Miss Minimalist recently wrote a blog post about the fallacy of organization and pretty storage. Which is funny, because I have been thinking about writing my own blog post about that same topic for the past week, so now I'm finally getting around to it. :-)
Too many times, I have fallen prey to the thought that ARGH!! What I need is more closet space! I solved this problem by consigning and donating a lot of clothes. In my (very small) closet I now have room to hang my skirts, sweaters, shirts, pants, shorts, dresses; as well as Rachel's dresses and sweaters. Yay! Much better than continually grumbling about the lack of closet space...just make more closet space by making a smaller wardrobe!
Recently, I announced to Steve that I wanted to purchase a bread box. My grandmother had one, but honestly, I haven't seen them in ages; even at thrift stores! So I resolutely started searching Craigslist, and nothing really turns up within a one hour drive of me. I make our bread, and am tired of having bags littering my counter top. A bread box would certainly solve that problem. But you know what else did? The cupboard! I rearranged the cupboard a little bit, composted some old beans and barley that I unearthed, and stuck the bread in its big bag up there. Voila! No bags of bread on my counter; no bread box on my counter; and heck, I already paid for the cupboard, right?
We were also thinking about purchasing one of those nice shelf/cupboard things that stands/hangs above the toilet in the bathroom so that we had more space for things in the bathroom. Thankfully, a minimalist drive seized us before we made that purchase, and instead, we cleaned out--and I mean, REALLY cleaned out, the bathroom cupboards and drawers. Steve has this (unfortunate) habit of picking up ever. single. shampoo/conditioner/lotion/soap from hotels. He says that he uses them when he has duty at work. Thankfully, he agreed to take them all to work, and grab what he needs from there, rather than storing them in our bathroom drawers until he has a duty night.
I am going to write entire blog post someday about the wonderful things about living in and owning a small house. I used to think that the lack of closet and storage space was a major detriment of small houses, but now I think it is a bonus. It requires some work, and some more creativity, but it sure does keep you from easily accumulating stuff! So when you find yourself thinking "I need more storage!" try to rephrase that into "I need less stuff!" Good luck!
