(Sport and dk weight laid out on a red and black plaid blanket on a queen size bed from Ruth's April 2023 stash flash)
I've been working on a principle I call "Stash Enjoyment" for a few years now.
It's exactly what it sounds like - recognizing that I bought yarn and crafting supplies because I like them and want to use them, so being content with what I have and enjoying my yarn/crafting stash!
I host a chat channel for this topic in my discord server (which you can find in my link tree, here), because I've found that it helps to create communities with similar goals and chat among others who will be supportive of stash use instead of pushing the BUY BUY BUY mentality that seems to dominate the online fiber arts community.
I'm not trying to eliminate my yarn stash entirely, or say that others should, but I'm definitely working to promote more thoughtful choices when it comes to stash use.
Usually I post about my goals and intentions for the year, but I can't seem to find the post for 2023. It was that kind of year! So, here's my reflection post or 2023 - how I did with the goals I was holding, at least mentally.
Tracking Method
I track my yarn use in an Excel spreadsheet and prefer to track by yardage in/out.
The reason I track yardage as opposed to skeins is that skeins can come in many sizes and the amount of yards per skein varies greatly. For example, a skein of HiKoo Merino Lace Weight has 1,531 yds (1,400 m) of yarn in it, and one skein of Plymouth Encore Chunky has 142 yds (130 m). You can see the difference, I think!
I started this year with 192,131 yds of yarn and ended with 169,085 yds!
That means my stash has decreased in size by 12% this year!
Some years I've just about broken even from the amount that I was buying while using up yarn, so I'm pleased to see that the total stash number is going down and that my technique is working!
These were my goals for 2023:
- Buy as little yarn as possible. It's not a full ban on buying, but pretty much the same mentality. Instead of telling myself that I can buy a little, I tell myself not to buy at all, challenge myself to see how long I can go with just the yarn I have, etc.
- Choose projects that work well with multiple skeins of yarn or choose smaller projects that don't require many skeins of the same color.
- Keep my WIP (works in progress/active projects) count under 10
- Finish any projects started prior to 2023.
How did I do?
- I did well with this part. The no-buy mentality worked best for me; when I got more lenient with myself on the no-buy front, that's when I started ending months with + yardage instead of - yardage totals.
- I did well with this also - multiple scrappy sweaters were made, as well as a good number (9) of socks/foot things, which are my preferred single skein projects.
- This didn't happen. For whatever reason, whether it's scheduling changes, time-blindness, or other factors, I wildly overcommitted to things like testing and gift-making this year, so while I met the testing deadlines, I didn't meet most of my personal goals for being able to give gifts to new moms, which I don't like.
- This didn't happen either.
I read in the Ravelry Stash-Down group someone said that they realized that buying yarn is sometimes buying the illusion of having the time to use it. That really resonated with me - I used to have much more yarn time than I do now, but for a long time I've acted like I have more time than I do.
I'll be posting a goals post shortly!
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