Tag: Storage

TINY HOUSE, MIGHTY PROBLEMS

Good things come in small packages. Heard that inspiration before? I can see how in some situations this is applicable and would be a fun, everything will work out, sign. In other situations, however, this feels like anti-logic. Rather unhelpful. Because sometimes good things come in big packages. Take space, for example. The more space you have, the more space you fill up … but the less space you have, the less amount of essentials you have. 

Space is super prevalent in a lot of scenarios. Housing, the office, a car trunk, the refrigerator, any public place in the world currently. Imagine if you voluntarily took your current fridge space and cut it down to about a tenth of the size. Sounds a bit irresponsible – where is all of your cookie dough going to go? What about all the orange juice and champagne? How will you keep cheese sticks? Sacrifices will have to be made. So long produce. Adios dairy products. It’s been real lunch meat. If the thought of having to restrict the amount of refrigerated goods you can keep at any given time doesn’t make you sad, I can honestly say that we have very different priorities in life.

What about the amount of trunk space in your vehicle? Some cars only come with enough space to hold all of one backpack. On purpose. And some people buy these cars knowing that a “trunk” feature is basically a lie. On purpose. I have a lot of questions about how one is able to survive life without a trunk, but those are good questions for another time. For all the normal people in the world, a trunk is a necessity. It’s where you can hide your valuables on vacation. It’s also a great place to put suitcases for a road trip. Believe it or not, it’s also incredibly handy when shopping. For food, or clothes, or home improvement project supplies, or plants, or sporting equipment, etc. 

I, for one, would not know what to do if I woke up tomorrow and my trunk had disappeared. Well, more accurately, my trunk and the backseat of my car. Where would I put my golf clubs?! How could I ever take another trip to Total Wine?! So much panic. And yet, the tiny house market is still a thing. Tiny houses look a lot like a shed. I think, though, that they’re smaller. What does one keep in a shed? Extra items that don’t fit between the house and the garage. What does one keep in a tiny house? Everything they own. Wait, wait, wait. In one version, it’s more of extra storage and in the other version it’s the whole storage limit? How does that work?

If you’re also confused, it’s not just you. The need to downsize makes sense. Personally, my collection of things has gotten a tad out of hand. But it would basically be impossible for me to downsize to the tiny house point. In the same square footage as my current bedroom, I would have a kitchen, a bathroom, a bedroom, and a living / dining area. What actually … is that possible? What if you were cooking fish? Then you would smell it in your dreams because less space means less room for disbursement. Or if you made a Taco Bell run after work. Oh boy, that’s another time when you’d be praying for higher ceilings. 

Imagine trying to have friends over. You could have two, max. So it would be like russian roulette – who do you like the best out of your friend group? They get to come over and nobody else. Don’t even get me started on trying to live there as a couple. If you had a disagreement, where would you go for space? The front porch? All of five feet away from the back porch where your significant other is taking time to themselves? That seems like a recipe for disaster. I guess what I’m confused about, is how much is too much when it comes to decluttering? Reduce your footprint by reducing your space, your sanity, and everything you’ve ever loved. That seems like a hard line between acceptable and a bit unhinged. But what do I know? I currently take up an entire master closet by myself. Space sharing is not really one of my better features. Alas, I also have a stress shopping problem so which issue needs to be addressed first? I like option C, neither – all is fine. I’m fine. You’re fine. Anyone not in a tiny house is fine.

Alright, jumping off my pedestal for now. If you know someone who would enjoy this post and want to share it with them, that would be awesome. Sharing is caring, after all. Don’t forget to subscribe to get these in your inbox twice weekly and follow TRP on Twitter for frequent musings. Thanks for reading!

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I’M NOT A HOARDER, I’M SENTIMENTAL

You know how the saying goes: the more space you have, the more space you’ll fill up. I think that’s how it goes…but now that I’m thinking about it there’s a good chance I made it up. The concept is what’s really important here though – that being that you will “grow” into whatever extra space you have. Why is that? Seems like a very first-world problem where we have this need to fill the emptiness in our lives with something.

That just got way, way, way too deep for this blog so I’m going to take a massive step back into borderline nonsense territory before I scare some readers away. Anyways, back in the comfort of the half-joking, half-serious, and fully sarcastic world that I live in, I have noticed that I do tend to fill every last inch of space that is in the place where I’m living, or working, or eating lunch, or being chauffeured around in, or anywhere really that I ever am (regardless of whether or not I own said space). 

Extra shelf in the linen closet? Seems like the perfect place to store all the exercise equipment I’m not using. Extra drawer in the kitchen? Obviously I should put whiteboard markers in there just in case I ever buy a whiteboard for my fridge. Extra space on my desk? Seems like a good day to take an “extended lunch break” and see what goodies lie in the Amazon universe of office accessories. Extra seat next to me in the Uber? Clearly meant to put my backpack, coat, water bottle, keys, cell phone, lunchbox, and camera on (because putting them in the backpack would be ridiculous).

Can you relate? Duh – who doesn’t?! Why do you think tiny houses are so popular right now? The less space, then, by default, the less stuff you are allowed to have. Nothing like cutting out 95% of your square footage to force a serious spring cleaning. I mean, that is the only purpose of those houses right? Because who would willingly just live in that tiny of a space where the bathroom and the bedroom don’t only share a wall, they are one and the same. Be honest with yourselves for a second…every once in a while something tears right through your digestive system and leaves a very unpleasant output. Nobody’s trying to have that literally hanging in the air when trying to sleep, or eat.

So, for all the regular house living people in the world, who else has trouble getting rid of things? No need to raise your hand, I can’t see you. Just have that thought to yourself and know that you and I have at least one thing in common. Now, it’s not for a lack of trying, I have to say. I attempt to get rid of things (like random grocery store receipts, and instructions to appliances that I no longer own, or clothing that I bought in high school and it really should have stayed in high school) at least once every few months. The best motivation is right after I go through and online shopping spree and realize that there isn’t enough room for everyone at the party and I’ll be darned if my brand new friends get kicked out.

If you’re anything like me, then you go through everything you own and have excuses for simply throwing away the bare minimum amount of items. Thoughts like these dance through your head (because rule number one rule of having to throw away your “precious” is to have some killer dance music playing):

  • I don’t own a Mr. Coffee pot anymore, but what if I decide to buy one again someday (if all the Keurigs turn into robots and run away) and it DOESN’T come with instructions?!
  • I haven’t worn XS shirts since I was 5, but what if I lose all the weight on my body and become just a walking skeleton?! I would need this shirt
  • I don’t need 4 different backpacks, but what if three of them all break in some fashion?! I would need the fourth one as a back-back-backup
  • I haven’t shopped at this store in years, but what if I can still go online and get the $5 off coupon?!

Inevitably, then, nothing goes away as all of our incredibly logic thoughts convince us to keep them *just* *in* *case*. Does that make us hoarders? No, I like to believe it simply makes us sentimental. Besides, there’s always room under the bed, and in some closet/cabinet to store things, right?! If not, you aren’t shoving hard enough.

Alright, jumping off my pedestal for now. If you know someone who has a hard time parting with their belongings, share this post so we can trade war stories of being knee deep in socks and still trying to carefully find a place to put the newest few pairs. Thanks for reading!

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