As the new year approaches, it’s time to make room for all the new yarn and craft supplies that will be joining your stash. It can be tempting to stock up on material beforehand, but the overabundance has its downsides; for one thing, the yarn that has been waiting its turn in previous months will likely be moved to the back of the cabinet, not resurfacing for another year.
If your goal for the coming year is to have a de-cluttered yarn and craft stash, where every item is visible, reachable and not covered with dust, here are a few ways to keep your stash manageable and organized, before adding new supplies. You can organize step-by-step accordingly, or pick which method works best for you.
#1 For every new skein of yarn you buy, use up at least two from your own stash.
This technique sounds simple, but it goes a long way. Rather than creating new projects with new yarn, and adding more project ideas to an overflowing To-Make list, think about what can be made with materials you already have. One way to make this easier is to…
#2 Keep an inventory list of all your yarn and craft supplies.
You don’t need to go over-the-top with organizing, but having at least a rough idea of how much yarn is in your stash, and where it all is, will help immensely. It may take a while at first to get everything in order, but once it’s done, knowing where everything is will save lots of time and energy for future projects. If you’d like to completely reorganize your stash to make it more visible, then you can…
#3 Sort your yarn in a way you find most visually aesthetic.
This will add to the ease of finding yarn, and help you formulate ideas for new projects at a glance. You can sort your yarn by color, size, ply, material, etc. What I like to do is have a spare compartment (or two) for “projects underway”; a little area with yarn for a project I’m either currently working on, planning to make, or thinking about making. With a clearer impression of what you have, you can then…
#4 Look for color combinations among the yarn in your stash.
One of the many reasons crafters buy new yarn is because of the variety a “new” yarn color offers, when in fact the color just purchased is already in their stash; it just can’t be seen. Organizing with methods #2 and #3 in mind will make it significantly easier to see and use up the yarn you have, without having to spend on new yarn. You’ll then be able to…
#5 Rotate and reorganize your yarn inventory every couple of months.
It helps to have a “fresh” perspective every now and then. After looking at the same stash layout for a while, you might see the same yarn in the same place for so long that it gets overlooked. Rotating will add variety and bring out more options that might not have been anticipated before, and reorganizing will help you familiarize with the supplies again.
Those are my 5 ways to effectively organize and stashbust! Please let me know what you think! I’ll have a few more T&As up in the next couple of weeks.
What’s your go-to method of organization? 🙂
