I Counted My Yarn Stash on a Rainy Sunday and Over 300 Skeins Later

How much yarn do I own? Well, I honestly have no idea. I know have a lot, but actually how much…

I'm curious. I have been wanting to clean out my craft room for a while now, and it's a nice rainy Sunday with nothing going on, so I've decided to get in there and reorganize.

While I'm at it, I'm going to count all my full and partial skeins of yarn that I own, then I'll report back with the damage. Wish me luck!

Okay, I'm back, and here are the numbers. You had better sit down for this. It's quite shocking.

Worsted weight acrylic yarn: 122 full or partial skeins
Worsted weight cotton yarn: 53 full or partial skeins
Bulky yarn: 33 full or partial skeins
Lightweight cotton yarn: Over 120 tiny skeins

I can't believe I have that much! It's almost embarrassing to say out loud.

A Little Here and There Became a Yarn Empire

Many of those skeins were purchased for projects that never got finished, or they are leftovers from projects that I have done. Others are single skeins of yarn that I thought were cool, so I bought them. But what can you do with only one skein of yarn?

Well, I've confessed. Judge me however you want. I honestly don't know how my stash grew so quickly.

I try to keep everything organized by weight and color as much as possible. I just pick up a little yarn here and there. Apparently, a little here and there adds up to a small yarn empire.

I knew I had a lot of yarn when I moved earlier this year, but I had never actually counted it. My adult children helped me move, and they always have something to say about how much yarn I own.

One of my sons didn't even think I could fit it all into my tiny condo. I proved him wrong! I have practically every color under the sun and almost every brand known to mankind.

Every once in a while, I go through my stash and try to get rid of yarn I know I will never use. Especially those lonely single skeins. I donate them to Goodwill or another worthy charity, so some other happy crafter can enjoy them.

Why I Don't Feel Guilty About 300 Skeins

To be completely honest, I don't feel guilty about my yarn stash. I'm at the point in my life where it's just me. I don't have to worry about feeding or clothing other people anymore.

As long as my basic needs are met and my bills are paid, I don't see a problem with spending my own hard-earned money on things I enjoy.

The only thing I need to work on is buying yarn only when I actually have a need for it, rather than buying another skein just because I like it. Now, if I were responsible for caring for other people and money were tight, I wouldn't spend money on anything I couldn't afford. But after counting everything, I have to admit that seeing the actual numbers makes it all very real.

I'm starting to feel a little hoarder-ish. Maybe I need to go on a yarn diet…

Why a Yarn Diet Would Never Work for Me

I've heard of some people doing a whole year of crocheting without buying new yarn. I know myself well enough to know that I would eventually give in. I'm a sucker for a good sale, a good coupon, and a nice soft yarn.

I would have to stay away from all the big box stores and the internet too! Let's be realistic, that's probably not going to happen.

When my kids were young and still living at home, I had to watch what I spent, and I didn't go crazy about buying yarn. So, I used to buy it from the thrift stores. I still do sometimes, when I find a good deal and a decent amount of yarn.

It's a great way to save money, and most of the time the yarn is washable too.

I wish I had better willpower, but I don't.

Selling on eBay and Giving Yarn to New Crocheters

There have been times when I've sold yarn I know I'll never use on eBay, or given some of my yarn to charity or to someone learning how to crochet or knit. I think it's wonderful when someone can do that. It helps me clear out some of my extra stuff while helping someone else get started.

I've never regretted giving it away.

The Cube Shelves in My Condo Craft Room

I live in a two-bedroom condo in a 55+ community. I'm 61, and one of the younger people here. It's very quiet, and I like it.

My neighbors are kind and friendly. Of course, one bedroom is mine, and the other is the office/craft room. I have always dreamed of having a beautiful craft room, and now that I'm an empty nester, I sort of do.

Unfortunately, I still have to make room for my work computer and printer, but the rest of the room is devoted to yarn storage, craft supplies, and having fun.

I have cube storage shelves with little baskets where I keep my yarn. I try to organize everything by fiber type, weight, and color. At least that's how it starts out; then, after months of digging through the yarn, I find exactly what I need, and things get a little disorganized.

Every few months, I have to go back in and reorganize everything. It's a never-ending cycle. I organize the yarn so I can find what I need, and then I use the yarn and mess up everything again.

It's practically a hobby all by itself.

I have the cube shelves, a couple of big bins, and some baskets of crocheted out of leftover yarn. Naturally, I use yarn to store my yarn. That makes perfect sense to me.

I also try to keep my acrylic yarn together, my cotton yarn together, and my bulky yarn together. If I have wool or alpaca yarn, I keep that separate too. The yarn I'm currently using for a project stays in my big project bag in the living room where I can easily get to it.

I live alone, so no one really has any opinions they share with me about my stash. Back when my kids were living at home, and my husband was still alive, things were a little different. When I said I needed to go buy more yarn, my husband thought I was crazy because I already had a bunch of it in a bin in the garage.

He just didn't understand that the yarn in that bin was not necessarily the right color, weight, or fiber for whatever I wanted to make. That's what people who don't crochet just don't understand. Having yarn is one thing; having the right yarn is something entirely different.

These days, if anyone has an opinion about my stash, they can keep it to themselves. It's my house and my money. Nobody is being bothered by it.

Saving Nice Wool for Fingerless Gloves

I do have some skeins of really nice yarn that I'm saving for a special occasion. I absolutely have no idea when that occasion will be, but I haven't had the heart to use them yet. You know how it is, you buy something beautiful, save it for the perfect project, and then it sits there because you're waiting for something even more perfect to come along.

I have some lovely wool yarn that would be perfect for crocheting fingerless gloves and for my poor hands this winter. I have Raynaud's disease, which makes my hands extremely cold in the winter. They can turn white, blue, and red, and go numb.

The warmer I can keep my hands, the better. What better way to warm them up than with wool!

It's a lucky thing I live in the Arizona desert. If I lived somewhere really cold, I would be absolutely miserable with my cold hands. Luckily, it mostly bothers me in the winter and when I'm in the freezer section of the grocery store.

The place where I suddenly questioned every decision that led me to buy frozen food. Maybe now I will finally break out that lovely yarn and make myself some fingerless gloves. Good way to put some of my stash to good use and make room for even more yarn.

See? I can justify just about anything!

That's my honest yarn stash confession. I have a lot of yarn. I enjoy buying it, and I'm not particularly interested in giving it all up.

I just need to do a better job of using what I already have.

How much yarn do you have? Am I the only yarn hoarder out there, or are we all in this together?