I Think this Broad is Crazy

I’m not a big reader. Now don’t get me wrong, I do read novels, newspaper articles and magazines from time to time but I won’t promise you that a book is always in my purse. Which is why I felt it weird when I got the urge to purchase this book at Barnes & Nobles two weeks ago just for some fun summer reading. From the looks of it, this broad is just a little too crazy for me.

Now don’t get me wrong. I love the Yarn Harlot. I think her blog is fun to read and the way she describes her adventures make you want to jump in on the action with her. What I don’t agree with is her style of stash organization. In one of the chapters of the book, she offers advice to knitters with too much yarn in their stash. She believes that places like kitchen cupboards, the closet, and even the refrigerator are great places to store yarn and the sleeves of sweaters and garment suitcases are great for giving temporary homes to small projects like socks or baby hats.

Call me anal or whatever but that is not my idea of organization. I would just go absolutely freakin’ crazy if I knew that my yarn was near food (what if it gets dirty) in a closet (dirty, smelly shoes) or if my projects were stuffed into sleeves of sweaters never to be found again till 2 years later when I decide to do some serious cleaning in my living space. I’m already a forgetful person as it is. I like to know that all my knitting notions and things are all in one area of my house. Granted she did say that her house is pretty small and that her stash is pretty enormous (which I do not doubt) but having my yarn all over the place just annoys the shit out of me.

So how do you organize your stash and knitting tools? I know that some people like to make an inventory on their computer of all the yards of all the types of yarn they own so that it is easier to pick projects in the future. I’m not that crazy nor do I have that much yarn to forget what I actually have in my stash. Others like to display their yarn on a bookshelf like it’s an ornament that changes ever so often. Some invest in special knitting bags to hold their on-the go projects while others throw everything in their purse or a simple yet effective plastic bag. As for me it’s pretty simple. All of my yarn and FOs fit into a basket, a yellow suitcase and a blue bin. All of my tools are in a separate bag and my straight needles are in a hand-sewn case. My patterns and books are on my bookshelf or filed away for later viewing. My current project and everything that I need to complete it are always in a separate bag, even if I don’t intend to travel with that particular project. One day I might just sit down and make a swatch book so that I could look back at it for reference. If I choose to knit with the same yarn on the same needles I don’t have to make another swatch for gauge! Plus I think it’s a cool thing to have. When I get out of school and buy my own home, I plan on making a room just for me and my knitted things. That way everything is contained in one space and I don’t have to pull out my hair when I can’t find something because it’s all going to be in one place.

Which brings me to my final point. I think that the key to not wasting time looking for lost items is to know where all of your belongings are. This means that organization is hella important. And contrary to popular belief there isn’t just one way of being organized. We are all different and need to develop systems of organization that work for us not against us. Messy or super-neat, I believe that finding a method that works for you and sticking to it is the only way to be successful in stash organization.