Building a stash

So my last impromptu and surprising trip to the Wooly Ewe gave me a chance to start building up my stash of yarns so I have a bit more to work with for future projects. Now i just need to pull it out of the plastic bags currently holding it all, and figure out a way to store it in bins or baskets or something so that I can actually see what all I have. I did buy one basket that I had been keeping in the living room next to where I sit to knit. But when the hubby wanted to clean up the living room, he made me move it and hide it. Sigh. Actually, I was surprised the cats didn't find and destroy any of the yarns in that basket!

I've been thinking about getting some plastic bins, or possibly metal-cage bins and setting them up..somewhere.. Still trying to decide on where. The middle bedroom is a possibility. Problem is, that room doesn't have all that much extra space as it is..and the one wall I'd have "room" to put in some bins, is really the only extra space there is in the room at all. And I'm sure our guests appreciate having just that little bit of space for them to dress in. So honestly, I shouldn't put it there. I could confiscate some of the back closet, if I move some of our militarily-inclined roommate's binned items into the garage. That's a possibility. Then it doesn't screw up any of the hubby's ideas of a clean house :D


Alternatively, I have one part of stash building that I'm struggling to understand. When I went to the Wooly Ewe, I had a shopping list. I knew of a few projects I wanted to work on in the future, so I went looking for yarn specifically for those projects. Which was good - because they all required a good deal of yarn (400yds plus for almost every project). So that meant I was buying 5-6 skeins per project! That added up to a lot..which meant I couldn't just go buying yarn just because it was pretty/soft/touchable/loooove. And to be completely honest, I'm afraid to buy yarn "just cuz" when I'm not sure how much of that yarn I'll need for a particular project - afraid I'd not get enough and then be unable to get more in the future. I did inherit a few yarns from my mom over Xmas, some yellows and blues for future baby projects, but those are going into a "someday in the future" part of the stash that will have very little viability for random projects. But generally, I'm not sure how to just shop for yarns, without a particular pattern's requirements in mind. Not sure how to ensure that I will get enough for whatever future project I'll want to do with it.. Maybe its just a spontaneity trait that I don't really have. ^_^