Oh what a tangled yarn we weave- (how do you store balls of yarn?)

[money2burn]

I have at least 30 balls of yarn.  It turns out it's closer to 80.  Most of it was given to me and already wound in balls. I was also given a large fabric tote to store them in.  How do you keep the balls of yarn from getting tangled? I tried tying the end to the ball, but it still came undone.  I have seen some ideas on the web, but they are for just a few balls of yarn.  Not really feasible for larger quantities.  What about storing the tiny balls of yarn, leftover from projects.  I also have dozens of those than are no more than 2" in size.  

I am currently organizing them. I am also on the lookout for the giant plastic ice cream tubs with lids for my smaller balls of yarn.   I may have to give in and buy ice cream.  Too bad.  I am using the oversized ziploc bags to sort the skeins and balls out.  The XL bags are big even to hold about a dozen skeins. I also have several 2 gallon size bags. It's really nice to see the similar yarns and colors grouped together.  One bag has nothing, but metallic yarn.  Another bag has this silk type yarn in it.  I feel inspiration coming on. Thanks again for everyones suggestions. 

[Eamea]

Good topic!  I especially have this problem with the threads.  They start to leave the ball and then they all end up fighting.  I don't think I want to individually bag them all, but if someone has a tape-free solution I would love to hear it!

[HaKurama]

I have (at the moment) some large bags full of yarn. I used the compromise method; instead of bagging each ball, I bag several in a plastic carrier bag. If you have any spare plastic ice cream tubs, they can be used as well. (Also, they make good yarn bowls for working.)
I also do something similar with hanging shoe racks, putting two or three in each section if they're small enough.

Other than that, if your balls are not centre feed, consider re-winding them so that they are - with nice tight winding in random directions on the outer surface. I find that it helps with mine. 

[fantasticmio]

I agree with making them centre-pull if you can, though I wouldn't do too much tight winding if you're not going to use the yarn for a while.

My wound balls are centre-pulls and the outside end gets wound around the outside several times and then end is tucked under the many wraps.  I haven't had any problem with them coming undone.

As for scraps, I like to store the little balls with the full balls of the same yarn - it's easier to work stripes and things into projects to use them up.  Ziploc bags of various sizes can be handy for this, as well.

[Angel3rd]

I have had this problem before what I did was i went out and bought a big bag of the tiny little rubber bands, and wrapped it around the loose tail. I found it keeps them from unwinding while in a bag or tote. hope this helps.

[Alexus1325]

I guess I'm a bad yarny Most of my yarn lives in a vintage bread box, and the rest is in a black garbage bag... BUT, they don't get tangled up on me because I don't move them around. The only time I pull the breadbox out is if there's something in there I want, and all the balls in the garbage bag are just as the manufacturers shipped them.

Seeing as how you have soooo much, perhaps you should invest in those clear stacking drawers? That way you can still tell what's in there, but don't need to move things around too much and risk having them getting all tangled like they do in a bag.

[starbuckRJ]

I keep mine in those plastic storage drawers that people use in bathrooms or college dorm rooms. They're not expensive, they're stackable, and I can always add more if my stash increases but it never looks messy. Also, I can keep wool separate from other types of yarn, etc, put my needles in another drawer. I LOVE them.

[MiLady]

I'm a very bad yarny, mine are all dumped and overflowing from the same box I keep all my other stash of fabric etc in. I've always loved the idea of those plastic balls you can get to work a project from and I've always wondered for smaller balls if an egg box might work for storage (which would be easily personalised).

Can I ask what a centre pull is please? I'm mostly self taught and don't always know the terminology.

[fantasticmio]

A centre pull ball is one that has been wound in such a way that you can work from the end of yarn that is on the inside of the ball (and therefore have it mostly stay put while crocheting) rather than using the end of yarn on the outside of the ball (and have the ball bounce around the room while you work).

A lot of commercially availabe yarn comes in centre pull balls, while others come in twisted hanks that you are to wind yourself - you can turn these into centre pull balls by hand or by using a ball winder.

Commercially available centre pull balls can be made in such a way that makes it hard to find the inside end, a quest that often leads to yarn barf, which occurs when you're trying to pull the inside end out, but get a clump of yarn instead.

[LadybugsAndBumblebees]

Yarn barf...that's funny...but how teriffically appropriate!