yarn stash reorganization + chatting about my plans for a low buy year
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- čas přidán 13. 07. 2024
- Hi, I’m Rebecca, a knitter based in Toronto, Canada. In this video, I’ll be sitting down and chatting about why I will be starting on a yarn low-buy year and the rules/parameters I have set for myself to achieve this*. I will also reorganize my yarn stash and explain how I store everything in my hobby corner as I get ready for this low-buy period!
I came up with many of these rules and have been chatting extensively about this with my friend Tar. Please check out her Instagram and CZcams channel because she is an absolute gem!!
/ tar.knits
/ @tarknits3717
*little disclaimer: I think this is achievable but these low-buy rules may change. If it is causing me a lot of stress, then I will adjust! I want to keep this hobby fun for myself after all and please do what is best for you! :) Being creative with fibre is such a personal topic and this is by no means, me explaining what I think is the “right” way to do things. I want to document how I will be reducing my stash because I enjoy watching yarn stash videos and thought it could be interesting to see if others feel the same about any of these reasons and rules.
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
2:07 Reasons for a Low Buy Year
12:20 Rules for a Low Buy Year
16:53 Project Gamification and Yarn Usage Challenge
19:12 Yarn Stash Regoranization
23:09 Yarn Stash
31:28 Outro
Reasons for a Low Buy Year
1) Space
2) Changing Colour and Fibre Preferences
3) Changing Project Preferences
4) Being Mindful of Overconsumption
5) Cost Savings and Budgeting
6) Feeling Guilty from Acquisitions
Rules for a Low Buy Year
1) Minimum 6-Month Time Frame (Tar and I started our low buy period in November! But I would like my low buy period to last until the end of 2024)
2) Limit Test Knitting
3) Cast On Projects Only If All the Yarn Is in Stash
4) No Restrictions on Knitting Patterns
5) Track Yarn Usage Each Month
6) Unsubscribe from Promotional Emails and 7)Turn Off Facebook Marketplace Notifications
Gamification
1) Sweater Quantities: Knit 2 sweaters before I have the option to purchase 1 sweaters quantity
2) Accessory Quantities: Knit 3 accessories before I have the option to purchase 1 accessory quantity
Usage Challenge
1) Use 50 skeins and/or 2500 grams and/or 8,750 metres of yarn in 2024.
Yarn Storage
1) Ikea Raskog Utility Cart
2) Oui Large Storage Crates - Set of 3
3) Ikea Skubb Storage Case, Black 44x55x19cm size
Let’s Connect 💌
Instagram: / hipknithooray
Ravelry: www.ravelry.com/people/hipkni... y
I was getting worried my yarn in my stash was getting too old. So I decided I will not. Buy anymore until I have used it all up. I turned my last 7 Hanks into cakes yesterday!!
I love this development in the knitting community. My other hobby is makeup and in makeup there is a niche community where people use up what they own instead of buy more ("panning" make-up in all kinds of projects), someone even started a "yarnathon" to use up her yarn stash too! . I really appreciate this trend of buying less!
Interesting! I’m finding that it’s very satisfying to work with what I already own - it makes me appreciate the yarn a lot more in a way! Maybe it’s the same thing with makeup
@@hipknithooray It totally is! It makes you more creative!
I have a big yarn tub, and all my yarn has to fit either in there or in a project bag. Or at least, that's the theory.... I got back into knitting this year after an extended break, and there are *so* many patterns I'm interested in knitting that I missed out on in the intervening years that i's been hard to restrain myself. That tub is starting to look awfully full - so full that I have had to acquire more project bags to make it work. But I've promised myself that from now on I will only buy yarn when I finish a project. It's a limit on my stash *and* a reward for finishing a knit.
Good for you! I'm over 60 and will out live my ginormous stash. It's out grown my art room. My "organizing" has eaten up lots of my knitting time. Keep at it, both the knitting and the low buying!
Thank you! I find organizing yarn pretty therapeutic…sometimes more than knitting itself haha ☺️
Great inspiration. I too am trying to get through my yarn stash before purchasing anything new. I also got sucked into deals and now have drawers and baskets full of yarn of all types. I will only order a skein or two if I really need it to finish a project, but I don't really see that happening. Low buy year for sure. Thanks for the podcast. Happy Knitting.
I had a low-buy 2023, and something that really helped me was having concrete financial goals as the counter to whatever "extras" I was considering purchasing. Do I want this sweater's quantity of yarn, or do I want those plane tickets? Sometimes it even made me excited to not buy 😅
I also started asking myself "Do I already have this?" A cute thrifted skein of mystery yarn? Yes, I already have *multiple* unused skeins of thrifted yarn that I once felt the same ping of novelty over! And I know that in the future I will come across more magical secondhand yarn - scarcity mindset be gone ! 😂
Thanks for sharing your low-buy plans! It's so helpful for us to see how different people approach it and remind ourselves that you get to make your own rules and do what works for you, to do what you need to to be happy wherever you're at on your yarny journey 🤗
So true! Cost of living is so high and I am thinking of traveling soon 🤩 which has been motivating me to stick to my rules. Keeping my yarn out in the open has helped me not buy duplicative colours but thrifted finds still get me 😭😂
I personally enjoyed this video and appreciate all the goals you set for yourself. They are tangible and minimize stress.
Thank you! The goals are working well for me so far ☺️ I’m already feeling less stressed and I think a big reason is because of how flexible the rules are
This is a terrific video and a great mindset. Where focus is, action follows. I'm sure you'll have a wonderful result from your low-buy year
Thank you for the kind words! I really hope I can stick to it this year ☺️
Love the idea of a low buy year, rather than a yarn diet. It sounds so much better. I'm in!
Yay!! A low buy approach has really been working for me so far - less pressure than a total no buy and keeps my making process fun
Thanks for sharing your stash and journey!
I’d have to say the yarn reorganization is my favourite. I quite enjoyed looking at your yarn collection. Made me organize mine as well. Thanks for sharing. Oh and yes to FB market and scrolling for yarn deals, I do the same everyday 😂
Thank you! I also enjoy watching yarn reorganizations - it’s so relaxing haha! Facebook marketplace and thrifting yarn is fun but will have to hold back for a bit so I have room for those great finds in the future
Wow your stash is so beautiful 😍
You have a beautiful stash and some great projects to look forward to! I'm doing a similar thing and let me tell ya, the guilt (#6) is massive on my end! I wish you the best and I look forward to your progress! I'm logging my journey on my channel as well.
It’s helped so much to put the reasons down on paper! And now that I have the low buy year plans set, the guilt has already started to go away(not completely) but progress!
Great idea!! I am in on a no buy 2024 😂
love hearing about your thought process! this is my first year of knitting and i think im pretty slow at knitting so my stash is getting pretty big now 😂 i also would like to keep it at a manageable size
I think I acquired the most yarn during my second year of knitting once I got reallyyy into making sweaters 😅 now I feel like I’m playing catch up as I’m just starting to work with a lot of that yarn now
Super inspiring! I don’t have much of a stash because I’m recently getting back into knitting but I can see my stash slowly growing and want to keep on top of it. Stash actually makes me nervous. Just like WIP’s do. I fear I will never use the yarn or never finish the WIP. Keeping on top of them helps decrease my anxiety. I love minimalism and declutterring. 😊
Ahh interesting! I never really felt this way about my stash until recently but I’m also not much of a minimalist! 😅 I totally get nervous when I have too many WIPs though - anything more than 4 and I get super overwhelmed and have to frog one haha
Hi Rebecca great inspiring video. I am also doing a low buy year in 2024. Ive spent some time putting all my stash into an excel sheet, and the results are shocking. I have enough yarn to knit for five years at the rate Im going. My aproach this year is to have at least twice as much going out as I am taking in. Also I have mini goals and prices if I succeed :) Happy stash busting!
Ooo I like your approach -twice as much seems reasonable and would be motivating to use more from stash! I also catalogued all my yarn on a spreadsheet and it’s a lot 😵💫 but it’s been super helpful so far
I also muted posts and story from some of my favorite yarn dyers on IG LOL. I feel like I can avoid making impulse purchases from commercial yarn companies but thats not the case for indie dyers who drop such gorgeous pre-order collections.
Haha I felt so ridiculous saying that goal but it’s so necessary! 😂 hand dyed yarn is so gorgeous and with limited collections, you get that scarcity mindset🥲
You're articulate and intelligent.❤
I’m definitely starting to pay more attention to what I buy and realize I definitely have more coming in than I can make. I also fall prey to the yarn sale/collection fomo. I’ve started unsubscribing from lots of marketing emails but still am susceptible to hand dyed collections 😅.
Just curious, have you considered destashing any of your yarns? If so, what would go first? I’ve never considered buying yarn from FB Marketplace, but now I’m thinking that maybe be a good way to Destash yarns I don’t intend to use. I have done donations a few times this past year to senior centers or nonprofit knitting programs, which has been helpful because they take both unused and larger scraps.
Good luck on this journey! Can’t wait to see your progress in a few months and at the end of the year.
I haven’t purchased much hand-dyed yarn in the past - but it is so tempting because I love following dyers on Instagram!
I haven’t sold any of my yarn on fb marketplace but it seems like a great option - sweater quantities or sock yarn seem to sell pretty quickly there! I think it’s the most viable option versus other online selling platforms for me like eBay or Poshmark as international shipping can get quite expensive! I’ve donated some yarn to thrift stores and yarn swaps so far - which is something I think I’ll continue doing this year ☺️
I'm thinking many of the same things myself! 🙌 My goal this year is to use more grams than I purchase, but as I make patterns some purchasing is unavoidable. I will check my stash first and use stash options when I can, and then for this year I hope to only purchase yarn for immediate cast-ons and not several projects at the same time... Yarn with a plan was not specific enough of a goal in 2023, it seemed!
I think that’s a great approach! I find keeping my yarn out in the open is a great way to see what I already have in stash when I’m ready to cast on something new
Hi! Nice video! I was thinking, have you looked up all the scrap versions of the spot sweater? Where people let the pattern change colour? Your bright mohair scraps would be great for such a project! 😃 and I am also attempting to use stash yarn, but this is the 3rd year I am trying it, and my stash has only decreased by ca 1000 g in all that time.. 🫣
I actually have plans to make a two colour version spot sweater - such a gorgeous pattern! I’m thinking of knitting the bibi sweater by spektakelstrik with my bright scraps ☺️
just found ur channel and i love how softspoken u are and all ur knits look so amazing and evenly stitched omg!! ive binged like 4 of ur videos now because theyre so calming and comfy lol i also want to use up my stash this year or at least try to, but i know ill definitely buy more again later in the year when it gets cold again 😭
one suggestion i have for ur videos is i would set up the camera a bit further away (or sit further away), i think that way the framing would look nicer if you only took up about one third of the screen :D
Glad to hear you enjoy my other videos! 💗 I think siting further away would also look better but I need to upgrade my audio first as I’m worried it may be hard to hear me 😅 hopefully I can figure something out soon but thank you for the feedback!!
But where does one buy yarn in Canada (Calgary)? I’ve started knitting recently and do not know any other knitters personally. Are there good online stores with good shipping? I’ve only gone to Michaels so far.
I'm going to try to go back to having around three projects on my needles, and two project amounts of yarn in my possession on top of that! that means I'm probably not buying any yarn until october or november of this year :) I'm really looking forward to knitting up what i have though, so i don't think it's going to be too difficult
3 projects is probably my ideal WIP count as well! One or two sweater WIPs and one accessory WIP keeps things interesting. Very motivating to hear that you’re also planning to knit from stash until late fall - I’m going to try and do the same ☺️
Great video! Can't believe someone would even think of leaving hate comments on such an innocent video. If you see any, tag me and I'll handle them lol 😤
For me, my issue has been buying the wrong kinds of yarn, rather than just buying too much. I got back into knitting last year after taking a 2 year hiatus. I had this problem before I stopped knitting, too. Essentially, I buy the wrong fibers for the pattern or even just my personal taste (really don't like single-ply yarn). I also have bought so many colors I quickly have fallen out of love with. I think I'm finally getting a handle on it and forcing myself to really think long and hard about the yarn before purchasing, and that has already saved me so much money and disappointment.
Awww thank you 😂🥰 I was worried about hate comments but everyone’s been so nice haha! I totally relate to buying the wrong kind of yarn - I bought a lot of cotton yarn in the past for summer garments but now I realize I don’t really like summer garments all too much or using cotton at all. I’m starting to take the same approach as you and think more about yarn purchases rather than impulsively buy so hopefully it’ll get better!
My stash is abhorrent 😬