My ADHD-Friendly Yarn Organization
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As someone who loves collecting yarn, it’s pretty safe to say… I have a lot of yarn (like, well over 100 skeins any given day). I also have had a long history of forgetting what yarn I have, buying the same thing twice, and generally becoming overwhelmed with my collection. I have FINALLY cracked the code on an ADHD-friendly yarn organization method that looks cute, is functional, and best of all… I’ve been using and loving the stash I have. Another great thing about this organization system? It’s easy to customize for your space, stash size, and aesthetic.
Planning Stage
Ok let’s get into the key elements of building my yarn organization. I needed it to be
Space saving - I needed it to take up a minimal footprint, but I have vaulted ceilings so no limit on height!
Open shelving but organized - If I can’t see it, I’ll forget it exists! (that applies to everything from my fridge to my clothes). If it looks too chaotic, I’ll do everything I can to avoid it. Keeping things easily visible makes seeing what I have digestible. This also meant keeping solid wall baskets/containters out of the equation.
Multi-purpose - I wanted one organizer to take care of my yarn, books, and WIP basket. As I’ve moved to different homes, I’ve been able to move some of these out of the yarn shelves and into other spaces to make way for more yarn(e.g. books are in a different bookcase now), but I can always go back if needed!
In terms of furniture, that ended up being… the IKEA Ivar system! They have plenty of different side unit heights and depths, cabinet, and shelf options (there’s even a fold-out table you could buy??). Ikea has the best options for storage systems in general (if Ivar isn’t your vibe). I love the unfinished pine and was able to stain it a color that works perfectly in my house. Another bonus? I can keep adding or replacing components to fit the space I’m currently in. Trust me, I’ve considered expanding so many times…
I kept mine pretty streamlined and used the following components to build it.
Side Unit (20x?”) x1 - this size is discontinued :(
Cross Brace x2 (yes, you really do need these)
Before making any purchases, I did a rough sketch of how I wanted to organize my shelves and did my best to be realistic with the amount of yarn & accessories I own. There’s nothing more frustrating than getting all your supplies just to realize that it’s not enough to organize your things! After digging through some old notebooks, I found my original sketch (just know when I said rough sketch I meant it).
My mind always picks project by yarn weight first so that’s how I decided to organize my stash.
If you tend to think of your stash in terms of color or fiber composition that would be a great way to organize it. Whatever you choose, this system makes it easy to re-organize however you need!
Building/Setup
When it comes to building these shelves it’s actually pretty straightforward! I was able to do it by myself in the living room, and trust me, I am not the handiest at building Ikea furniture. If you’re planning to stain or paint your shelves, I recommend you do it before assembly. I did mine post-assembly and it was definitely more complicated than it needed to be.
The most frustrating part for me was placing the cross braces. Make sure to have one brace for each column of shelves. The last thing you want is for all your yarn to come tumbling down if you bump into your shelf too hard. While you’re at it, if you have little ones or curious pets at home, its never a bad idea to anchor your shelves to the wall.
Organizing
Ok let’s get into the main attraction, how I organize my actual skeins of yarn. Remember, I needed to keep everything visible here. That meant avoiding any container where I couldn’t easily see what was inside, which narrowed it down to two options. Wire baskets or clear storage containers. Here’s a quick summary of the pros and cons of each!
After a ton of searching, I decided to go with these wire baskets to store my full skeins of yarn. The dimensions leave just enough space for me to use these smaller baskets to store scrap yarn next to my full skein baskets.
If the plastic bins with lids are a better option for you, I’ve linked some with similar dimensions for full skeins here and for scraps here.
Ok so now that we’ve been over how to set up this organization method, lets get into what makes it work so well and has been easy for me to maintain for 2+ years.
Small/Medium Containers - These smaller baskets stacked on each other make each area of my stash easy to break down and sort through while avoiding being too micro-organized. I’ve found it easy to sort one basket of fingering weight yarn, rather than ALL my fingering weight yarn. Keeping each basket general to yarn weight (instead of separating fingering weight into 100% wool, plant yarns, and acrylic, etc) makes it easy for me to remember and maintain the “rules” of my storage system.
Clear/See through Baskets - “If I don’t see it, it doesn’t exist” is a pretty common thing you’ll hear from ADHD people. But aside from forgetting it exists, I’ve noticed that having my yarn in a place I see almost every day makes me want to use it before even thinking about buying other yarns. I’ll even take the yarn I’ve been wanting to use and place it towards the front so I see it even more! It’s often said that the ADHD brain tends to think of things as happening “now” or “not now”, adding these visual cues has helped me think of my stash as something to use NOW and not the never-ending “later”.
Lately, I’ve noticed my spending on crafting supplies going down without much effort because I’m more aware of what is already in my home.
Clutter Control - I’ve accepted that clutter will always be a part of my spaces, I’m no Marie Kondo (unfortunately). The key is working with it and not against it. Here’s the environment I set up in order to regularly clean my spaces and avoid clutter build up…
Designate Time: Setting up a dedicated time slot to clean and organize and letting the other people in my house know not to interrupt me during that time is so important. Ideally, I try and do it when I’m home alone so I have less distractions. I like to designate around 30min-1 hour and pick a podcast about the same length and keep cleaning for the length of the podcast.
Block Everything Else Out: I mentioned being home alone and listening to a podcast as ways to minimize distractions during organizing time. I like to wear noise-canceling headphones and leave my phone in another room. When it comes to getting distracted by the things I’m organizing, I’ve found that forcing myself to make quick decisions is the best way to keep things moving. Put the skein where it belongs and that’s it, no project planning or reminiscing allowed. If I find myself lingering on certain areas, I’ll just move on to a different category.
One Bite at a Time: My strategy for avoiding clutter is to regularly tackle small areas. For me, that looks like re-organizing a few shelves of my stash and tidying up the skeins in 2-4 baskets. This helps me rediscover my stash and keeps cleaning from being a daunting task. I like to organize my stash as I use it. If I’ve just finished a dk weight sweater, I’ll sort through my dk weight yarn and make space for anything new I might want to bring into my stash.
The Benefits
I’ve mentioned a few ways that this stash organization system has benefited me, but let’s sum them up real quick!
My anxiety is definitely worse when I’m around areas with visual clutter. Having a system that has minimized that in a low-maintenance way has benefited my mental health and crafting practice in such an impactful way. The cherry on top is that it’s an aesthetically pleasing way for me to display my hobby that I regularly get complimented on by non-knitters.
Anyone with a love of yarn and a… forgetful brain, has bought similar yarn over and over without noticing until they got home. Ever since I’ve had this system and regularly sorted through my yarn this almost never happens to me. I’m much more aware of and excited to use my yarn in stash, and my wallet is happier for it too.
Tailing off of the last benefit, I’m much more aware of what yarns I love, what I don’t use, and best of all, what I’m curious to try. Knowing that the non-superwash wool in my stash is what I tend to reach for has led to be exploring more breed-specific and specialty yarns that I now I have the money for since I no longer randomly buying whatever caught my eye!
Trust me, I know stash organization may seem like a silly stressor, but having a creative area you love is worth the time investment. I hope getting a peek at my stash helped you put together some ideas for yours! Be sure to tag me in your stash makeover ;)
-XO Dani
