For the past several weeks I’ve been working on getting ready to move. Along with packing things from the kitchen and bathroom cabinets there’s also the “prized stash of yarn”. This stash of yarn not only includes a variety of fibers, but also unfinished works. One might reason that you can always throw all the crafts into one box (ok, for me it’s actually an insurmountable amount of boxes) and sort when moved into the new home. In the past, that’s exactly what I’ve done. But, this time, I’ve decided to do it the right way first. Naturally, there is more than one right way, but I’ll share with you the method I’m using with this move.

I start by collecting empty boxes from the local grocery stores. I’ve found that some of the best boxes are those that carried eggs and those that carried meats. These boxes are sturdy boxes that will hold a lot of weight and the benefit of the meat boxes is a bonus bag that’s sometimes tossed in each box that can be placed in the yarn boxes.

These, heavy boxes, I reserve for packing up the kitchen and living room. I also collect any tossed magazines and newspapers for wrapping breakables. Since crochet fibers are lightweight (other than those on cones) these things can be put in the less sturdy boxes. I’m marking one box as UFO’s/WIP’s (UnFinished Objects/Works In Progress), yarn for special projects, yarn, hooks/needles/etc and crafts (since I do a variety of other crafts as well). As I sort through my various yarn stashes and bags, I sort by which box is appropriate for that particular item. When I come across glues, toothpicks, special markers (as in my acrylic ink pen), threads and what-not’s these go into the craft box. All hooks, knitting needles, sewing needles, tapestry needles, buttons, tatting shuttles, tatting needles, weaving looms, etc go into the Hooks/needles/etc box. As each box gets as full as I can get it, I toss in a package from the meat boxes. It’s then wrapped tightly so that nothing falls out and nothing can get in it (nasty things like spiders/snakes/mice and roaches). No, I don’t have all those nasty’s, but I want to make sure I don’t get them anywhere along the way either.

The boxes are marked on at least three sides and the top. Anything that might be breakable is marked with a red marker and I sometimes draw a picture of a broken wine glass to send a clear message. The box containing the hooks/needles/etc is marked in red with a warning that it contains sharp objects. Last, but not least, the boxes are stacked in one room (closest to the entry door, so helpers don’t have a lot of leg work) and sorted by box size as well as content weight. The boxes of yarn will be placed on top of most of the boxes. Even if they are huge boxes, putting them on the bottom of a stack of various other household items could easily crush the box of yarn and bust a box open.

When the boxes are moved to the new home and placed in the designated rooms, I can take my time unpacking the crochet related items because I’ll know exactly which of the boxes to open when I’m looking for a particular hook, UFO or yarn saved for a particular project.

I hope that you’ll find these tips useful when you’re moving and you find yourself less pressured to hurry and unpack non-essential items. You may also find this method useful for packing other items in your house.