AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered Userregular
Honest opinion time:
I'm still working on decluttering and downsizing. The goal is to get a house, which means moving out.
Should I be considering some low shelves to go behind my couch? They would likely match my current Ikea shelving (2x3 or 2x4 blocks) as opposed to thin bookshelves. I feel like adding more storage/organization is just enabling my habits, but at the same time I don't really want to pitch everything and I do enjoy having things on display.
I'm still working on decluttering and downsizing. The goal is to get a house, which means moving out.
Should I be considering some low shelves to go behind my couch? They would likely match my current Ikea shelving (2x3 or 2x4 blocks) as opposed to thin bookshelves. I feel like adding more storage/organization is just enabling my habits, but at the same time I don't really want to pitch everything and I do enjoy having things on display.
You're allowed to have a hobby and to put stuff you like on display. Low shelves behind a couch is a good way to use the space, just make sure your couch doesn't slide back into the shelves when you flomp onto it.
You can and should have things you enjoy on display but it’s okay to store things away too. Having too many things on display means nothing really stands out; it blends into the crowd. I feel like chests or hollow ottomans might be a good idea.
Throwing things away is hard though and I honestly wouldn’t throw away anything you really want to keep or would regret losing. Things that don’t have any monetary or emotional value you can consider getting rid of.
I'm going to start by saying that no one here has said anything wrong but I do take a different perspective.
I recently went on a few stuff purges including a lot of gundams I had built. (I'm building more, I haven't given up the hobby, but was really running out of room) I also got rid of a lot of theoretically sentimental stuff that actually just sat in drawers/boxes.
For me the building models is the point, not the display. And The stuff isn't the memory of the event. Often the stuff was frankly junk. Or a gift I never liked anyway. And in being less sentimental about the objects and donating/tossing them, I got my space back and ended up with a house I'm way happier and less stressed living in.
I still have art on the walls, I still have gundams on my desk at work, and I've got a couple shelves of board games. But I am a lot more selective about what I let come in now.
And maybe this is off base, but knowing you from the Gundam thread and how expensive zoids are...if you cleared yourself out of every model you've ever built (which I'm not actually advocating)...well frankly I think you'd still build more and be happy. And if you direly missed any of them, a lot will be made again/are still being made. Not all of them for sure, but enough. And enough new ones to keep you busy.
So it's a balance. Hobbies are cool! Displaying them is cool! And if you are happy with your space, that is the only valid feeling on the matter. But if you'd like or think you'd like a more open space, then it's fine to cut deep with the purge too.
It's totally a privilege thing, but I was lucky that anything I tossed was either obviously non-essential (toys of one sort or another) or if it came up secretly useful later I could buy a new whatever (unused tools and all sorts of various old electronics and bits) So if you are also lucky enough that's the case, don't worry too much. If collecting is fun you'll get to do it all over again.
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AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered Userregular
edited January 2019
Yeah. I think that's why I'm hesitant. The shelving would mostly be used for board games, many of which I haven't had a huge chance to play, but would definitely be part of a "Game room" in the future. The bulk of my toys are from the 2000's, and as newer/better stuff comes out, I really have no sentimental value to the old stuff.
What might be good for me to do is go through my collection of Transformers and pick out my "favorite" 1-2 of each character. Only keep that one, get rid of the rest. The only exceptions would be my Masterpiece figs (which win by default), my Transformers Animated pieces (best TF show ever fite me), and my Alternators (because holy shit they are real cars and protoform Masterpiece items).
I think I'm also going to purge a lot of my older Zoids too. The HMM ones are so much better, and I'm putting them together with so much more care and attention. It's just hard to look at the sunk cost fallacy of how much money I've put into some of these things...
I'm also torn because furniture = functional in the future, yeah?
Yeah. I think that's why I'm hesitant. The shelving would mostly be used for board games, many of which I haven't had a huge chance to play, but would definitely be part of a "Game room" in the future. The bulk of my toys are from the 2000's, and as newer/better stuff comes out, I really have no sentimental value to the old stuff.
What might be good for me to do is go through my collection of Transformers and pick out my "favorite" 1-2 of each character. Only keep that one, get rid of the rest. The only exceptions would be my Masterpiece figs (which win by default), my Transformers Animated pieces (best TF show ever fite me), and my Alternators (because holy shit they are real cars and protoform Masterpiece items).
I think I'm also going to purge a lot of my older Zoids too. The HMM ones are so much better, and I'm putting them together with so much more care and attention. It's just hard to look at the sunk cost fallacy of how much money I've put into some of these things...
I'm also torn because furniture = functional in the future, yeah?
A thing I had to remind myself a lot was that the items were not still creating value (counting personal/emotional value here). They did. They were worth it, but I could let them go now. You got them, built them , enjoyed them, don't worry about not getting appropriate value from them.
As for the furniture without seeing examples it's hard to say, but I'd worry about making empty shelves before worrying about getting rid of a shelf.
I've been feeling cramped in my apartment for a while and have been wanting to move. In two weeks I'm looking at a place that is in a location I love... and also even smaller, because desirable location + budget. But it occurred to me that part of the problem might be that my furniture is too big for one person. Most of my stuff is inherited. I have a couch from my great aunt that comfortably seats four (or would, if it weren't covered in books) and a six piece dining room set from my grandma. If I replaced both of those with more me-sized furniture, it would open up quite a bit of space, I think.
Unfortunately, I have my mom's pack-rat tendencies and my dad's distractibility, so culling my possessions is like pulling teeth. I can only do it for half an hour or so before I start wanting to Save All The Things. (So many books I'll never read again but what if...) Throw anxiety on top of that and you end up with an oversized table I can't use because it's covered in stuff I don't care about but haven't gotten rid of.
I wrote up a list of stuff I need to do in my apartment as far as cleaning/organizing, so that is the next weekend or two sorted.
Have to dust the inside of my computer, major cable management there as well, in addition to around my desk (which also needs to be cleaned off), and behind the TV in the living room. I also need to re-organize my storage area so I can pull some stuff out to be photographed and sold, as well as a handful of other things that I wrote down but can't remember at the moment.
Should I be considering some low shelves to go behind my couch? They would likely match my current Ikea shelving (2x3 or 2x4 blocks) as opposed to thin bookshelves. I feel like adding more storage/organization is just enabling my habits, but at the same time I don't really want to pitch everything and I do enjoy having things on display.
my take? after decluttering and being realistic in paring down to what you really like, then.. maybe.
if you want to prepare for a move (especially if you've done enough downsizing to make current storage sufficient), adding more furniture seems counterintuitive to going-elsewhere motivation. by all means, enjoy and utilize the space you're currently in, but since you said you feel like it'll just enable habits you're trying to modify, i'd avoid it until you come up with an organizational system you can maintain.
nobody's gonna suggest you get rid of everything --or ascetic decor unless that's your taste-- but it's up to you to decide how much of your living space you're (un)willing to devote to stuff.
for the record, i am not nearly to my level of comfort with the amount of objects in my house nor the placement of said junk, but i've put a lot of brainpower in trying to puzzle it out for myself. i've had small successes, and i need to build on that. baby steps.
re: philosophical organizational thoughts
from what i've learned about effective organizing, the most difficult part for most of us is learning to differentiate between items we've simply.. held onto, and possessions that are currently useful & enjoyable for us. next is then reducing holdings to just the latter and helpful storage thereof (so as to minimize the presence/increase of the former -- leaving literal room for stuff to creep back in is a slippery slope.) 'helpful' being indicative of thought given to systems of good habits and organization as a process rather than an objective.
and it's entirely subjective, so there's a learning curve. but i'd advise putting human whole-body comfort and ease of movement as more important than the dispensation of stuff. it's just stuff, it doesn't get to have opinions! think about your ideal environment and work towards that first instead of defaulting to "Where do I put all my things?"
//for most everyone, perfectly organized spaces 24/7 ain't. happening. (and that's okay! i'd even assert that as appropriate prioritization!) but the ol' 'everything has a place' ethos helps in more easily maintaining a certain baseline.// adding new stuff doesn't have to be a moral dilemma, but being mindful and considering what space you've dedicated to such things helps mitigate hoarding tendencies ispeakfromexperience. most of the trendy organizing methods or decorating blogs don't truck with knick-knacky collections, much less sizable ones, but i do think it's generally true that you're gonna enjoy your environment and belongings more if you're selective with what you keep around.
i think there's a decent parallel with figuring out how to balance hobbies and interests with other aspects of life -- don't let one thing define you or your space, and allow for some flexibility and even emptiness.
i also consider display to just be a stylish organizational method; successful storage doesn't require hiding everything, just that everything has a spot. think of classical art collections -- for most people, they're more enjoyable when you can see them, uh, artfully exhibited, not tucked away and 'safe'. same reason to use the 'good' china every day. i also think it's fun to occasionally refresh vignettes (there you go, fancy interior decorating -speak) to feature different pieces, and those stand out more in distinctive groupings vs a mass of objects.
unless you're a fan of maximalism, in which case, disregard.
re: downsizing challenges
my memory is kinda spotty and i'm kinda sentimental, so i have a real tough time parting with objects that trigger memories of events or remind me of people. but having realized that too much stuff and its resulting clutter gives me low-level stress, it's been easier to take pictures of those objects and donate them, rather than allowing myself to be constantly ill-at-ease for the occasional pleasant reminiscence. your 'too much' may be wildly different than mine, but it's worth considering the emotional aspects.
i also struggle with keeping stuff that might be useful someday; i've gotten better at freeing myself of things i don't or won't use that are still in good condition, but donating/trading/selling them is vital to my sense of closure. it helps to tell myself that when i get rid of something, if i do need whatever it is at some point, it will probably be obtainable, or i can probably make do without, regardless. i cop to that privilege.
but, i think being more considered in what i keep or bring in helps me to appreciate what i have, and brings its own satisfaction.
oh, hey, 8 hours in draft, so, naturally, QuantumTurk said most of my sentiment way more succinctly.
3am posting :rotate:
Hey, I loved reading your thoughts on it too. And I cribbed alot of mine from "life changing magic of tidying up" which I don't know if I really reccomend, but there is definitely some gold in the dirt pile there. There is also a lot of shame, bougie ideas and generally unachievable self help book style stuff.
To give a really really unpopular opinion, especially if you are going to move again....screw big book shelves full of books unless you are actually a re-reader. I'm not. I went from a couple hundred probably to one shelf, just of the nice special editions and leatherbound, nicely made hardbacks, as well as cookbooks I reference. The rest went to Goodwill. I don't need those books as evidence I read. I read them! Let them go to someone else for them to read them! I got over $100 bucks in trade in credit with the used book store as well, which helps when i can't get a book from the library. The library is amazing! They do Kindle books now! And they even have a service where you put in your requests online, and they shoot you an email when they are all ready, and you just go to a shelf and they are all right there by your name!
But this opened up SO much space for me to properly store cooking things, some model things, some board game things, and even get rid of a whole shelf.
My limitation now is my partner is only very slowly coming around on the idea that the books she hasn't read for 5 years and we've had to move 3 times may not be worth keeping around, but hey, it's a compromise.
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AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered Userregular
The majority of my books are also collector's items - mostly role playing game tomes. Specifically I have about 70%-80% of all Shadowrun sourcebooks ever produced. There are definitely some I'd be up for selling/donating, though.
But it occurred to me that part of the problem might be that my furniture is too big for one person. Most of my stuff is inherited. I have a couch from my great aunt that comfortably seats four (or would, if it weren't covered in books) and a six piece dining room set from my grandma. If I replaced both of those with more me-sized furniture, it would open up quite a bit of space, I think.
I agree with getting smaller furniture if you can afford to. My living room only has a loveseat and a small chair. A full-sized couch would take up too much space and it's only me living there. And if you replace your table with a little kitchen table and two chairs (and have a couple folding chairs just in case), it should save a lot of space.
What might be good for me to do is go through my collection of Transformers and pick out my "favorite" 1-2 of each character. Only keep that one, get rid of the rest. The only exceptions would be my Masterpiece figs (which win by default), my Transformers Animated pieces (best TF show ever fite me), and my Alternators (because holy shit they are real cars and protoform Masterpiece items).
I did that with my Star Wars figures years ago. I stopped collecting and decided to just keep one figure of each character (or variant of each character, so one XWing Luke, one Jedi Luke, and so on). It eliminated about 2/3 of my collection at the time. I still don't have room to display much, but at least my storage situation is much, much better.
i have low-key wanted a faux fur blanket for the better part of a decade. it flares up occasionally, currently because i was reminded by the one on the couch of our holiday AirBNB. part of my noncommittal is i am super-picky, the other is that the ones i like tend to be super-pricey. which-- welcome to many decision-points in my life.
i was in Home Goods the other day, and they had a bunch. now, i tend to be really averse to brand-flaunting --i like well-made stuff, i don't want to wear the logo-- so i usually get turned off by the larger fashion brands and just avoid them on principle. which works out, 'cause i'm a bargain shopper. anyway, there was this Ugg throw that was basically perfect except for being ~150 bucks.
i take good care of my belongings, so if it's reasonably well-made, i'd probably use it for decades. but paying that much for anything would give me pause. thus i'm in my classic seesaw of really liking something but unwilling to get it, magnified by it being legit expensive and also discontinued.
plus I'm about to go to PAX! and i have a
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i have a cat bed that can basically be a really narrow faux fur throw, so it's just a hedonistic impulse towards wallowing around in a me-size version of the thing. ..i may have suspected i would use it more than the pets.
so i have the cat trundle spread out over me to placate my hindbrain that 'i have a similar thing, it is good to be sensible with resources.'
and given how designers trawl that place for deals, the blanket is probably already gone, anyway.
i clearly don't need it, it's just sometimes challenging for me to retread those lines.
I have come this close to buying a Love Sac, both the large beanbag and a full on Love Sac couch that came with a beanbag thrown in, on no fewer than 6 occasions. I want one so much and can't justify buying it in any way.
I have come this close to buying a Love Sac, both the large beanbag and a full on Love Sac couch that came with a beanbag thrown in, on no fewer than 6 occasions. I want one so much and can't justify buying it in any way.
Late in highschool I got a SUMO and loved it....untill the beads crushed down. And it was going to be 100$+ to refill it. So think of all the money you are saving!
I have but it doesn't help. They're so damn comfy in the store!
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The Escape Goatincorrigible ruminantthey/themRegistered Userregular
edited January 2019
I recognized the need for a shoe rack now that I actually have a few pairs for different situations and then I went and got one. I feel like this was a big step forward in my spacial awareness skill.
It hangs behind my laundry room door so it's super hidden, too!
@pooka I don’t blame you, that blanket looks super awesome!
I love a nice shoe rack; I have these white ones from IKEA, and they’re a perfect size in our hall. The only shoes that don’t fit in them are our winter boots. Right now the boots are kept in a cardboard box (as seen here), which isn’t ideal. Mori’s parents have boot trays, but we don’t have the floor space in our hall for boot trays. Maybe we could keep them in the garage?
This shows the hall; the white cabinets = shoe racks. Immediately to the right of the cardboard box in the first photo is the door to the garage.
I’d also ideally like to install some coat pegs at a height that the kids could reach. Again, the question is: where. Perhaps behind the main door?
Alternatively I could try to clear some room in the understairs closet to store coats/boots there.
(The door on the left is the garage door, the door next to the stairs leads to a closet. I took a photo of the inside of the closet).
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FishmanPut your goddamned hand in the goddamned Box of Pain.Registered Userregular
Tentatively exciting news today. At least more promising than previous indications. After over a decade of dashed hopes and unsubstantiated rumours, it seems like maybe this time might be the real deal and I might actually be only a few months from a Billy bookcase that doesn't cost an arm and a leg to ship across the Tasman.
That's unbelievably cool. Your new name is cool guy. Let's have sex.
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Lost Salientblink twiceif you'd like me to mercy kill youRegistered Userregular
I love my Billy bookshelves!
...guys I put away my profanity-based colouring books and I swear several bottles of sparkling water before I left town at Christmas and I swear I CANNOT FIND THEM ANYWHERE
My place isn't even that big, where the hell could I have hidden them??
w t f
"Sandra has a good solid anti-murderer vibe. My skin felt very secure and sufficiently attached to my body when I met her. Also my organs." HAIL SATAN
...guys I put away my profanity-based colouring books and I swear several bottles of sparkling water before I left town at Christmas and I swear I CANNOT FIND THEM ANYWHERE
My place isn't even that big, where the hell could I have hidden them??
w t f
Are they perhamps in the last place you looked? Maybe where you least expect them to be?
Or just in the back of the fridge?
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Lost Salientblink twiceif you'd like me to mercy kill youRegistered Userregular
Well, they're definitely not in the back of the fridge.
"Sandra has a good solid anti-murderer vibe. My skin felt very secure and sufficiently attached to my body when I met her. Also my organs." HAIL SATAN
I'm a huge fan of both, and like many people I probably have too many items of the things I collect. To name one example, I own a frankly absurd number of PSX games, and for years I had all of them displayed on shelves. Until I ran out of shelves. Then they were just sort of around.
I had a frank discussion with my mother on the topic. I was concerned that I probably should get rid of some of them, and as time marched on that seemed only more appropriate. One can't realistically play dozens and dozens of games, and that's ignoring stuff like technology advancing and PSX games looking progressively worse on modern displays. And, you know, a lot of games I own just aren't even worth playing again anyway.
Anyhow, she recommended the thing that she'd recommended to me my entire life: select a few that I really like and put them on display. Box up the rest and store them. Then, every now and then, get those boxes out, choose a few different ones, put them on display, and box/store the rest.
And it's something I've stuck with ever since. I have a house now and way more space to store stuff, but I keep selectively cycling parts of the things I collect and display. It doesn't take over whole rooms anymore, and honestly it helps me appreciate my collections more. Sometimes you forget you even own something, and it's neat to see it again!
I really wanna do the garage up some more sometime, put some padding on the floor (we have one thing there for exercising but I'd like more), paint the walls, just make it a bit more enjoyable to be in. I don't go in there as much as I'd like, which is silly considering I have a big TV in there that I put in there so I can play videogames.
Btw, I would genuinely appreciate input on the hall! Whether it’s best to utilize the understairs closet or what.
I'd use the understairs closet because it will cut down on visual clutter a TON (assuming you can get you and the kids to actually put stuff in there, I know I'd struggle personally.) I'd also say anything you can use, plastic tray, another little drawer etc., that makes a designated "place" for the pile of hats/gloves etc currently there will also make things feel a lot neater. And none of this is to judge! I am a compulsive flat surface filler, I just know that having some open space helps a ton with the general appearance. Depending on what the shelf of binders is, could that go to the garage or get tucked away elsewhere? With that closet being right in front of the door it could be a really useful space for things that move in and out a lot, vs things that stay tucked away most of the time.
If you DO use the closet, I'd say putting some pegs or something at kid height would be cool. If you don't, then frankly they are probably growing pretty fast anyway.
@Moriveth would probably agree to moving the shelf of binders to the garage? Especially if he makes that even more of a hobby-hole!
I feel like I am always cleaning flat surfaces so I definitely think the closet would be the neatest option. My only concern is getting the kids/husband to actually use it. It’s already hard enough to get them to use the shoe rack as intended!
...guys I put away my profanity-based colouring books and I swear several bottles of sparkling water before I left town at Christmas and I swear I CANNOT FIND THEM ANYWHERE
My place isn't even that big, where the hell could I have hidden them??
Posts
I am promising myself that I won't start until I declutter more. Or at least put away stuff in my main room.
I'm still working on decluttering and downsizing. The goal is to get a house, which means moving out.
Should I be considering some low shelves to go behind my couch? They would likely match my current Ikea shelving (2x3 or 2x4 blocks) as opposed to thin bookshelves. I feel like adding more storage/organization is just enabling my habits, but at the same time I don't really want to pitch everything and I do enjoy having things on display.
You're allowed to have a hobby and to put stuff you like on display. Low shelves behind a couch is a good way to use the space, just make sure your couch doesn't slide back into the shelves when you flomp onto it.
Throwing things away is hard though and I honestly wouldn’t throw away anything you really want to keep or would regret losing. Things that don’t have any monetary or emotional value you can consider getting rid of.
I recently went on a few stuff purges including a lot of gundams I had built. (I'm building more, I haven't given up the hobby, but was really running out of room) I also got rid of a lot of theoretically sentimental stuff that actually just sat in drawers/boxes.
For me the building models is the point, not the display. And The stuff isn't the memory of the event. Often the stuff was frankly junk. Or a gift I never liked anyway. And in being less sentimental about the objects and donating/tossing them, I got my space back and ended up with a house I'm way happier and less stressed living in.
I still have art on the walls, I still have gundams on my desk at work, and I've got a couple shelves of board games. But I am a lot more selective about what I let come in now.
And maybe this is off base, but knowing you from the Gundam thread and how expensive zoids are...if you cleared yourself out of every model you've ever built (which I'm not actually advocating)...well frankly I think you'd still build more and be happy. And if you direly missed any of them, a lot will be made again/are still being made. Not all of them for sure, but enough. And enough new ones to keep you busy.
So it's a balance. Hobbies are cool! Displaying them is cool! And if you are happy with your space, that is the only valid feeling on the matter. But if you'd like or think you'd like a more open space, then it's fine to cut deep with the purge too.
It's totally a privilege thing, but I was lucky that anything I tossed was either obviously non-essential (toys of one sort or another) or if it came up secretly useful later I could buy a new whatever (unused tools and all sorts of various old electronics and bits) So if you are also lucky enough that's the case, don't worry too much. If collecting is fun you'll get to do it all over again.
What might be good for me to do is go through my collection of Transformers and pick out my "favorite" 1-2 of each character. Only keep that one, get rid of the rest. The only exceptions would be my Masterpiece figs (which win by default), my Transformers Animated pieces (best TF show ever fite me), and my Alternators (because holy shit they are real cars and protoform Masterpiece items).
I think I'm also going to purge a lot of my older Zoids too. The HMM ones are so much better, and I'm putting them together with so much more care and attention. It's just hard to look at the sunk cost fallacy of how much money I've put into some of these things...
I'm also torn because furniture = functional in the future, yeah?
A thing I had to remind myself a lot was that the items were not still creating value (counting personal/emotional value here). They did. They were worth it, but I could let them go now. You got them, built them , enjoyed them, don't worry about not getting appropriate value from them.
As for the furniture without seeing examples it's hard to say, but I'd worry about making empty shelves before worrying about getting rid of a shelf.
Unfortunately, I have my mom's pack-rat tendencies and my dad's distractibility, so culling my possessions is like pulling teeth. I can only do it for half an hour or so before I start wanting to Save All The Things. (So many books I'll never read again but what if...) Throw anxiety on top of that and you end up with an oversized table I can't use because it's covered in stuff I don't care about but haven't gotten rid of.
Just gotta keep plugging away at it.
Have to dust the inside of my computer, major cable management there as well, in addition to around my desk (which also needs to be cleaned off), and behind the TV in the living room. I also need to re-organize my storage area so I can pull some stuff out to be photographed and sold, as well as a handful of other things that I wrote down but can't remember at the moment.
after decluttering and being realistic in paring down to what you really like, then.. maybe.
if you want to prepare for a move (especially if you've done enough downsizing to make current storage sufficient), adding more furniture seems counterintuitive to going-elsewhere motivation. by all means, enjoy and utilize the space you're currently in, but since you said you feel like it'll just enable habits you're trying to modify, i'd avoid it until you come up with an organizational system you can maintain.
nobody's gonna suggest you get rid of everything --or ascetic decor unless that's your taste-- but it's up to you to decide how much of your living space you're (un)willing to devote to stuff.
for the record, i am not nearly to my level of comfort with the amount of objects in my house nor the placement of said junk, but i've put a lot of brainpower in trying to puzzle it out for myself. i've had small successes, and i need to build on that. baby steps.
from what i've learned about effective organizing, the most difficult part for most of us is learning to differentiate between items we've simply.. held onto, and possessions that are currently useful & enjoyable for us. next is then reducing holdings to just the latter and helpful storage thereof (so as to minimize the presence/increase of the former -- leaving literal room for stuff to creep back in is a slippery slope.) 'helpful' being indicative of thought given to systems of good habits and organization as a process rather than an objective.
and it's entirely subjective, so there's a learning curve. but i'd advise putting human whole-body comfort and ease of movement as more important than the dispensation of stuff. it's just stuff, it doesn't get to have opinions! think about your ideal environment and work towards that first instead of defaulting to "Where do I put all my things?"
//for most everyone, perfectly organized spaces 24/7 ain't. happening. (and that's okay! i'd even assert that as appropriate prioritization!) but the ol' 'everything has a place' ethos helps in more easily maintaining a certain baseline.// adding new stuff doesn't have to be a moral dilemma, but being mindful and considering what space you've dedicated to such things helps mitigate hoarding tendencies ispeakfromexperience. most of the trendy organizing methods or decorating blogs don't truck with knick-knacky collections, much less sizable ones, but i do think it's generally true that you're gonna enjoy your environment and belongings more if you're selective with what you keep around.
i think there's a decent parallel with figuring out how to balance hobbies and interests with other aspects of life -- don't let one thing define you or your space, and allow for some flexibility and even emptiness.
i also consider display to just be a stylish organizational method; successful storage doesn't require hiding everything, just that everything has a spot. think of classical art collections -- for most people, they're more enjoyable when you can see them, uh, artfully exhibited, not tucked away and 'safe'. same reason to use the 'good' china every day. i also think it's fun to occasionally refresh vignettes (there you go, fancy interior decorating -speak) to feature different pieces, and those stand out more in distinctive groupings vs a mass of objects.
unless you're a fan of maximalism, in which case, disregard.
re: downsizing challenges
my memory is kinda spotty and i'm kinda sentimental, so i have a real tough time parting with objects that trigger memories of events or remind me of people. but having realized that too much stuff and its resulting clutter gives me low-level stress, it's been easier to take pictures of those objects and donate them, rather than allowing myself to be constantly ill-at-ease for the occasional pleasant reminiscence. your 'too much' may be wildly different than mine, but it's worth considering the emotional aspects.
i also struggle with keeping stuff that might be useful someday; i've gotten better at freeing myself of things i don't or won't use that are still in good condition, but donating/trading/selling them is vital to my sense of closure. it helps to tell myself that when i get rid of something, if i do need whatever it is at some point, it will probably be obtainable, or i can probably make do without, regardless. i cop to that privilege.
but, i think being more considered in what i keep or bring in helps me to appreciate what i have, and brings its own satisfaction.
3am posting :rotate:
Love purging stuff I don't need anymore!
Except books
I do think I got rid of like ten or twelve books when I moved here though, I think
"Sandra has a good solid anti-murderer vibe. My skin felt very secure and sufficiently attached to my body when I met her. Also my organs." HAIL SATAN
Hey, I loved reading your thoughts on it too. And I cribbed alot of mine from "life changing magic of tidying up" which I don't know if I really reccomend, but there is definitely some gold in the dirt pile there. There is also a lot of shame, bougie ideas and generally unachievable self help book style stuff.
To give a really really unpopular opinion, especially if you are going to move again....screw big book shelves full of books unless you are actually a re-reader. I'm not. I went from a couple hundred probably to one shelf, just of the nice special editions and leatherbound, nicely made hardbacks, as well as cookbooks I reference. The rest went to Goodwill. I don't need those books as evidence I read. I read them! Let them go to someone else for them to read them! I got over $100 bucks in trade in credit with the used book store as well, which helps when i can't get a book from the library. The library is amazing! They do Kindle books now! And they even have a service where you put in your requests online, and they shoot you an email when they are all ready, and you just go to a shelf and they are all right there by your name!
But this opened up SO much space for me to properly store cooking things, some model things, some board game things, and even get rid of a whole shelf.
My limitation now is my partner is only very slowly coming around on the idea that the books she hasn't read for 5 years and we've had to move 3 times may not be worth keeping around, but hey, it's a compromise.
I agree with getting smaller furniture if you can afford to. My living room only has a loveseat and a small chair. A full-sized couch would take up too much space and it's only me living there. And if you replace your table with a little kitchen table and two chairs (and have a couple folding chairs just in case), it should save a lot of space.
Bigtimes?!?
i take good care of my belongings, so if it's reasonably well-made, i'd probably use it for decades. but paying that much for anything would give me pause. thus i'm in my classic seesaw of really liking something but unwilling to get it, magnified by it being legit expensive and also discontinued.
plus I'm about to go to PAX! and i have a
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i have a cat bed that can basically be a really narrow faux fur throw, so it's just a hedonistic impulse towards wallowing around in a me-size version of the thing. ..i may have suspected i would use it more than the pets.
so i have the cat trundle spread out over me to placate my hindbrain that 'i have a similar thing, it is good to be sensible with resources.'
and given how designers trawl that place for deals, the blanket is probably already gone, anyway.
i clearly don't need it, it's just sometimes challenging for me to retread those lines.
Late in highschool I got a SUMO and loved it....untill the beads crushed down. And it was going to be 100$+ to refill it. So think of all the money you are saving!
It hangs behind my laundry room door so it's super hidden, too!
I love a nice shoe rack; I have these white ones from IKEA, and they’re a perfect size in our hall. The only shoes that don’t fit in them are our winter boots. Right now the boots are kept in a cardboard box (as seen here), which isn’t ideal. Mori’s parents have boot trays, but we don’t have the floor space in our hall for boot trays. Maybe we could keep them in the garage?
This shows the hall; the white cabinets = shoe racks. Immediately to the right of the cardboard box in the first photo is the door to the garage.
I’d also ideally like to install some coat pegs at a height that the kids could reach. Again, the question is: where. Perhaps behind the main door?
Alternatively I could try to clear some room in the understairs closet to store coats/boots there.
(The door on the left is the garage door, the door next to the stairs leads to a closet. I took a photo of the inside of the closet).
...guys I put away my profanity-based colouring books and I swear several bottles of sparkling water before I left town at Christmas and I swear I CANNOT FIND THEM ANYWHERE
My place isn't even that big, where the hell could I have hidden them??
w t f
"Sandra has a good solid anti-murderer vibe. My skin felt very secure and sufficiently attached to my body when I met her. Also my organs." HAIL SATAN
Are they perhamps in the last place you looked? Maybe where you least expect them to be?
Or just in the back of the fridge?
"Sandra has a good solid anti-murderer vibe. My skin felt very secure and sufficiently attached to my body when I met her. Also my organs." HAIL SATAN
It's just very weird. So weird!
"Sandra has a good solid anti-murderer vibe. My skin felt very secure and sufficiently attached to my body when I met her. Also my organs." HAIL SATAN
I'm a huge fan of both, and like many people I probably have too many items of the things I collect. To name one example, I own a frankly absurd number of PSX games, and for years I had all of them displayed on shelves. Until I ran out of shelves. Then they were just sort of around.
I had a frank discussion with my mother on the topic. I was concerned that I probably should get rid of some of them, and as time marched on that seemed only more appropriate. One can't realistically play dozens and dozens of games, and that's ignoring stuff like technology advancing and PSX games looking progressively worse on modern displays. And, you know, a lot of games I own just aren't even worth playing again anyway.
Anyhow, she recommended the thing that she'd recommended to me my entire life: select a few that I really like and put them on display. Box up the rest and store them. Then, every now and then, get those boxes out, choose a few different ones, put them on display, and box/store the rest.
And it's something I've stuck with ever since. I have a house now and way more space to store stuff, but I keep selectively cycling parts of the things I collect and display. It doesn't take over whole rooms anymore, and honestly it helps me appreciate my collections more. Sometimes you forget you even own something, and it's neat to see it again!
I mean we also have exercise stuff, so.
I'd use the understairs closet because it will cut down on visual clutter a TON (assuming you can get you and the kids to actually put stuff in there, I know I'd struggle personally.) I'd also say anything you can use, plastic tray, another little drawer etc., that makes a designated "place" for the pile of hats/gloves etc currently there will also make things feel a lot neater. And none of this is to judge! I am a compulsive flat surface filler, I just know that having some open space helps a ton with the general appearance. Depending on what the shelf of binders is, could that go to the garage or get tucked away elsewhere? With that closet being right in front of the door it could be a really useful space for things that move in and out a lot, vs things that stay tucked away most of the time.
If you DO use the closet, I'd say putting some pegs or something at kid height would be cool. If you don't, then frankly they are probably growing pretty fast anyway.
I feel like I am always cleaning flat surfaces so I definitely think the closet would be the neatest option. My only concern is getting the kids/husband to actually use it.
I have filled up three large green bags for donations have majority filled up our 240L bin and have around four more smaller bin bags to go.
We have reclaimed a lot of storage space.
Satans..... hints.....
In plain sight with my keys.