Tuesday 12 May 2015

Decluttering and Organising the Yarn Stash

Hello all!

Guess what... I am sick with the cold again. Gosh, I am so annoyed by this. Does any of you have good ideas on how to avoid getting sick this much?! I am willing to try almost everything by now.

Anyway, back to more pleasant things. As I told you some weeks ago, I got myself a yarn winder to organize my yarn stash. It took me a lot longer to wind all the yarn balls into nice yarn cakes than I expected - lot more yarn than I thought I had. Opps.


As you can see on the pictures, I stacked the yarn cakes into IKEA shelves which seems to work really well. I get about 4x4x4 yarn cakes into one shelf. I do see the problem of getting to the yarn cakes at the back but at the moment this seems to be the best solution. I could add metal drawers but I wouldn't be able to add as much yarn to them. And let's face it: There is only so much space in my office/studio. Sighs. Perhaps one day?



If you search for "yarn storage" on Pinterest, you will find tons of wonderful ideas - this board for example has tons of ideas, tricks and hints.. I have tried some of them, like the boxes, but the yarn got tangeled up all the time. And if I put them into shelves it worked as long as the yarn was in proper balls. By the time I used half of it or more, it tended to get very messy. 
 
How do you store your stash? Send us pictures to crochet.between.worlds@gmail.com and I will add them to this post if you like!

 

You shall be very proud of me! I filled three bags with yarn which I won't use and will give it to charity. Wohoo, I never thought the day where I would give yarn away (willing) would arrive. Did you? At the moment, we (as in the boyfriend and I) are very busy decluttering the flat. One wouldn't believe all the stuff one collected over the years which is still in very good shape but never used. So it shall leave our flat and more somewhere else. We usually donate our things to Oxfam which will resell the stuff. There is a little store here in Dortmund and it is always a bit funny when I go in there and discover things in the selling shelves which used to belong to us. Feels good though. It is amzing how less stuff in the flat actually frees one's mind!


Have a wonderful week! Is it a long weekend for you too? It is here in Germany (well, for most people. Thursday is public holiday and most people take the friday off).

Take care
Anne

24 comments :

  1. Decluttering must feel so nice, my yarn stash are all in boxes, so I dont "see" it....

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    1. I tried the boxes thing at first... But it turned out there was too much yarn for the boxes... Opps!
      Can you take a pic, so I can add it to the post?!

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  2. I love decluttering and having a good clear out, very good for the soul I think! As for yarn storage, I suspect that I have a lot less than you, but I also wind my part balls into yarn cakes, so much easier to keep them as you say and I then have mine in two plastic boxes. If I had lovely shelves to put them on I would probably do that though!! xx

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    1. You are totally right: Decluttering is like work for the soul!

      Can you take a pic of your yarncake in the boxes?

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  3. Someone will be very happy to find your yarn stash at the store. :-)

    My yarn is in large storage tubs. It's not a perfect solution --- you have no idea what is really IN there. But, for now it works for me.

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    1. I hope so! Hope the yarn will give someone else pleasure :)

      I never heard about storage tubs before! How do they look like?

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  4. I'm finishing up a scrap afghan at the moment, and then I'm planning to go through my yarn shelf and get rid of some of the stuff I'm most likely not going to use. I find it hard to let go of yarn, but at least I know it will go to a good home.

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    1. It is pretty hard to let go of yarn... But deep down in my heart, I knew I would never use these bits again...

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  5. Your yarn balls look so neat! I have yarn squished into a big stack box, in a bag in the loft, and several project bags ready and waiting for me to start in the cupboard under the stairs. This is an area that I definitely need to organise. Hopefully some more great ideas will pop up here :-)

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    1. I am hoping for more ideas too! It's so cool to hear and see how other people stack their stashes!

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    2. I love the way you have your yarn stashed in all sorts of places - my yarn stash is starting to spread around the house like that too! ;-)

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  6. Thank for dropping by, Anne.
    Good for you, for decluttering! I also cleared some yarn recently, and still contemplating that winder.

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    1. I recommend having a yarn winder... It makes storing so much easier!

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  7. Now I have stash envy, Anne! Feel better.
    Amalia
    xo

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  8. Your yarn stash looks nice and tidy now but you are right about how easy it can be to get messy once the skeins get unravelled. Kathryn Vercillo shared some pictures of my yarn storage on her blog Crochet Concupiscence: http://www.crochetconcupiscence.com/2013/06/jodie-bravely-crochets-through-chronic-fatigue/
    Everything is tucked away - I like to have it protected from light, dust and insects etc. Thank goodness for Ravelry for keeping track of what I have and where! I have been contemplating a purchase of similar shelves to yours and putting it in the family room as my "crochet corner" - a place to park my books, tools and WIPS.
    It is always interesting to find out how others organise their stash and to get ideas and try them out. Eventually we find a system that works for us. :-)
    Good work on your decluttering - now to declutter that cold from your life, heh? ;-)
    Get well soon.

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    1. Thanks for the link, Jodie, I will check it out!

      I am too lazy to put all my stash into Ravelry, even though I really like the idea! So neat!

      Oh and I certainly need to declutter that bloody cold, too :P

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    2. The trick to Ravelry is to enter your yarn details as it comes into your possession. One of my downfalls is forgetting to update the Ravelry entry when I move the yarn from one storage place to another! I need to develop a better memory and self discipline to remember to do that.

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  9. Oooh what a lot of lovely yarn Anne! I love the way it looks all sorted like that into shades.You did so well to sort some for the charity shop-someone will really appreciate it. Yes de-cluttering is hard but it does make you feel a lot better when it's done!
    Have a lovely weekend,
    Alison xx

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    1. Hehe, I didn't realize there is some shading sorting in it, but now that you mention it... I actually sorted it partly by brand and partly by quality (cotton and so on).

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  10. Thank you for popping by, I haven't worn the shawl yet. I actually store my yarn in a large wooden chest so I don't see it, but then I do have the problem of having to empty it out everytime I want to start a project. Love the way you have organized all yours.

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  11. Your yarn stash looks beautiful....well done on sorting it all out! I love those yarn cakes, they look so pretty stored together so neatly.
    Hope you are feeling better, and have a happy weekend.
    Helen xox

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  12. Your yarn cakes look so colourful and tidy, nice job! My yarn is in various baskets and boxes which sounds disorganised but there is a system and it works for me. There are some very inspiring pins on that board, I have to say. x

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  13. Hallo Anne, many thanks for your words. To storage all my stash - that's a big challenge ;-))) . My cupboard and my shelves are full with yarn, books, magazine, fabrics and so on. I have bought some plastic boxes to organize (also good against moths). But I think I have to try the biggest challenge: Stop buying :-))) OMG !
    Kind regards
    Birgit

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