Keeping track of everything...... how.....???????

Hi everyone,

I have a question for you:

How do you keep track of your yarn stash, and how do you know what kinds
of yarn, in what colors, and in what quantities you have?

I’ve totally lost track.

I have a huge Kalax shelf from IKEA with 16 drawers.
Ten of them are full of yarn. Then I have several more boxes full as well.

But I no longer know which colors I have of which yarns, or
how much of each.

Can you give me a tip on how to get organized again?

Do you write down what you have, or do you just know it by heart?

OMG, I hope you understand what I mean.

Love, Heike

@Heike,

if I had the yarn in drawers, I’d make a list^^

Mine is visible on the shelf, so I don’t lose track of it.

Best regards, Sabine

Hi Heike :)

I know the problem: For a long time, I just had my yarn lying in a huge drawer in a total mess, and I never knew what I still had... Sometimes I’d buy more of something, only to realize later that I actually still had that type somewhere at the bottom...

Since yarn—especially if it hasn’t been moved for a long time—is prone to moths, I eventually started sorting it by color and type (not by brand, but by material, for example) and then putting it into sealed, clear plastic bags. 
All the red cotton yarn in one bag, all the green acrylic yarn in another, ...
If you have multiple compartments, you can attach a little note to each one indicating what’s in that compartment.
That way, you can quickly see where each type of yarn is :)

Best regards
Tina 

I once took the time to search online by color,
for example, “mottled blue” or “red gradient yarn.”
That helped me identify some of my leftover yarn.

Best regards,

Birgit

I have a Kallax unit with matching lidded boxes. They have one of those label-holder slots on the front (no idea what it’s actually called).. and inside the boxes, the cotton yarn I mainly work with is sorted by color. And on the front there’s a label with a big dot in the color that’s inside.
Then there’s also a box for Bobbels, for specialty yarns (fringe yarn or similar)...

Leaving them open on the shelf wouldn’t work for me... that would be a feast for my two house cats ^^

I’ve been working on cataloging my yarn stash on Ravelry for about two weeks now. I’m nowhere near done, and I’m already at 19,638 meters of yarn weighing 5.6 kilograms.

I’m really surprised that I often buy the same type of yarn in different colors.

And another great thing is that I’m discovering yarn I didn’t even remember was mine. 

Overview? What’s that? ;-)

No, seriously, I haven’t known what’s in my stash for a long time now. But it does have one advantage: when I rummage through all my boxes and bins in my under-bed storage, I keep finding treasures I’d long forgotten, and that makes me happy. ;-)

I have a problem with those projects I’ve started—the ones where I then get a new brilliant idea.
They’re all in one big box now, and once a month I set aside a week just to finish up those UFOs.
When it comes to yarn, I’m probably like everyone else here: too much of it, no reason to buy more (is that even possible??). Well, keeping things halfway organized is the best I can do.

That’s a really good question. I’ve tried just about everything—drawers, shelves, boxes. I think the main problem is that I have more yarn than I have storage space for. But I’m always happy when I find long-forgotten treasures tucked away at the very bottom of something :-)

Well, I have 3 large Malm dressers for my yarn. The balls are all stored upright in the drawers, sorted by color. One dresser has cotton yarn, one has winter yarn, and one has gradient yarns. Then I have a large cabinet where I keep my yarn cones; I don’t rewind my yarn cakes in advance, only when I need them.....I still have a few boxes of "cheap" acrylic yarn, but I’ve already donated most of it because I just don’t enjoy crocheting with it anymore—a woman gets spoiled over time and starts paying attention to quality... lol.
The most important thing for me is that I’ve sorted everything by color, so I can immediately see when something is running low and what I need to reorder. There’s nothing I hate more than having a new design in mind and not having the right yarn at home. Patience isn’t my strong suit^^

Haha...hahaha... keeping track ;-)

My argument for creative types has always been—and still is—CHAOS ;-)
By the time you’re done tidying up, you might have finished a back piece...

No, but seriously now.
I do it like Petra. I have clear boxes (loooads of boxes) and they’re labeled—with chalkboards—so I can always jot down right away what I’ve taken out.

Then there’s a corner that’s been waiting to be tidied up for what feels like 5 years.
I actually think I don’t even want to tidy it up—because it’s always nice to surprise myself with all the things I have ;-)
Do you know that feeling? Open a box—AHAAAAA!

My husband always says I have a “small car” sitting in the basement ;-)

Have a great day, everyone,
Kathrin

I keep some of my yarn in my fruit-crate shelving unit in the living room.
Some of it is currently in a travel bag.

I don’t have that much yarn anyway.

So I’ve got a pretty good handle on it.

Hi Heike,

I always keep all the labels so I know what I need to reorder. That way, my yarn stash always stays at the same level.

Best regards, Diana

I haven’t had a handle on things for years! In one room, I have two huge zippered plastic bags from IKEA, separated into summer and winter yarn. Every now and then, I dig through them for treasures.
Otherwise, I have one shelf with 16 boxes, also packed to the brim with yarn and projects I’ve started. Then there are another 12 clear boxes, also filled with projects I’ve started—and especially a note inside saying which crochet hook I used to start those UFOs.
And then there are various baskets and bags.
Right now, I’m working with leftover yarn and buying something to match every now and then—after all, it should look nice in the end.

Well, my yarn stash is still pretty manageable. Like most people here, I also have this Callax shelving unit from IKEA. I’ve filled the bottom 6 fabric boxes that come with it with yarn.
However, they’re sorted into thin Diana crochet yarn, Bobbel yarn, then Catania yarn, plus one box with medium-weight yarn (slightly thinner than Catania), and one box with unfinished projects and leftover yarn. One box is full of craft stuffing and storage boxes for my beads.

I know exactly which box contains which yarn.

In the remaining spaces on the shelf, I keep my finished amigurumi and dolls.

Hi,

I’ve created an Excel spreadsheet. It lists which types of yarn I have, in which colors and quantities, along with the yardage and recommended hook size.

When I want to start a new crochet project, I can check to see if I have the right yarn on hand. And whenever I buy new yarn or start using it, I add it to my list.

Nowadays, I even go so far as to look for patterns based on what I have in my yarn stash :-)

I store my yarn in clear boxes from a Swedish furniture manufacturer ;-) and try to keep yarns with similar yardage in the same box—for example, lace yarn in one box, winter yarn in another, and so on.

It’s pretty time-consuming, but otherwise I wouldn’t be able to keep track of everything.

I keep my—now considerably reduced—yarn stash in two large clear vacuum-seal bags (the kind where you can suck the air out with a vacuum cleaner) in my bedroom next to the closet, so I can see at a glance what’s left. I also have a box with my cotton yarn and amigurumi supplies (eyes, stuffing, doll needles, etc.) and a small box with my current project in the living room. The yarn chaos is slowly fading away. Once everything’s gone, I’ve decided I’ll only buy yarn for specific projects—haha—but who am I kidding? It’s not going to work anyway xD

Hi Anton2412

Your system is really impressive! Unfortunately, my efforts in this regard have always come to nothing so far, since there’s always so much else (and more interesting!) to do! At least I try to store the same type and weight of yarn in one box, but then unfortunately the boxes are usually too small…

Thanks so much for the compliment!

For reference, I’m attaching a picture of my yarn spreadsheet...

I’m also familiar with the method of keeping track of my stash. Sometimes it works pretty well for me, but every now and then I’m just too undisciplined and forget to record everything accurately. That leads to balls of yarn popping up every now and then that I have no idea how they ended up in my possession.

Hi Heike,

I have several small dressers—and also those foldable storage boxes—where I keep my yarn. I also store my skeins upside down, so I can see the color right away. I always leave the label on or tuck it into the center of the skein after use. Unfortunately, I didn’t do that in the past, so I don’t always know what the leftover yarn is.

Each drawer or box always contains skeins of a specific type. That way, I can also see right away which color needs restocking (and of course, I always order plenty more). ;-)

Two drawers are reserved for UFOs.

My current projects are in a basket, along with all the supplies I need for them. That way, I can easily take the basket with me wherever I want to continue knitting or crocheting (e.g., the garden).

With all the yarn I use, that wouldn’t be possible without this system. Otherwise, I’d just be searching for things all the time.

Have a nice evening!
Monika

Yes, I know all about those labels too! Lately, I’ve been trying to keep them with the skeins, but unfortunately it doesn’t always work, and with older yarn it’s hopeless anyway!