Show Your Stash: Threads

I was kicking around the internet, as we are wont to do, and I found this "Show Your Stash" meme that the quilters were playing. (See original here.) No one ever asks to see my stash, I moped. I guess that a pile of natural colored linen is kind of boring. But thread! Now that can be beautiful. 

What thread do you usually stitch with? cotton floss. Silk if I'm feeling rich and naughty. (Not really.)

When you shop for threads, do you buy on impulse or do you buy only what you need? I usually go in with a list but if I happen to be in Fireside Stitchery, they entice me by telling me which colors have been discontinued. I suddenly feel compelled to stock up! (Especially on Weeks and Sampler Threads.)

How do you sort it? By manufacturer, and then alphabetically by name.

How do you store your thread? Most of my DMC is on bobbins, though I do have a storage cabinet for "extra" floss. My overdyeds are on rings in baskets. My silks and miscellaneous threads are in boxes.

What tips do you have for building a stash? Work on projects that call for lots of colors!

How much is too much? I'm not the expert on excess. Or rather, on not crossing the line over into excess.

How do you whittle your stash down when it's gotten too large? One year I realized I had gobs of threads I would never use so I sent them as Christmas presents. The only drawback to that is that people might have expected me to keep sending Christmas presents!

Do you have a current favorite in your stash? Let’s see it!

I'm hoping to make this a monthly meme, and to expand it to other aspects of our shared hobby. If you decide to answer, please link to your post in the comments.