Yarn Stash Declutter… organisation inspiration

 

A full yarn declutter doesn't have to be difficult.

Getting to it regularly is probably most important. When I was a child we did this once or twice a year. Usually when there was a new influx of yarn from a friend, or that my Mum had found in a charity shop or at a garage sale. Once you get used to the routine, you'll start to love sorting as it's a great way to be inspired for your next knitting projects. (You'll likely find yourself dropping everything and starting to knit before your'e half-way through the organisation!)

Decide on where you're storing your yarn and you'll look forward to tidying that space each year.

My parents had, and still have, a massive dark wood wardrobe with sliding shelves in the spare bedroom. Once I'd read the C.S. Lewis books about Narnia I was certain I'd find a secret country inside it whenever I open the doors! With only a tiny hanging space it was ideal for containing craft supplies, so all of our fabric and yarn went in there once it was empty of clothes. Now I have a blanket chest that contains all my yarn and a chest of drawers that holds my finished pattern samples that we use for website photos. It's a lot easier to maintain with particular space set aside. Today's video will give you some ideas on how you can sort once you've found all your yarn (even the sneaky stash under the spare-room's bed!). To subscribe to the Knit With Hannah YouTube channel click here To join us for the Knit With Hannah Yarn declutter, beginning Friday 3rd May 2019,  sign up here for the email and live video series. :D

Which method of sorting should you take?

I've been organising yarn for as long as I've been knitting. My Mum had an amazing stash of yarn for as long as I can remember. It came from friends, from garage sales, from charity shops and left-overs from projects that she had knitted in the past. There was so much that I don't ever remember going to a shop to buy yarn until I was in my late teens. With such a stash we had to keep it tidy. The evolution of the tidying ritual is very easy to see now that I look back. For a long time we kept it stored by colour. Then as I started following patterns more frequently (rather than just putting stitches on the needles and starting to knit) we began to sort it into weights.

Declutter all at once.

Do a full Marie Kondo on it! Get it all out at once and set aside a weekend or an afternoon so you can tidy and sort in a few hours. It's a great way to see what you have. You may find duplicates or a whole range of yarn that you'd forgotten about, that you actually don't need anymore. Maybe you have sock yarn that you'd bought to give to your friend as she's the sock knitter- not you! Perhaps you went on a shopping frenzy for super chunky yarn, but decided that you hated using the massive needles. If you find something like that you can declutter and remove it from your stash and in to someone else's.

Break it up to make it easier.

Sort it one style at a time Do you find it easier to store your yarn in types, maybe in weights or fibres, so you know which box to open when you need yarn for a specific project? Pick one box up at a time and spend longer, half-an-hour each weekend will do it, and you'll be sorted in a month. Watch this week's video to find out more tips and ideas for sorting and organizing your yarn. And if you want to join me for a longer yarn declutter, sign up here to join the 2019 Knit With Hannah Yarn Declutter, starting on Friday 3rd May. I'll be right by your side with weekly emails and weekly live videos in the Knit With Hannah Facebook Group. We had great fun last year, I do hope you can join us. :D