Storing Your Yarn Stash
Keeping your yarn collection organized and maintained
A few tips, tricks and ideas on how to keep your stash organized, easy to get to, and in step with your home decor.
It’s easy to buy yarn and store it in a stash for later use, but sometimes these stashes can become disorganized and hard to manage. It’s important to keep that stash easy to maintain, so herein will be a discussion on methods to storing all that yarn.
First and foremost, the Sterilite cart with drawers (click here for example) can be an economical, albeit a little utilitarian looking option. Not only does it keep things neatly tucked away, but also you can see through the drawers and it can be used as a surface. The yarn remains semi-out of sight, but easily accessible.
An old classic is the sturdy blue Rubbermaid container (click here for example). An easy trick is to take the gallon-sized zipper bags, load them up with yarn, squeeze the air out of them, and then place them in the containers. This will save space and keep your yarn well organized so they don't get tangled and mixed up.
Another good option are those collapsible storage containers that you can hang in your closet (click here for example). These can be found in many stores, any home furnishing shop or department will have them and they’ve even been spotted dollar and discount stores. It is kept out of sight in your closet, and has easy access. Also usually right beside these in the stores are smaller collapsing boxes made out of fabric usually used to store sheets, bed covers, and other linens.
Other innovative ways people have kept their yarn organized is to use old bookcases, empty suitcases, laundry baskets, steamer trunks, and even using wine racks. Keeping yarn is really a personal thing, it has to fit in with your sense of décor and organization. What one considers organized, others might consider haphazard, but as long as you know where your stuff is, use the method that best works for you.
A few useful tips on keeping yarn organized:
- Keep like colours together – that way you won’t be rooting around wondering where you left that shade of green you know you had.
- Keep your odd-balls, one skeins, and odds and ends together – you’ll know where to go when you just want a quick project
- Have a space close to your stash where you keep your tools – hooks, needles, sewing needles, and any other tools you have go missing very easily if you don’t have a good spot for them.
- Don’t be afraid to show off your stash! If you have a cool public way of displaying your collection, show it off! You’ll be surprised how interested people will be in what you have.
© Kelly Gilliam, text and images. Reproduction without permission is prohibited
