The silly thing is I love organising things, in theory. I love to come up with great systems of organisation where everything is just so. I drool over storage boxes and files and other organisational tools. I even go along with my big plans of organisation, I write down what I spend, I keep my receipts, everything is in the right place…for about a week, tops.
My stash organisation reflects this. There is a clear desire to be organised there but there’s a big pile of scatty thrown right in with it.
My stash is split into two sections. Jumper quantities, baby gift knitting yarn and odd balls of DK and aran weights live on top of the wardrobe in our spare bedroom. I got these two fabric storage boxes from Ikea, they fold flat which is pretty cool if either is ever empty but neither one has been since I bought them and filled them with yarn.
Check out the lovely artex on the bedroom ceiling! Inside the boxes are far less pretty than the outside. In some (probably futile) attempt to deter moths I wrap my yarn in plastic bags. It doesn’t look pretty but so far the yarn is both moth free and dust free, the tops of the boxes are open so the yarn does need some protection. The pink bag you can see a bit of in the picture contains lots of straight knitting needles that I hardly use anymore but heaven forbid I’d do something rash like give them away, I might need them.
My other knitting stash box contains sock yarn and laceweight as well as some rogue balls of other yarns which shouldn’t be in there! This box lives in the top of the wardrobe in my bedroom. Once again we have a delightful textured ceiling there! Also for anyone with a fondness for old school gaming and computing that’s an Amiga under the box, sadly it’s a bit broken but Mr.NM clings to the hope he can fix it some day.
I know I have to show you a little view inside as well
Mmmm squishy! Again yarns are put into little plastic bags in the hope of protecting them, at least I feel like I’m doing something.
I think you can see there is an attempt at organisation, it’s probably as good as I’ll ever get! One day when we buy our own house I am hoping to find one with space for an Expedit bookcase/shelf unit from Ikea so I can get that and display my stash, Mr NM has OKed this idea as he is far more organised and tidy than I am!
As well as “organising” my stash I need somewhere to keep my WIPs. Whilst they naughtily sneak themselves onto Mr NM’s blu-ray shelf (which is next to where I sit on the sofa) or onto the coffee table or just the floor next to my sofa spot this is where they’re supposed to live. I have a mini linen basket tucked down the side of the sofa which contains my WIPs (currently too many), my interchangeable needle case, a Namaste buddy case for sewing needles and other little bits and pieces and my button tin. There are also other scraps, the odd book and bits of tat in there, I'm terrible. I am still a little embarrassed by the current number of WIPs, I need to turn those into FOs.
So there you go, my attempt at organisation. Fortunately looking around I see plenty of others are just as scatty as me and have the problem of WIPs and balls of yarn turning up all around the house, I swear it breeds and moves by itself!
It's a great attempt at organisation! Although you have reminded me that I should get into the habit of storing yarn in little clear plastic bags.
ReplyDeleteI'm drooling at all your sock yarn. You're far more organised than me, my wips are in a carrier bag on a dining chair.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite part is the 'if they are ever empty' bit :)
ReplyDeleteI think the only thing different in my system is that nothing is grouped together but the boxes are numbered and the STASH on Rav tells me what box everything is in. There was no way I was going to categorize as well, not when I didn't have to.
ReplyDeleteIt's fun having a little snoop into other people's stash!
ReplyDeleteYou have some gorgeous yarn (and WIPs).
ReplyDeleteThe best thing you can do for your yarn to protect it from moths is put it in ziploc bags. Moths like dark, undisturbed places, and as much as we wish we were regularly airing our yarn I think the truth is that we all have undisturbed stashes. Making it impossible for the moths to get to the yarn is the only way to protect it, so you're doing the right thing!
ReplyDeleteI think that a lot of creatively-inclined people are not the most compulsively neat people. I know there are exceptions to that comment, but from what I see, and from what I know about myself, there is a bit of scattered-ness that comes with creativity. The thing is, my yarn might not all be very organized, but I still know pretty quickly where any given yarn is that I am looking for.
ReplyDelete