Two for Tuesday - Yarn Organization

Hello again from Pam and Kirsten!

We're back to talk about organization again, but this time we're focused in on yarn organization!

Let's face it. If you knit/crochet/sew you know what we mean when we say our stash is a little out of hand. That's because knitters, crocheters, and sewers are all hoarders - at various levels of course.

I wouldn't call it hoarding, so much as preparing for any and all knitting needs!

We have a lot of yarn. Between the two of us, we could almost open a yarn shop! Actually, we've thought of buying one in the future, but I'm not so sure how that would help our sanity.

I have been working very hard lately on my yarn, patterns, and completed projects organization. I've sorted finished projects in recycling bags so I can tell what I have complete. I have my loose patterns in three ring binders. One of my favorite past times is to sort yarn. I try to sort it by fiber and then color. There's nothing like an afternoon with yarn scattered all over the living room and then putting it all back into tubs! Most of my yarn is in tubs, those big Rubbermaid ones you can buy at retail stores. Other yarn is sorted into a big cubbyhole system in the basement, while still more yarn is in drawers in a dresser. 

For a while I had my yarn in huge toner boxes - I had put them there for ease of moving, but we ended up staying where we are instead, but I kept the yarn there out of convenience. The only problem was, that the boxes weren't terribly convenient. If I wanted to find a certain yarn I had to dig around the huge box, and sometimes the softer yarns would start to unravel from their balls. Very frustrating. In the last couple of weeks I've been rearranging the second bedroom (read: catch all room/sewing room/storage room/guest bedroom without a bed) as we are soon to get a new bed in the master bedroom, and will put the old one in the guest room so guests will finally have a bed to sleep on! In my rearranging I decided the big boxes had to go. So I bought a $20 drawer organizer in which to store my Etsy mice (they aren't stitched closed, I stuff the catnip and shakers in after they are purchased just in case the customer wants a bell or a silent "church mouse" instead) which then opened up the dresser. I was able to fit all of my wool balls and lion brand yarn in the dresser, leaving only the cotton and flash yarns to fend for themselves in a mixture of cloth, paper, and plastic bags in the closet...which is also where my wool skeins live. I also added one great feature just two days ago: an organizational shoe rack in which to place my needles and other odds and ends! I haven't even filled it yet, it's so new!

Those are our tips and tricks, how do you store your hoard? Er, stash?