Organizing question

[OrganicAnn]

Okay I'm trying to get organized.    I'm going through my tangle of yarn.    What would be the best way to keep it?  

 

When I'm actively working on a project, I have it in a work bag.    But I have lots of left over yarn, some yarn purchased on sale and yes a few abandoned projects that I'm sure I'll get back to one day (or not).    Should I put them in bins or plastic bags or what.   I think it helps if I can see the yarn.   Some yarn I have a lot of and others a little and so one size solutions won't work.   If I put it in a bin, it is likely to be piled on top with other stuff.  

 

I have a craft closet, but that is what I'm in the process of cleaning out and re-organizing.  

 

Does anyone have a creative way that they keep their yarn stash that is neat and organized?    

[SemiSweet]

:bigear: MIne is all in baskets but it is not a good method.

[Tranquility7]

I put my partial/abandoned projects in a large ziploc with the instructions in case I ever resurrect them :-)  I also put matched or similar yarn in a ziploc, and then I toss all the ziplocs and any loose or random skeins in a big plastic see-through bin with a lid.

 

If you are trying to avoid the plastic bin idea, you could still do the ziploc idea but then use a tiered skirt hanger set to clamp the bags to.  Then hang the whole kit and kaboodle on a closet rod or hook in your craft closet.

 

You could also use just a regular wire hanger and put a large safety pin through one upper corner of each ziploc and pin the ziploc to the wire bar of the hanger.  That's only if your ziplocs are kind of light though, because it would surely bend the hanger before too long.

[GailV]

I keep mine in plastic bins with lids -- Sterilite or others of that ilk.  The bins are labelled. (Some of the wool goes into those plastic zippered bags that blankets sometimes come in. The wool bin is really big, though, so I can tuck several of those bags in it.)

 

I tend to group similar yarn together.  For example, all the sock yarn is together (wool or otherwise); all the weird crap people give me that might come in handy someday for a craft project or when they pressure me to teach their kids to knit or crochet goes together; novelty yarns go together.

 

Works in progress that are languishing for unspecified periods of time are in plastic bags, like ziplocs.  The problem with that system is that ziplocs are really slick, so when you gather them together in their own bin they slide all over each other, plus the needles tend to pierce the bags.

 

I also make a LOT of use of Ravelry to photograph and keep track of what's where.  You can add notes as to which bin you put stuff in.

 

ETA:  I have more free-range yarn than I have works in progress.  That probably makes a difference.

[OrganicAnn]

Thanks!   I am both comforted that there are others addressing this issue and yet nothing quite gives me an ah ha moment yet.     

[rieshy]

Some of my really pretty yarn that I've hand-spun I keep a couple of large chinese bowls as a sort of floral arrangement in my living room.  I also have hooks in my entry area with hand spun (leftover) skeins hanging as decoration.  The good thing is that what I'm using rotates so my "arrangements" rotate as well.  

 

The rest of my stash is in clear ziplock bags of all sizes grouped by color and type and hanging from hangers in the master closet.

[hillfarm]

I like to wind yarn I am not using into balls (I usually wind it by hand, but there are ball winders if you have a lot to do), then I put it in one of the large, old-fashioned, wooden, camel-back trunks. I have several of those big zippered plastic bags that are used to hold commercially made quilts and I use one for each color group. The bags are not really air tight at all, but do protect the yarns from dust and snags and keep like colors together. If I have any specific notes I want to remember about a skein, I hole punch a 3x5 card, add the info, and then tie the card onto the yarn ball. I haven't done it yet, but if I get a really different yarn, I will use a colored 3x5 card so I can retrieve it at a quick glance from the bag of similar colors.