get to another!


Oh! But the lifting and moving bins and boxes around … that’s my exercise routine!! 😈


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## Jessica-Jean (Mar 14, 2011)

MarieAntoinknit said:


> I just had to jump in because of the initial line: *"I had convinced myself that I wouldn't be able to afford to buy yarn when I retired.*" Yes! This was the driving force behind my acquisition of more yarn, then more, then even more. I kept saying I had to buy it now, while I was making good money (and the sales were never-ending), because once I retired I'd be poor. And it was no problem to buy another large bin to store it in, because after all, don't I have that large "family room" area in the basement, that is not used for anything else? I now have 50+ bins, which I recently reorganized, numbered & entered on Ravelry. I can now find it all quickly, including the stuff I forgot I had. As Jessica-Jean noted, it's also a great way to note specific yarns for specific project plans (queue and/or favorites). And I may never need to buy another skein in my life, unless it's to make a repeat of something. Many happy knitting days ahead, making a little of anything I want since I have some of everything!


Umm … Any chance of getting you to come visit for a few weeks, and help me get my stash under control? 😈


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## Jessica-Jean (Mar 14, 2011)

naughtyknitterjan said:


> I feel for you, I have the same amount of yarn, all over the house and now my days of knitting may be coming to a close.Most of my friends use worsted or heavier yarns but what to do with DK and Fingering I have yet to figure out.
> 
> Jan


Hold multiple strands together to create a marled fabric?


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## slowyarn48 (9 mo ago)

Great ideal for using two together for the marled effect. The thinks I don't think of when I look at my yarn! KP is such a fount of inspiration.


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## patocenizo (Jun 24, 2011)

StitchNStash said:


> Prior to finishing work a few years back, I had convinced myself that I wouldn't be able to afford to buy yarn when I retired. As luck would have it, the yarn sales were plentiful, and the prices were great! Unfortunately, at the time I had a craze on a particular baby blanket, that required a total of nine / fifty gram balls of yarn. The trouble was I couldn't seem to make up my mind on colour, so I bought enough to make blankets in six different colours, and from there the obsession began to grow! When the shops opened, between lock downs I bought even more! I then needed to watch for sales on plastic bins to put all the bargain yarn into. You can see where this is going!!!
> 
> Anyway, I now have at least five large plastic bins full of yarn that I seriously need to get some law and order into. I am not exaggerating when I say I have everything, 3 ply, 4 ply, 8 ply, chunky, sparkly, synthetic, hairy, wool and also cotton in a mixture of thicknesses.
> 
> How would you go about sorting this? I would really appreciate your comments.


Well, I am having a hearty laugh right now being 5:28 am in southern California. I sort mine by weight, it is easier ...at least for me and pretty soon I'll be giving my granddaughter some of each weight.


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

patocenizo said:


> Well, I am having a hearty laugh right now being 5:28 am in southern California. I sort mine by weight, it is easier ...at least for me and pretty soon I'll be giving my granddaughter some of each weight.


I like that, sharing the love!


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## jillbonnie (9 mo ago)

maxjones said:


> I’ve been experiencing this all lately. I’m downsizing and moving shortly. I can take lots of yarn, but not all I have. I first chose the yarns I love most. (Many are hand spun/ dyed from abroad.) Then I did research to find the pattern that fit that yarn. I put its name and location on a slip into the bag with the yarn. I have very little left that is not yet designated. I took 3 carloads of yarn out to a donation center. (One was to a woman who requested yarn on our local newsletter. She said she felt like she had walked into a candy shop.) I have one carload left to deliver, and still have bins of yarn. So if anyone should be embarrassed it would be me! 😄


You are in good company


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## Aunt Nay (Nov 25, 2011)

Rosewood11 said:


> Years ago, working at a bookstore in Nashville, TN, I used to keep up a display made of tempered glass cubes that were held together with round plastic spacers (for want of a better term). They were so versatile and easy to care for--very minimalist and highly attractive. I was really impressed with how they were made, and how well they worked for us.
> 
> Several years later on KP, I saw a lady's post about getting a set of cubes to organize her stash for her birthday. Her son bought them, and came over to set them up for her. She happily put her stash up in them, and I was thrilled silly!!! Those were my "cubes," now in plastic and available to all knitters and anyone else needing handy, inexpensive storage. I discovered there are several manufacturers, although I presenly like KOUSI's products. Most come with doors to protect from dust and conceal their contents if you prefer, while others have a frosted quality to the plastic that allows the color of the contents shine through. They're available through Amazon, and since we are blessed with a Amazon warehouse near us, we also now have a "companion" auction site for our local area (Youngstown, Ohio to Pittsburgh, PA).that sells off items returned/opened in transit/etc. to their facility. (ours is called MaC.Discount; actual site mac.bid ) I've gotten several sets of these cubes for use throughout my house for all kinds of storage/organizing needs for anywhere from $18 to $40
> 
> ...


Thanks for the recommendation and the link. This is a very attractive option.


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## DeepRiver (Jun 2, 2017)

StitchNStash said:


> Prior to finishing work a few years back, I had convinced myself that I wouldn't be able to afford to buy yarn when I retired. As luck would have it, the yarn sales were plentiful, and the prices were great! Unfortunately, at the time I had a craze on a particular baby blanket, that required a total of nine / fifty gram balls of yarn. The trouble was I couldn't seem to make up my mind on colour, so I bought enough to make blankets in six different colours, and from there the obsession began to grow! When the shops opened, between lock downs I bought even more! I then needed to watch for sales on plastic bins to put all the bargain yarn into. You can see where this is going!!!
> 
> Anyway, I now have at least five large plastic bins full of yarn that I seriously need to get some law and order into. I am not exaggerating when I say I have everything, 3 ply, 4 ply, 8 ply, chunky, sparkly, synthetic, hairy, wool and also cotton in a mixture of thicknesses.
> 
> How would you go about sorting this? I would really appreciate your comments.


I stole great ideas for organising yarn stash from Sally Melville's book " Styles " . She suggested that visual people, like me, might organise their yarns by colour , rather than weight , and store one ball of each yarn where one can readily see it . Print the total number of skeins /balls owned , and where they are stored in , on a strip of masking tape around the display ball. In my case , that translates to a dozen square clear plastic pantry storage bins ( about 20 cm by 20 cm) , one for each colour group ( blues, greens , grays, reds, variegated , etc.) . They are very sturdy and can be purchased from a hardware store or online . They fit neatly onto three shelves of a built in cupboard in my study , with doors that close to keep dust and M_ _ _S  out. The extra balls go into numbered plastic clothes storage bins, and can be stored somewhere else, under a bed , in the basement , etc. In my case, I have room for them ( 5 in total ) stacked at the back of my study closet . This system works really well. When I am starting a new project , I can see right away from the tape around sample ball if I have enough yarn to complete it , and the visual display of colour and texture inspires ideas of mixing yarns together , aka stashbusting . I have also entered each yarn owned into Ravelry's stash function, so that I can easily search through my stash on the computer when I am considering buying a new pattern, and what options I already have in my stash for the suggested yarn weight . Not that that keeps me from buying more , or course .....


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## doorsing2000 (7 mo ago)

maxjones said:


> I’ve been experiencing this all lately. I’m downsizing and moving shortly. I can take lots of yarn, but not all I have. I first chose the yarns I love most. (Many are hand spun/ dyed from abroad.) Then I did research to find the pattern that fit that yarn. I put its name and location on a slip into the bag with the yarn. I have very little left that is not yet designated. I took 3 carloads of yarn out to a donation center. (One was to a woman who requested yarn on our local newsletter. She said she felt like she had walked into a candy shop.) I have one carload left to deliver, and still have bins of yarn. So if anyone should be embarrassed it would be me! 😄


How wonderful to have such a problem. Most of my yarn comes from thrift shops or leftover amounts picked up here and there. Most of what I made is scrap yarn as that is what I have. I have tried to buy yarn, but go into sticker shock when I get into a shop....or if I find a deal on line the shipping seems to be as much as the yarn. Good for you! Enjoy your stash and hope all your wonderful projects and donations go well.


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## Jessica-Jean (Mar 14, 2011)

doorsing2000 said:


> How wonderful to have such a problem. Most of my yarn comes from thrift shops or leftover amounts picked up here and there. Most of what I made is scrap yarn as that is what I have. I have tried to buy yarn, but go into sticker shock when I get into a shop....or if I find a deal on line the shipping seems to be as much as the yarn. Good for you! Enjoy your stash and hope all your wonderful projects and donations go well.


Living in a city where there are literally dozens of very well-organized secondhand stores has its disadvantages. On the plus side, the front wall of my wool room is _very _well insulated, by the boxes and bins of stored yarns. The negative is that there isn’t a lot of any single colour (let alone dye lot) to make a large anything in a single colour. 
My ‘problem’ just means I have to think of various ways of combining what I do have. Fun!


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## MarieAntoinknit (Jul 7, 2012)

StitchNStash said:


> Thanks for your inspirational post! I think the Ravelry stash idea is definitely the way to go!


The beauty of it is the photos. You can take your own, or scrape from the web (i.e., mfg shot). And if you take the time to do that, you can also generate a spreadsheet from it if that's your thing (it is mine). Just remember to get a number/letter system in place as you go, for the "Stored In" tag. As I eventually discovered, "Novelty Bin" wasn't nearly adequate once I had 3 of them.  But now I can go in, click on the Stored In tag, and generate a picture list of everything Bin #6 (or whatever). Have fun!


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## MarieAntoinknit (Jul 7, 2012)

Jessica-Jean said:


> Umm … Any chance of getting you to come visit for a few weeks, and help me get my stash under control? 😈


That is a scary thought, after what I just went through with mine! 😱 But probably not anytime soon (unless I win the lottery). I'll send you a chatty note later this week.


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## yover8 (Oct 21, 2011)

Celt Knitter said:


> I would add a warning about something I did that I regret (and I've got the bruises on my head to prove it). I am an eco warrior and, feeling very smug, I decided to buy a load of flat pack cardboard boxes stacked high. No matter how I arranged them what I needed was in the bottom boxes and I couldn't see what was in them. Of course, when I searched the boxes, I was excited and distracted....not much knitting done those days! Now I have a heap of tatty cardboard to recycle🤢.
> I had ta knitting machine to solve the problem, as I wrote earlier, but when I went delving today another 5 had followed me home.....that's besides the ones in the other location😉. Does anybody have a pattern for a knitted coffin
> 🤣🤣?


Your knitted coffin:










Wool Coffins - Natural Endings


Yorkshire wool coffins. Available in cream or black. Fully sustainable and biodegradable coffins. Embroidered nameplate.




naturalendings.co.uk


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## mathrox (Jun 17, 2019)

yover8 said:


> Your knitted coffin:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


*OMG! I could not have envisioned this at all!*


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## LEE1313 (Jan 25, 2011)

Bummy said:


> Can you suggest some places to donate? I did give 2 black bags full to the Girl Scouts


I did well at Senior Centers, Schools art departments, and a FREE table in my driveway. LOTS of stuff went. So happy about that.


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## LEE1313 (Jan 25, 2011)

yover8 said:


> Your knitted coffin:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Wonder if there is a pattern ? LOL I know I have enough yarn to make my own " going away' capsule !! And it will be lined with the softess ALPACA !!

WHO KNEW


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## Celt Knitter (Jul 13, 2011)

yover8 said:


> Your knitted coffin:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


OMG....the perfect stash buster, and the relatives don't have to deal with the stash! I've just looked on their website and they are beautiful and reasonably priced. Just need to find a pattern now.....darn...I'll need to buy more felting wool


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## LEE1313 (Jan 25, 2011)

Celt Knitter said:


> OMG....the perfect stash buster, and the relatives don't have to deal with the stash! I've just looked on their website and they are beautiful and reasonably priced. Just need to find a pattern now.....darn...I'll need to buy more felting wool


OK I have thought about it all afternoon. The coffin have all straight lines. I think it can be done without a pattern.
You will need a roll of craft paper and a friend with a pencil.
Roll out the paper on the floor, lay down and have your friend trace you. That gives you an approz size, Now we go from there. I shall adorn mine with crocheted flowers all across the cover. Just not sure how long this is going to take. And until I need it, I can store my yarn in it.
LOLOLOL ( or not)


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## Celt Knitter (Jul 13, 2011)

LEE1313 said:


> OK I have thought about it all afternoon. The coffin have all straight lines. I think it can be done without a pattern.
> You will need a roll of craft paper and a friend with a pencil.
> Roll out the paper on the floor, lay down and have your friend trace you. That gives you an approz size, Now we go from there. I shall adorn mine with crocheted flowers all across the cover. Just not sure how long this is going to take. And until I need it, I can store my yarn in it.
> LOLOLOL ( or not)


I think we've sorted the stash and storage problem now. I'm short, 5'1" in the morning, or was that the width....that'll make a square...easy peasy. I can't decide if I want fair isle or cables. I grew wide knitting Aran sweaters, but never for myself! When I looked at the coffin, I did hope the flowers were crocheted. Could make them chocolate so my friends could help themselves! I think we have this


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## playwithfiber (9 mo ago)

Jessica-Jean said:


> Living in a city where there are literally dozens of very well-organized secondhand stores has its disadvantages. On the plus side, the front wall of my wool room is _very _well insulated, by the boxes and bins of stored yarns. The negative is that there isn’t a lot of any single colour (let alone dye lot) to make a large anything in a single colour.
> My ‘problem’ just means I have to think of various ways of combining what I do have. Fun!


Thank you for posting photos of your projects, Jessica-Jean. What eye candy! I love them all, but the afghan with the mitered squares is absolutely amazing. Wow.


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## txgigi (Feb 19, 2014)

I store mine by color. Have wire shelves at the top of the walls in my knitting/computer room. Have tried several methods but color seems to work best for me.


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## ElationRelation (9 mo ago)

maxjones said:


> ...should be embarrassed it would be me! 😄


Other people judge but that makes for a pained existence as that is mostly about them and their filter and means they don't understand you. I had a friend ask why I needed more than one sewing machine and so I asked her why she needed more than one knife in the kitchen. She then understood as they do different things better.

People who don't work with textiles don't understand and are often those who are bored. Those who create are typically never bored. Creativity (and love) is/are what really counts and makes the world go 'round. We need stash and tools to do what we enjoy and thus are happier people (no 9PM emergency runs for something). Please don't damper that positive expression by hosting looks or comments. 

AND we have evidence for time spent vs. cooking and cleaning that is often undone in 15 mins., and don't have arthritis in our thumbs from twiddling them when bored. ;D

Best, Elation


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## GeorgialCampbell (Jul 2, 2014)

StitchNStash said:


> Thanks for your post. It's funny you should write about combining yarn to make thicker yarn, I have been toying with this idea a bit recently.


I have cold floors in the winter and my feet freeze so I use double strands of number 4 or 5 weight yarns and make ugly slippers, I make them larger then I wear them normally so I can wear thick winter house socks in them too, that really helps my feet stay warmer!


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## JTM (Nov 18, 2012)

Jessica-Jean said:


> Living in a city where there are literally dozens of very well-organized secondhand stores has its disadvantages. On the plus side, the front wall of my wool room is _very _well insulated, by the boxes and bins of stored yarns. The negative is that there isn’t a lot of any single colour (let alone dye lot) to make a large anything in a single colour.
> My ‘problem’ just means I have to think of various ways of combining what I do have. Fun!
> View attachment 1237646
> 
> ...


Love your style! #3 and #10 are my favs.


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## GeorgialCampbell (Jul 2, 2014)

StitchNStash said:


> Prior to finishing work a few years back, I had convinced myself that I wouldn't be able to afford to buy yarn when I retired. As luck would have it, the yarn sales were plentiful, and the prices were great! Unfortunately, at the time I had a craze on a particular baby blanket, that required a total of nine / fifty gram balls of yarn. The trouble was I couldn't seem to make up my mind on colour, so I bought enough to make blankets in six different colours, and from there the obsession began to grow! When the shops opened, between lock downs I bought even more! I then needed to watch for sales on plastic bins to put all the bargain yarn into. You can see where this is going!!!
> 
> Anyway, I now have at least five large plastic bins full of yarn that I seriously need to get some law and order into. I am not exaggerating when I say I have everything, 3 ply, 4 ply, 8 ply, chunky, sparkly, synthetic, hairy, wool and also cotton in a mixture of thicknesses.
> 
> How would you go about sorting this? I would really appreciate your comments.


This has probably already been posted but Norman (NimbleNeedles) has a video on Youtube about separating and storing stash and it is pretty good. 
If you haven't seen it you might want to check it out.


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## groovyboomer (Jul 28, 2011)

patocenizo said:


> Well, I am having a hearty laugh right now being 5:28 am in southern California. I sort mine by weight, it is easier ...at least for me and pretty soon I'll be giving my granddaughter some of each weight.


I also sort by weight. If I had enough room I would sort by weight and each weight by color! What a rabbit hole I would have to go down to make that happen!


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## 5th Angel (Jul 16, 2012)

When you have lots of yarn, in lots of totes, when you open the tote in the very back, its like Christmas. Your mind goes in to knitting activation mode and starts the creativity juices flowing. What a super charge for no additional cost.


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## Jessica-Jean (Mar 14, 2011)

playwithfiber said:


> Thank you for posting photos of your projects, Jessica-Jean. What eye candy! I love them all, but the afghan with the mitered squares is absolutely amazing. Wow.


Thank you. 💕


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## Jessica-Jean (Mar 14, 2011)

JTM said:


> Love your style! #3 and #10 are my favs.


Thank you.


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## goodcrocheter1 (Apr 4, 2017)

StitchNStash said:


> Thanks for your post. It's funny you should write about combining yarn to make thicker yarn, I have been toying with this idea a bit recently.


Here is a couple if different projects where the dingle yarn on it’s own was too thin a ply,so I used the yarn double threaded instead to make a slightly thicker cardigan for myself.


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## goodcrocheter1 (Apr 4, 2017)

Here is 2 different pics of items I havw made where I have put thin ply yarn together and crocheted the yarn double threaded. My cardigan in both cases came out like an aran cardigan weight. I took pic of the unfinished cardigan to show you the pattern,so hence why you can see the cardigan without the sleeves in one of the pics not on the cardigan. I have had varying success with putting thinnner yarn together - 2 plys of yarn together. They come out thin dk yarn sometimes aran weight cardigan - sometimes a chunky weight cardigan. Only experience teaches you what your cardigan weight will tirn out for your cardigan and gow far it will go!


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## maxjones (Aug 2, 2011)

Aunt Nay said:


> Thanks for the recommendation and the link. This is a very attractive option.


Such wonderful ideas and resources. Thank you.


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## xanavia (Jun 10, 2019)

StitchNStash said:


> Thanks for your post. I too, rather like the idea of sorting yarn into colour groups.


I also sort by color groups


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## geezee (Feb 15, 2018)

StitchNStash said:


> Prior to finishing work a few years back, I had convinced myself that I wouldn't be able to afford to buy yarn when I retired. As luck would have it, the yarn sales were plentiful, and the prices were great! Unfortunately, at the time I had a craze on a particular baby blanket, that required a total of nine / fifty gram balls of yarn. The trouble was I couldn't seem to make up my mind on colour, so I bought enough to make blankets in six different colours, and from there the obsession began to grow! When the shops opened, between lock downs I bought even more! I then needed to watch for sales on plastic bins to put all the bargain yarn into. You can see where this is going!!!
> 
> Anyway, I now have at least five large plastic bins full of yarn that I seriously need to get some law and order into. I am not exaggerating when I say I have everything, 3 ply, 4 ply, 8 ply, chunky, sparkly, synthetic, hairy, wool and also cotton in a mixture of thicknesses.
> 
> How would you go about sorting this? I would really appreciate your comments.


I first made a list of what and how many. Then I got a bunch of space bags from Dollar Tree. (I find they are as good as the name brand and a lot cheaper). I put like skeins together in the same bag but they can spill over to the next bag. They take up less space when they are a little compressed. I stack all the bags in a cedar chest but they would fit in large totes as well. These bags only come in one size. They are 17.5 x 27.5" flat. On the top of the pile I put the paper "inventory list." I then adjust the list when I add or take out. The bags are clear so I can refresh my memory at a glance if my description didn't do it.


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## sbeth53 (Mar 29, 2011)

Thanks for starting this conversation...so many great ideas on how to manage stashes! I may finally have the motivation I needed to get started on mine 😊


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## fiddlegirl (Dec 7, 2015)

geezee said:


> I first made a list of what and how many. Then I got a bunch of space bags from Dollar Tree. (I find they are as good as the name brand and a lot cheaper). I put like skeins together in the same bag but they can spill over to the next bag. They take up less space when they are a little compressed. I stack all the bags in a cedar chest but they would fit in large totes as well. These bags only come in one size. They are 17.5 x 27.5" flat. On the top of the pile I put the paper "inventory list." I then adjust the list when I add or take out. The bags are clear so I can refresh my memory at a glance if my description didn't do it.


I did this and got caught by my grown kids when I laid on the bag on the floor to squish all the air out of it while I zipped it up. They thought I was crazy but I could store a lot more bags of yarn in my cedar chest this way. 
I just thought of the picture when I'm gone and they open the cedar chest thinking they are going to find old treasured garments (my wedding dress) only to find my hidden yarn stash😂


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

sbeth53 said:


> Thanks for starting this conversation...so many great ideas on how to manage stashes! I may finally have the motivation I needed to get started on mine 😊


You are so welcome!! I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the many useful ideas! The Ravelry stash system is the plan for this weekend!


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

geezee said:


> I first made a list of what and how many. Then I got a bunch of space bags from Dollar Tree. (I find they are as good as the name brand and a lot cheaper). I put like skeins together in the same bag but they can spill over to the next bag. They take up less space when they are a little compressed. I stack all the bags in a cedar chest but they would fit in large totes as well. These bags only come in one size. They are 17.5 x 27.5" flat. On the top of the pile I put the paper "inventory list." I then adjust the list when I add or take out. The bags are clear so I can refresh my memory at a glance if my description didn't do it.


I think the bags are a splendid idea to prevent the yarn from getting mixed up. The only concern I would have is if the bags are plastic, there is a possibility they may sweat during warmer weather. This could potentially turn the yarn mouldy if exposed to moisture. Just a thought.


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

5th Angel said:


> When you have lots of yarn, in lots of totes, when you open the tote in the very back, its like Christmas. Your mind goes in to knitting activation mode and starts the creativity juices flowing. What a super charge for no additional cost.


And months later, when you eventually find the beautiful wool you had been looking for, you know Santa may as well be made redundant!


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

GeorgialCampbell said:


> This has probably already been posted but Norman (NimbleNeedles) has a video on Youtube about separating and storing stash and it is pretty good.
> If you haven't seen it you might want to check it out.


Many thanks for posting this video link. I will definitely have a look at this tomorrow.


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

ElationRelation said:


> People who don't work with textiles don't understand and are often those who are bored. Those who create are typically never bored. Creativity (and love) is/are what really counts and makes the world go 'round. We need stash and tools to do what we enjoy and thus are happier people (no 9PM emergency runs for something). Please don't damper that positive expression by hosting looks or comments.


Many thanks for your post. I could not agree with you more!


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## Jessica-Jean (Mar 14, 2011)

StitchNStash said:


> I think the bags are a splendid idea to prevent the yarn from getting mixed up. The only concern I would have is if the bags are plastic, there is a possibility they may sweat during warmer weather. This could potentially turn the yarn mouldy if exposed to moisture. Just a thought.


Really? My wool room is in the cellar. Our cellar is VERY humid. There is some white mould on the outer surfaces of boxes, bins, and exposed plastic bags. None on exposed yarns - synthetic or natural fibres. Never any visible ‘sweating’ inside or outside of any plastic bags, plastic bins, etc.
Please, explain how it happens?


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

Jessica-Jean said:


> Please, explain how it happens?


It's merely a cautious thought, as plastic does not breathe.


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## Jessica-Jean (Mar 14, 2011)

StitchNStash said:


> It's merely a cautious thought, as plastic does not breathe.


Which fact keeps living organisms from setting up housekeeping inside plastic bags.


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## grandmatimestwo (Mar 30, 2011)

StitchNStash said:


> Thanks for your post! Don't forget to buy lots of bins for your retirement stash!!


I’ve bought the bins…..now where to store it all?


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

grandmatimestwo said:


> I’ve bought the bins…..now where to store it all?


Well done, you're on a roll now! How many did you buy? I have mine stacked three high.


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## Jessica-Jean (Mar 14, 2011)

StitchNStash said:


> Well done, you're on a roll now! How many did you buy? I have mine stacked three high.


Mine are stacked up to the 8’ cellar ceiling. Three to four stacks deep to the front wall. Biggest room in the house. I think I should feel shame, but I don’t. I never need to buy yarn, only ‘shop’ in my stash. 😈


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## Nanamel14 (Aug 4, 2016)

My stash was getting quite big, I like to keep it in large clear containers, I like to separate into sock yarn, cotton, cotton blends, merino, alpaca then 1 for fun fur etc....I've not bought much yarn in the last 2 1/2 years only a few skeins of sock yarn....I have reduced my stash a fair bit...I do need to re-sort/ move some from boxes into containers that now have space....I now only keep 6 large containers which I'm glad I have but at this stage I don't need to keep as much as I once did


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## Kimbo58 (Jul 11, 2015)

Cindyallard said:


> First I would go through and separate by what you want to make with it, then sort by weight and color, you may find that you have a color that you don’t like, then donate it, all of it.


Mine is in a large double pantry type cupboard, bagged & see through. So I pretty much know it all & where to find what. 😁 I only buy yarns that I love, so none wasted here. 😆


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## StitchNStash (9 mo ago)

Kimbo58 said:


> I only buy yarns that I love, so none wasted here. 😆


I think I have may have found the ideal excuse, my yarn taste appears to change quite frequently!


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## Celt Knitter (Jul 13, 2011)

Jessica-Jean said:


> Really? My wool room is in the cellar. Our cellar is VERY humid. There is some white mould on the outer surfaces of boxes, bins, and exposed plastic bags. None on exposed yarns - synthetic or natural fibres. Never any visible ‘sweating’ inside or outside of any plastic bags, plastic bins, etc.
> Please, explain how it happens?


Sheep on moorland are are 30 feet from my door in a perennially damp and now sometimes humid environment. I see wet, muddy and bedraggled sheep all the time, but I haven't seen a mouldy one yet! I'm no biologist, but I suspect that they evolved with woolly coats for warmth and protection against mould. I don't get any on synthetic yarns either.....could be my hot excited breath as I rummage through them dries them out! 😁


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