My January 2016 blog post (Minimalism and the craft of knitting) was about my focus that year to knit as much as possible with the yarn I already had. Since then, I have completed several projects using the yarn I had and have also limited my yarn purchases. Still the amount of yarn I have left is not comfortable for me. So after more than two years of trying to practice minimalism in the craft of knitting, the time has come for me to let some of the yarn go.

I read a few knitting blogs on some yarn de-stashing tips and the KonMari method seems to be the one mentioned most. I will try to use this KonMari method but unlike this method I will do this gradually not in one or days. Since I didn’t get all the yarn in one day, discarding or donating most of it in one or two days doesn’t work for me. At the end of this process, I would like to keep yarn that I have specific projects for. One of my goals by the end of 2019 is to have all my yarn fit in two clear storage bins (not including project leftover yarn or yarn already in use).

My journey of letting go of yarn will include:

• sorting the yarn (synthetic and natural fibers, project leftover yarn etc.) and donating some to knitting charity etc.
• organizing yarn and making sure I have enough yarn for knitting patterns (including modified or personal patterns) before I begin new knitting projects – most of my limited yarn purchases this year was because I didn’t have enough yarn to complete the modified blanket pattern for the year-long knit along by Hannah Wallace.

I will repeat these steps a few times during 2019 till all my yarn fits in a couple of storage bins. I know all this sorting and organizing will eventually decrease clutter and reduce stress, but at the moment it seems to be taking my time away from actually knitting those unfinished projects.

Do you have any other helpful tips on de-stashing yarn?