Stock up on yarn or reduce your stash?

Dear users, dear authors,
How is your yarn stash looking?

I’d like to reduce mine to make room for new yarn!

Are you using up your yarn stash so you can buy more yarn? ;-)

I’m trying to use up my leftover Bw yarn (there’s only enough left for small projects), but I also bought a large 500g skein—and that’s it, since I still have quite a bit in stock. I just need more time to work through everything, and then I’ll “restock” again.

I’m not really into super tiny little projects, so I collect colorful cotton scraps in a cardboard box. Once it’s full, I trade it at a swap meet, and I have room for medium-sized to larger projects.
If I have whole skeins of something left over and no new ideas for them, I set them aside for the next swap package. And I still have some yarn here for planned projects that I’m not in the mood for right now.
So I’m leaning toward reducing my stash… until an idea pops into my head that makes me absolutely have to buy yarn. 🤣

I’m also leaning toward reducing mine. I’m working really hard on that.

But then, when I go back into yarn paradise, that’s it, and there’s more in the house than before.

My stash has been shrinking for 4 years, but I still have an endless amount of yarn.

I recently drastically reduced my stash by donating everything that’s been here for more than 2–3 years and that I have no plans for...

For me, that means I now have room again to buy more yarn without feeling guilty, haha 😇

Right now, I’m in the process of reducing mine.

Hmmm… since I bought a total of 15 skeins yesterday and the day before, I can’t really say I’m “reducing” my stash, even though 5 of those skeins were on sale 😂
Plus, I’d ordered some yarn for the color promotion… and because I wanted to save on shipping (what a reason 🫣😂), I ended up buying a few other types of yarn as well.
Plus, because of our—never-ending story—attic renovation, I can’t even get to my loooads of boxes of yarn… So I HAVE to buy more so I can knit and crochet.
At least I’m currently working on a few new patterns here—alongside some (many 🫣) UFOs. 😁

Josefa, that’s right. My stash usually isn’t enough for larger projects, and I still have a lot of leftover cotton yarn, acrylic yarn, and quite a bit of sock yarn. I’d like to reduce that to make room for new yarn 🐑. 

Who among you has the most yarn right now?

Who has the most yarn? 
Good question. :-D

For a while, I enjoyed snapping up yarn on sale. 
The problem is that you don’t always find the right projects for it, so the yarn pile keeps growing.

Now I want to counteract that and only buy yarn for planned projects. 

Unfortunately, the yarn pile is shrinking only slowly because there are so many beautiful new projects...

I hope it’s not me.

My stats say I’ve cataloged 256 different yarns.

Unfortunately, I can’t say how many grams I have of each yarn. 

*facepalm*
No, I don’t have that much—just two plastic boxes like this full, so a maximum of 50–60 skeins, including the scraps.

If only my stash were at least organized😚. I have enough to last until I’m 100, so I’m not buying anything new right now. Unfortunately, many people mean well, so I often end up adopting leftover skeins. Best regards

I know what you mean about people meaning well. I also got another bag of leftover yarn as a gift, and from a neighbor 6 balls of a yarn I would never have put in my shopping cart. 

I’ve since used it to make a hat and food for the children’s play kitchen

Pizza crust from the neighbor’s yarn and noodles

I know all about those free skeins, too. That’s why I have so much unloved acrylic yarn in even less-loved colors. I’ve started everything, and I don’t know what to make with it because the colors don’t go together at all…

Hey, I picked up a huuuuge ball of dark gray acrylic yarn (900 g) and knitted all my leftover balls together into one big blanket using double strands and 6 mm needles. The colors don’t look so bad anymore 🤣, and it’s really cozy on the sofa.
Maybe I’ll find a photo.
Best regards

something like this

What a great solution. Your blanket looks fantastic. It’s really nice and big—perfect for snuggling up in.

For quite a while, I’ve been crocheting my scraps into little nests for animal shelters. I used double and triple strands of yarn. 

Oh, that blanket is absolutely gorgeous! I also have so much leftover yarn in all colors, weights, and materials. This is the perfect inspiration.
I haven’t bought anything in a year; I wouldn’t even know where else to put it. 

There are around 12 boxes full of leftover yarn in the attic.
When a dear friend’s mother passed away, I inherited her entire yarn stash. I gave half of it away right away back then, but there was still so much. 
Not to mention the boxes of yarn cakes in the basement, and then the yarn for my current projects that’s stored in the sofa bench and the two cupboards in the living room.

Thank goodness I have a very understanding husband who turns a blind eye to it.
As long as I don’t store any yarn in his workshop or his garages, he’s relaxed about it.

It’s similar here: I have loads of yarn, but whenever I think of a new project, I never have the right kind, so I buy more again...
Do you have any addresses for me where I can donate leftover yarn? I mean actual leftovers without ball bands, etc.
Kindergartens, schools...???
I’d be very grateful to you
Best regards
Margitta

Margitta, kindergartens and schools are always happy to take leftover yarn, since they use it for crafts. The label doesn’t matter at all. Feel free to ask at local kindergartens near you. :)

I’ve been cutting back for years. I only buy what I’ll use right away. It doesn’t always work out—sometimes something doesn’t turn out right, so I unravel it, and then it just sits there again. Plus, I know how it is with my lovely neighbors. 😂 But then again, it’s good yarn. 🤷
You just can’t say no, can you?
Best regards, Marita 
  

Flea markets are the worst. There you’ll find expensive brand-name yarn for 1€ per skein. You just can’t leave that there—you HAVE to buy it.😂

Oh dear, I actually wanted to cut back too, and I did—at least a little. Buuut ... today another offer came in that I just couldn’t resist. And since of course I wanted to save on postage, I ended up with a few more grams again. But they’ll definitely be knitted up this year.

I just can’t manage to really make some space; something always comes up.

I don’t have as many different yarns as Petra does, fortunately. I wouldn’t even know where to store them.

I have a ton of yarn, too. Three large plastic boxes sorted by cotton, acrylic yarn, and sock yarn.
Plus, there’s a mixed box with silk yarn, viscose, cashmere, etc.
(I’d guess about 120 skeins in total.)
Unfortunately, I also tend to order more yarn to save on shipping costs. And when that beautiful yarn is on sale, quite a lot adds up.
Plus, a new yarn shop recently opened nearby.
I just couldn’t pass up the grand opening specials. 🙈 🤣
I know what you mean about nice neighbors and friends, too!
I think the ideas for the blanket and the baby nests are great. That would help me use up my leftover yarn, too. After all, that’s still in a big box as well. 
I just can’t manage to reduce it.
Then a new project catches my eye again, and I’m missing the right yarn or color.
I try not to add to my yarn stash and, after a project with new yarn, to make a project using yarn from my stash first. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always work out. 😆 
I’ll sort through it all again when I get the chance and see where I can donate some of it. 

I’m always trying to work through my stash. That’s why I’m currently crocheting a nativity scene using my leftover acrylic yarn. But as is always the case, I either run out of yarn or the colors don’t match as I’d hoped—so I have to buy something new to fill in the gaps.
Luckily, in my case, it was just one skein that I had to pick up today. I stayed strong and only spent a full 3 minutes in the yarn store. But next door, there’s a fabric store… and that’s where I ended up making an unplanned purchase. At least I have a plan for what I’ll do with this purchase…
Someday, I’d like to be able to open my closet doors without fearing that everything will come tumbling out at me. :-)

My stash is slowly starting to dwindle, too.
I’m actually only buying what I really want to use for a current project.... Since most of the yarn in my stash has the same or very similar yardage, it usually “goes together” somehow. So I try to use skeins from my stash and then maybe reorder one or two matching colors for “the project.” …And since I’m totally into hand-dyed sock yarn—which you can’t get from the big manufacturers—I also avoid the shipping cost trap.
  A few days ago, I took two large under-bed boxes of cotton out of the storage closet and put them away. I’m not using that stuff right now anyway.... Maybe never....
Over the past two years, my habits when it comes to ordering, shopping for yarn, and buying at flea markets have completely changed... Don’t ask how or why. In any case, I actually gave away/donated a lot of yarn to a residential group. The caregiver’s face was so “cool”—there were three moving boxes full of it.... Mostly whole skeins.
And since then, very little yarn has been added to my stash....
I’m downsizing here!!! 

It’s so nice to read these posts. And I realize I’m not alone with my large stash, single skeins, and scraps.

Right now, I’m crocheting small scraps into food items. Here’s a suggestion for whole skeins, too—socks, winter hats, and wrist warmers for the homeless. Kids’ hats—Inge is busy sewing them for the food bank. See if there’s a drop-off location near you, or put together a package to send. That’s how I’ve already used up a few skeins. I always use a different pattern so it doesn’t get boring, and I have fun doing it. 

....I’ve added to mine....🙈 Somehow I just couldn’t “resist”.... I put it in my cart, then took it out again because I didn’t really “need” it.
Yarn is something you “want” to have, not something you “need”....
So I checked again—yep, it was still in stock—so back into the cart it went. After a quick walk.... and a cappuccino later, I finally hit “order” 🙈😁🙈 That was on Monday, and today my yarn already arrived, all the way from Meissen....

I’m totally in love with these colors.... 

That looks really beautiful, too!

But these are really beautiful

I’m so glad to hear others are in the same boat—the “yarn problem.”
I don’t have quite as much as some, but my stash still isn’t getting any smaller because there are still a lot of dark colors in there (lots of shades of green, beige, brown, and purple...) that don’t really match my projects.

But that blanket idea—it looks absolutely great. I’m going to use that as inspiration for my leftover yarn.

So if anyone has any light-colored cotton yarn left over (for size 2.5 needles), bring it on! I’d love to take it.

My yarn stash is spread out across 4 fabric boxes and 2 small tote bags. It’s still very organized,

though. Have fun with your yarn 😉🧶