As a professional organizer, it has been my pleasure to work with various crafters over the years, which has taught me a slew of never heard of terms related to their particular craft. One such a term was the “yarn stash”. Avid knitters and crocheters will tell you they love their “stash”, though will quickly admit that it can easily take over several storage areas or even entire rooms if not stored in an organized way.
Whether you are just starting your stash or own one that seems to have gotten out of hand, this may be a good time to take inventory, sort, and store the yarn in such a way that will let you enjoy using your yarn for years to come.
Start by sorting
Separate yarn by color, weight, fiber, or whatever category makes sense to you. Now, I know that you love your yarn, but be honest with yourself and only keep what you know you will realistically use. There are wonderful groups who knit and crochet blankets, hats, mittens, and scarves for hospitals and shelters. So, donate it and our unused yarn will benefit others in such a wonderful way!
Once you have sorted the yarn, you will need to decide how to store it. If you have large amounts of yarn, it may be a good idea to use online tools such as the one on Ravelry. Here you can keep a list of your stash in an online notebook, which helps you organize your projects, yarns, patterns and other resources. When planning a new project you can easily reference back to the list and see what you already have on hand or may need to purchase.
How to store your stash
Be sure to pick a dry, dust-free area and think about what method of storage would work best for your available space. Be creative - Pinterest will give you great ideas if you need a little inspiration. More common storage solutions are oversized Ziploc bags that come in a variety of sizes, stackable totes with lids or cubbies, which can be used with or without bins to store the yarn. I like to add labels (whenever possible) to keep a better overview of things. You might also add cedar blocks to repel moths.
Last, include a designated area to store your most current projects, yarn in need of winding (use a yarn winder and swift*), projects that need to be “frogged” (more new terms for me) and a place for your yarn scraps.
These are just a few thoughts about storing your stash; I hope that I could provide just a little inspiration to motivate you to get organized. So, what are your favorite ways to store your stash?
* Check out this YouTube video on how to use a swift.