Organizing Your Yarn Stash: Ways to Rehome Yarn
When you organize your yarn stash, you will uncover yarn that no longer fits your needs. This yarn can be rehomed by selling, giving, or donating it. Your not-so-inner Dragon—that part of you that wants to keep all the yarn—will find this difficult. However, letting it go creates a more focused stash that you are more likely to use.
Above: Image source – Getty Images
You may wish to start by putting yarn to be rehomed into individual bags. Single skeins should have their own bag, while multiple skeins can share a larger one. This prevents multiples from getting separated. You can use plastic bags or any other container you’re comfortable giving away along with the yarn. If the bags aren’t sealable, be careful that children and pets can’t get into them.
For Sale or Trade (FSOT)
One option for destashing and rehoming yarn is selling it. The benefit of selling is recouping some of the money you previously spent. There are several social media sites (such as Facebook, Ravelry, and Reddit) that have groups to post items for sale or trade at no cost to you. Online auctions and market sites (such as eBay and Etsy) will charge you a fee for selling. No matter the platform, you’ll need an account to post and sell your yarn.
When selling on these platforms, you will need a detailed post including:
- Photos taken in bright, natural light. Try to get as close to the yarn’s true color as possible.
- Use information on the ball band to give the weight, fiber content, yardage, color, and dye lot of the yarn, as well as how many skeins you have for sale.
- How you plan on getting the yarn to the buyer. USPS has flat rate shipping boxes or you can also arrange pick-ups for local buyers.
- If you are interested in trading, make sure you provide clear information on what you will trade for.
Related: How to Determine Yardage from an Unlabeled Skein
Selling yarn on these platforms takes time and it helps to have a “first come, first serve” statement in your post. This tells potential buyers that your yarn will go to the first person who pays for it. Even with this policy in place, you might come across buyers who appear interested but never follow through.
“Free” to a Good Home: Giving and Donating
If you want to get yarn out of your house more quickly, you can simply give it away.
Related: 6 Tips for Spring Cleaning Your Yarn Stash
Recently, “Buy-Nothing” groups have become very popular on social media, and are a great venue to rehome yarn. These groups encourage users to recycle and rehome items for free to reduce waste and save money. Even a bag of scraps can find a new home! To find a group in your area, search “buy nothing” or “no buy” in your favorite search engine or on Facebook.
Another way to rehome your yarn is to wait for a local knitting group or crafting community to host a swap. You’ll hear about these through word-of-mouth and on local social media groups. Be careful—many attendees bring home more than they take to swap!
Related: Buying Yarn: Sickness or Passion
A final way to rehome yarn is to donate it to a thrift store or non-profit group. Your thrift store donations are a blessing for crafters on tight budgets who often search thrift stores for yarn. And in communities across the country, there are organizations who rely on donations to keep running. Youth groups, schools, shelters, daycares, senior centers, and others can greatly benefit from unwanted craft supplies.
Rehoming yarn can be difficult—after all, you loved the yarn when you bought it! You’ll be glad the yarn you loved has new homes. Now, you can focus on maintaining your library and stash organization.
C. Brooke Caldwell is a Librarian living in Arkansas with her cat and dog. You can find her on Instagram @cbcald.
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