Everywhere I go, I see statements such as, "I don't know how much yarn I used; I raided my stash!" For the person deciding whether to make that particular pattern (for which, to all of you who post them, vielen dank!), this is not usually terribly helpful: my stash just might not be quite as large as the pattern creator's (not bloody likely, but there you are).

My tip:
I have a digital kitchen scale. I've never used it in the kitchen, however; it sits next to my stash box, where I can weigh the finished article (or the ever-present partial balls of yarn) to find out exactly "how much yarn" - and the techno marvel will even tell me in grams, ounces, or pounds!

Hope this helps someone else.
B