I worked in a yarn store for about 4 years a while back. I did a lot of organization of yarn, which was one of my very favorite things to do! I actually rearranged the whole store a couple of times.

Here is what I learned.

Although organizing by color is stunning, it is really hard to find something specific.
When looking for yarn for a project the first thing you look for is the weight of the yarn needed.
Second thing you look for is usually fiber and/or color
The third thing is probably yardage.

Can you guess how I organize my own yarn?? Yup, Weight.
But it isn't just that simple. Here are my categories.

I organize by weight first.
Then I separate out the yarns that I have good amount of yardage from the ones that I have only 1 or 2 normal size skien of.
Then by fiber content.
I separate plant fibers from animal fibers.

With those basic categories I will start filling very large jumbo ziplock bags (2.5 oz bags are great). They hold a lot of yarn. So I put the weights together and then if there is enough to separate planet from animal fiber I will. Except cotton and acrylics are all in one place.

Yarns that already have a pattern attach to them I put in their own bag. So I don't have to remember what pattern I was going to use that yarn for. Of course that doesn't mean that the yarn won't change it's mind and become something else.

Here is an extra step if you so choose to go there. Add your Stash to Ravelry!
The next blog post will cover that and why it is a good idea.

Now depending on the space for your yarn start putting them in the order of weight and fiber. Sweater amounts and bags for projects with yarn and pattern.

What about left over bits? I store those in their own bags. I am picky about these. I am not a scrap knitter so I don't keep everything. Just yarns I love, noro yarns, larger amounts of yarn that could actually become something. I keep all Knit Picks pallet yarn and Jameson yarns. Sometimes with color will you just need a little bit. They are in this basket for the most part.

Bugs

The last little category I have is the new yarn that has entered my house. I can't put them in cold storage as of yet. They do get added to Ravelry as it comes in the door, much easier that way. Then they go into these pink boxes in my office.

As you can see I don't keep much yarn on my shelves. I used to and I do miss it. But, I had the bug thing happen so I don't do that anymore. The boxes have soap bars and lavender in each box. I am happy to say that I have not had an issue since I started putting my yarn away.

Now you could but your yarn on shelves and tuck the soap and lavender into each shelf. I keep thinking I am going to do that so I can have some yarn out as eyecandy.

Bugs can be an issue. Here are some steps to help them from messing with your yarn.

Put yarn in ziplock bags (some bugs will eat through the plastic so not enough on its own).
Store in ziplock bags in plastic containers (again not enough on it's own)
Put bars of soap (strong smelling like Dial or Irish Spring) in with the yarn
Strong smelling Herbs like lavender, cloves, peppermint in little sachets
Ceder is a long time favorite solution. Cedar chests, cedar chips, shavings etc. My Armoire is cedar lined and I still do several of the above solutions.
If you want some of the yarn out on shelf to be able to stare at and pet then hide soap and sachets amongst them.
I replenish my sachets and soaps once they don't smell anymore.

There are some basic ideas of how tame the stash. I would love to hear other ideas you might have? I am sure this is no where close to an exhaustive list!

Part 1: Stash a Love/Hate Relationship