Stash Appreciation, Part 2

How is a large stash affordable, you might ask.   Some of the ways were answered  in the last stash appreciation post. 

More ways to afford yarn include using coupons at the stores, yard sales,  estate sales, getting a job at a craft store.

The coupons can be mailed to you,  found on an app on your cell phone,  they can be found in newspapers and emails.  Coupons can be sometimes used in conjunction with sales, but most often not.  Check your stores for their policies.

Yard sales,  garage sales,  boot sales, flea markets and estate sales are pretty much the same thing.  Someone with too much stuff or in need of money hauls all their unwanted stuff out to the yard or garage or packs up a car or truck and goes to a location where other like minded individuals have assembled.  Set up tables or blankets and lay out the stuff that needs to go.  Some will have a small amount of yarn, needles/hooks or pattern books.  Sometimes a whole neighborhood will get together on specific day to hold yard sales.  If this is an opportunity you want to pursue, go early and with cash.  You might also want to go towards the end of the day and make an offer on remaining items you want.

Getting a job at a craft store might seem strange but hear me out.  The pay can go to support your habit.  You are surrounded by the stuff you love.  You can talk knitting and crocheting with people,  usually customers. You get the early scoop on sales.  

Once upon a time i worked at a craft store.   One of the managers made me an offer i did refuse due to space limitations.    The skeins of yarn that were without labels were unable to be sold.  There was an enormous bin of them.  I  was offered this yarn to take home.  I don't know if this is a practice still going on. 

One of the other questions I get frequently,  does your husband know how much you have?   To an extent, yes.  An actual count,  no.  Not even i have that at this point.  Do i want him to know? For me it doesn't matter.   He has his hobbies and the associated tools,  hardware,  raw materials. I have mine.  If a purchase is going to be beyond a certain limit, we discuss it.

For those who feel a need to be covert about purchases, I'm sorry to hear that.   You can sneak a few skeins in with other "more legitimate" purchases.  Wait until your other half is at work,  away from home or asleep before bringing in the large purchase.

Where can it all be kept to keep someone from knowing the truth about stash?  Again,  if this is your reality, I'm sorry.  Some places to keep yarn,  besides out in the open such as bookcases and armoires or plastic storage bins stacked up, might include behind the furniture in the living room,  under the bed, in the closet in old purses, in drawers that are less than full.  You might try down coat sleeves in the off season,  the drawer under the oven for pan storage  (wrap in zip top bags).  A more controversial idea that i have employed is above a dropped ceiling.  Put skeins in zip top bags with or without the air removal port.  Use small bags.  Tuck them up on top of a ceiling tile away from electric lines, light fixtures and the wires that hold up the groundwork. You don't want the section to fall because of yarn.  Floppy tiles can safely hold 5 pounds spread out on each tile.  Hard tiles can safely hold between 10 and 20 pounds spread out. Make a map so you can find quickly what you want. This is not an attempt to be covert on my part.  It's more a way to keep yarn I don't want to get rid of yet safe for future use and out of site.  Yes I have a map to keep it mostly organized.