Yarn Inventory and Stash Recognition

Originally Written August 30, 2009

Okay , here is just a little hint into my personality. I am a little OCD. Actually my Houston sister says it is so bad in our family that they have a different name for it: CDO – to keep the letters in alphabetical order. So for the last couple of weeks I have been doing and inventory on my yarn stash. I have only been knitting for 8 years and I have collected a lot of yarn. There is a web site called ‘Ralverly’ that is a knitting community of sorts but they also have a place to put the projects you are working on or have completed. There is a page for all your books, a page to inventory all your needles, and a place to inventory your yarn.


So the process goes something like this: I take a photo of the yarn with my phone and upload that to the computer. Then I go to the web site and list the important information like: name of the yarn, manufacturer, closest color, dye lot and the number of skeins I own and where I am storing it. Most of my yarn is in the attic in see through plastic packing crates. I have labeled each box. (Blue, white, yellow, orange, baby, sock etc.) Turns out I have 178 different types of yarn and most of them I have way more than 1 ball or skein. Usually when I am buying for a project I get about 10 balls at a time, not so much if it is a child’s project.

Number one, this has made me painfully aware of how much yarn I do have, and should be using. Number two, I can actually find the yarn I am looking for when I need it. This is all a good thing. My Nashville sister took a class in stashology. The teacher said your yarn stash should be like a retirement plan, well diversified, lots of colors, weights, fibers, etc., so if the time comes and you can’t buy yarn or can’t get to the store you have a better chance of having what you need. Do you think that is rationalizing or just good planning?

I remember when I was catering I had over a thousand cookbooks. I had collected cookbooks since the eighth grade. I have thinned them out to my real favorites now and have around 300.