Knitting by Zen

I do a bit of both. Sometimes I love a pattern and shortly after find the yarn for it so I’ll have both shortly and store them together. Other times I buy yarn because I love the idea of a scarf or a pair of socks out it. But I always try to mark it with "what I intend" because otherwise I forget!

Nope - swatching is my friend, and usually there’s enough information on the internet to make swap for something else.

The answer is KnitPicks but you need someone to post it to you from the USA. They are fantastic!

Mine is sorted by ply - 2 ply and less in one drawer or box, 4 ply / sock yarn in a second, 8 ply in a third, chunky in a fourth, misc in a fifth (intended for a poncho), undyed in a couple more, and a few more of dyed.

In clip top plastic storage boxes on wheels, mostly to keep bugs, kitties and garden stuff out of it.

Organising your stash is very personal. Do you think in terms of colours? Or in ply? Do you have enough yarn in your stash that you can browse through it when a cardigan or wrap pattern catches your eye, and use what you have there, or are you like me and more conservative in your stash, so major projects require shopping but you always have lots of 8ply on hand for a scarf, shawl, stripy project or scarf? Do you keep odd balls left over from a project, thinking you’ll use it later (usually for stripes, or tea cozies or throw them away? Do you use acrylics and nylons and novelty yarns in the same way as you do wool and cashmere and cotton? Do you have fiber and fleece to store as well as yarn?

You can buy plastic storage tubs for many spaces from Kmart, Target etc and even Bunnings. These are great for moving stash around or storing it in one place, and you can always stick a plastic sleeve to the outside with a simple sheet on it describing the contents. Put it on the side facing you so you can browse easily. Or get a polaroid camera and take a photo of each yarn and stick it on to the side - smarter to do if you swap yarn around regularly.

Sort the yarn how you want to be able to search for it. If you have more than 2 balls, get some plastic ziplock bags and put them into the bag, then label the bag with what it is, and what you intended when you bought it. So one of my bags might say "8 x 50g balls navy cotton, Bendigo Sept 2006, tshirt or camisole". Put the different types of yarns together into piles and then into the plastic tubs - try not to overfill as you want to be able to toss through each one without having to empty stuff out.