For the past three years I have resolved to end the year with less yarn than I started the year with. I did not do well with that resolution. I had all sorts of rules around it that allowed me to cheat. Yarn from fiber festivals didn’t count. Yarn from local producers didn’t count. Yarn for projects I had to cast on right that minute didn’t count. Yarn that was on sale didn’t count. It got out of hand.
Last year I bought way too much yarn. I know that it is too much because I have two new places that I store yarn. They are both places that make me a crazy yarn hoarder. I have a plastic bag that my pillow came in tucked away under my bed. I took the pillow out of the plastic and immediately filled it with yarn. That is a sign that I have a problem. The other new storage spot is my wine cabinet. At one point last year I pulled a bottle out of the cabinet to make room for yarn. That is a sign that I need to buy less yarn. It’s also a sign that I don’t drink as much wine as I did before I had kids.
Saying I’ll end the year with less yarn that I started with isn’t working. Even if it was working it would be deemed a success if I ended up with one skein less than I started with. I would still have too much yarn. I need to get my stash under control.
I could say that I’m not going to buy any yarn this year, but that will be a lie.
I needed to find a structured way to manage the reduction of my stash. While scrolling through Instagram earlier in the week I was inspired. I saw a picture of a chalkboard where someone was keeping track of the yarn she used as well as how much yarn she had earned. I regret that I don’t remember who posted it, and a search through my feed to find it again came up empty (if it was you, please let me know so I can give you proper credit).
I decided to borrow that idea for my own use. For every 500 g of yarn I use I can purchase 100 g. That will give me the ability to buy yarn occasionally while working through my stash. I put together a spreadsheet to keep track of my yarn. I can access it on my phone whenever I’m tempted with a skein of luscious yarn.
I’ve linked to the spreadsheet below. If you use it, please let me know. It should be easy to change the formula to meet your stash busting goals.
mildlygranola 
Good idea! It does help having a good grasp of what you have.
When I’m queuing patterns on Ravelry I try to figure out a stash yarn and attach it before I jump to buying something new. I’m hoping this will help me to think before I buy:)
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This is a great idea! I’d love to see if I could hold myself to this. Maybe since I’ve bought several skeins already this year, I’ll be able to resist for a while. And it cracked me up that you drink less after having kids…I definitely drink more! 😉
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I usually intend to have a glass of wine after the kids go to bed, but by the time they are tucked in I am so tired all I want is peppermint tea.
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LOL yeah, I totally understand that!
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