Felting and Fiber Studio

We’ve talked a few times about how we store our felting and craft supplies, but how do you keep track of what you have so you know when you’re running low? Do you have a system? I don’t have enough room to keep the whole amount of my wool and fibre supplies out, so I usually keep some out to use…

… and the rest ‘spare’ in bags (or pillow cases!) out of the way in cupboards.

This often leads to me running out of certain breeds or colours, or in some cases, ordering twice because I forget that I checked before the last time I ordered. I decided to do an inventory of all my supplies and stock this week, so I know exactly what I have, then I can try to find a way to keep a better track of it all. I thought the easiest way to do this, would be to put an old sheet down on the floor, get everything out…

… make lists …

and weigh it all.

I had some Word documents with lists of what I usually use from the last time I tried to be better organised, so I started with those and did print outs for my supplies and also for what is ‘spare’. I decided I’d start with my ‘natural’ wools and do the dyed wools and fibres another day. I have my natural wools split into lights and darks, and I also separate the commercial tops from the locks, scoured and carded wools. I know it sounds like a lot of messing about, but it is easier for finding what I want with limited space.

I wasn’t thinking when I started with the light colours. I weighed everything first, then added to the supplies I keep out if they were getting low. But when I did the dark colours, if any of the supplies were low, I added to them before writing down the weight, so I didn’t have lots of scribbled out numbers or have to do two lots of weighing 🙂

So, now I have huge lists with the weights of all my supplies, and spare supplies, do you have any tips or advice about how to keep track of it all better? The only thing I can think of is to weigh the supplies again after each use and also the spares each time I get more out.

UPDATE: I have uploaded a couple of Word documents, altered from the lists I made doing my natural wool supplies inventory, in case anyone wants to use them for themselves. They are in tables, but are easy to alter to suit you. For a list of Commercial wool tops in different breeds, click here then click the link to open the Word doc. For a list of scoured, washed and raw wools, locks and fleeces, click here for the Word doc attachment.