No Stash Girl

As I was perusing some new blogs, I read this post from The Fringe Association. The title caught my eye right away:  For you does having a yarn stash work?  My immediate response was NO!  It is true. Other than scraps from finished projects and a few essential skeins (think black worsted weight for trim and embellishments) I have no real stash [insert overly dramatic sounds of shock and horror].  All of my knitting supplies fits in 3 – 72 quart storage bins (one for yarn and one for finished items).  When I want to create a project, I head to the LYS or online and purchase only what I need.

How did I get to this point? It all had to do with my last big move. I was living in New Jersey and had a bookshelf filled with various boxes and storage containers filled with yarn. In June 2011, I decided to move to the West Coast. This meant packing and shipping my whole life 3,000 miles. After shipping a few boxes,  I knew that my yarn stash had to be significantly reduced. I ended up moving with  1 box of my most precious yarns. Taking time to sort through my stash was so annoying. Not only did it take a lot of time, but a lot of energy to decide what got to stay and what had to go. The whole process made me say, “Never again!”  Never again did I need to have a stash.

My top 3 reasons I am a No Stash Girl:

1) A stash takes up a lot of room! Don’t get me wrong I have seen many a creative crafter display his/her perfectly organized stash, but generally, they live in a house. I live in a two-bedroom apartment with my husband. I don’t think he would appreciate me using every closet in the house for yarn storage.

2) My yarn tastes are constantly evolving. I am very much a person that sees something I love and buys it immediately.From month to month  my preferences in color, material, and weight seem to change. I don’t think this is abnormal, but if I bought yarn as much as I change my preferences I would end up with 500 skeins that can’t really make anything. I love the feeling I get when I purchase skeins for something specific. My creativity wheels are spinning on high and I can’t wait to get home to get started. Buying just to buy doesn’t give me that excitement at all.  Eventually two weeks turns into two months turns into two years.

3) MONEY! Many of us with a fiber arts hobby know how expensive yarn can be. Take a look on Etsy or in your LYS. One skien of amazingness could set you back $30-$40. Now picture making a whole sweater… YIKES! A stash in my eyes, especially if you let yarn sit for months and years, is a money sucker. I would rather spend my money on a variety of things  rather than just let it sit in my closet. I know there are apps and you can use Ravelry to inventory your stash, but I just don’t have the patience for it. To me the best investment for my dollar is to buy for specific projects. This way I know where my money is going.

So now I pose the question to you dear readers… Does having a yarn stash work for you?

*This post was updated on 4/22/17