Confessions of a Yarn Hoarder - Day 5?

Obviously I skipped a few days between Day 4 post and today... and No! It's not because I was super busy destashing and debunking the yarnstoragesystem.... ha! Just the opposite. I've taken a step back and re-assessed things...
#1 I don't have time to deal with all that yarn right now *sigh* and #2, it really does work for me. It just may need to be revamped a little in the future if it keeps growing but for right now it's okay.
I feel like I was able to accomplish a lot in the four days I pretended to worked on it and I honestly think it works! I was able to really clean up and clean out a lot of the things I have lying around.... the tools, the patterns, the bits and pieces of yarn and yes... my little friend K got herself a good start on her own stash!! I cleaned out some of the stuff I had and gave it to her! It feels good to help someone else begin a hoarding stash collection! Her parents will thank me someday.. I'm sure of it!! Hey! I'm saving them money!  It was a good way to clean out some of my stuff!
I know.  I know... I was going to pull everything out, assess it, sort it, clean it out, but I didn't. Okay? I didn't. Once I looked at the yarn condo I realized that it was a pretty good system right now. Sock yarn is one drawer, cotton in another, funky bits in yet another so I didn't feel I needed to.  Just doing the stuff I did... sorting through the tools and patterns really spiffed things up! I was able to put it all [ more or less] into one (okay..more than one) spot so it's not overtaking the house as much!  Geez. Big hasn't stepped on anything or had to move yarn in several days so it must be a WINNING situation!!  AND he hasn't said anything about yarn that may or not have been purchased within the last week. Shh....

This is an old picture of the "condo" ~ I would like to expand it at some point. Some of the bins have craft supplies and fabric in them *yeah.. that's a separate issue* and I may have to do some sort of system for that stuff first. I still have yarn tucked away in various places throughout my house... in boxes on the bookshelves, in a bowl on the fireplace mantel and even on the back of a closet door! Those over the door shoe pocket thingys are marvelous places to store yarn!

Now that I've managed to organize a bit I can get on to the point of this whole experiment.... Making it all accessible so I can happily knit without being overwhelmed by my stuff!

I'm really trying to shop the stash first ~ rather than heading directly off to the store for a yarn for a project I head to the condo! Wish me luck with that one huh?

 

Confessions of a Yarn Hoarder - Day 3

So it's Day 3 in the series of debunking, destashing and re-organizing the yarnstoragesystem!  This is my adventure in how to get from piles of stuff hidden in baskets, on bookshelves, under beds, chairs and right out in the open to nicely organized, easily accessible ~ which then means easily used~ piles of stuff!
What have I accomplished? Well....
I've talked about it.  I've considered it.  I've looked up lots of lovely storage, organizing ideas on the Internet....
Yeah okay, so really.... not much.  That's a bit disappointing considering it's Day 3, but considering the amount of stuff I have, well... this is gonna take a while!
I could take this day as a reflection day. A day to re-organize the plan for destashing and debunking, but... that sounds a bit like a cop-out doesn't it? Um.. yeah.  BUT it's probably a really good idea to rewind a little bit. MAKE A PLAN  so I have something to stick to!
Day 3 is now PLANNING DAY. Cut me some slack would ya? I know I should have done it the first day, but... let's regroup and make our plan now okay?
#1 Look at your storage space as it is now. Is there anything you would like to change? Make it easier to get to and then use? Is your hubby happy with that great big pile of stuff by his favorite chair?
Break it down a little.... a) assess what you have now and how it works, b) is the system you have capable of expanding or does it need a face lift? C) What would your dream system be....NOW spend hours online looking at available OCD organizing options *sigh* Oh wait... I did that yesterday :)
#1 was really Day 1 for me. I looked at my stuff. Got tired of  trying to cram it all into the yarn condo and then having to dig around in different places for different tools. That was annoying enough to make me want to spruce it up a bit. I started there and then I moved to...
 #2 Organizing the paper! Day #2 for me!  I pulled out all (almost all) of my patterns. Paper printouts from the Internet, patterns I bought and the books. I didn't have a ton, but some of it I wasn't ever going to use and I had duplicates on my Ravelry page so I was able to spend just an hour or two yesterday purging.  I now have a nice pile to share with my friends and some went into the recycle bin! Sometime in the future I'm going to scan the rest in and make them into nice tidy pdf's, but for now I'm happy with three binders made down into just one!
 #3 ~ yeah. That's today my Day #3.  I'm planning out my POA (plan of action), setting my time limits, ignoring the budget (shh!) and hitting the bricks running! Man do I talk a good game or what?!! **This should be really in the #1 spot**
#4  Tools! Look at the tools you have (needles and everything!) Do you have one place to put this stuff? I'd like mine all to be together and easily accessible so this is going to be my #4 Day. I'm going to start by gathering it all into one place, maybe the dining room table? I don't know about you, but I have stitch markers, cable needles, scissors and rulers EVERYWHERE!  It will be a project to just get it into one spot! 
 #5 Yarn!!   This will be my #5 day I think *however many days it takes! See? I've saved the best for last! The ultimate stop on the tour of my stuff! Organizing the YARN!! I plan on pulling it all out ~ from the dining room, the living room and every room I find it in and putting it all into one spot. **Has to be a spot where it can be out for a couple of days because I want to make sure I have it all!  Once I get it all together I'm going to sort it and this is personal. I can't tell you how to sort yours because it's all about you at this point. How you like it and what you have.  I have my yarn in bins now separated by type. Sock yarn in one bin, cotton in another and acrylic (gasp!) in another. It's worked so far but I may need to add some categories and I'm sure that once I get into the pile I will work that out.
Once it's sorted....... sort it again! Any of the stuff that you know you won't use give it away! It's okay. Somebody else might love it and need it! Yarn should be used not stored forever. That's the whole point of this trip through my stuff right now! 
Now bag it! I've got extra large clear bags for this! Twins, triplets, quads, etc. will all go into one bag. Those bags will then go back into the bins. Yarn for specific projects (Wallaby Sweater) will go into it's own bag and then go into the WIP bin! 
Phew... it already sounds overwhelming doesn't it! AND it's not even Day #5 yet. Yikes. I think another important part of the plan here is to include sustenance. SNACKS and drinks to keep your energy up!!
#6 Documentation!  Pictures are a beautiful way to show your progress! Posting said pictures on your blog or even facebook will not only validate what you did and what you accomplished BUT you can look back on it later *when it gets all messy again* and your dream yarnstoragesystem won't be so far away!