The Joy of Less, a Minimalist Living Guide (24 page)

Finally, as you gather up your Treasures, keep this in mind: as wonderful as storage spaces are, they’re generally not as clean or climate-controlled as the rest of the house. Stuff stored here attracts dust, dirt, moisture, bugs, and other critters. Therefore, if you stash things in these areas for long periods of time, don’t be surprised if some damage occurs. There’s a good chance that if and when you need a certain item, it may no longer be in tip-top shape—and you’ll have to buy a new one anyway. (So much for saving it all those years!) Many wedding gowns—meant to be “passed down” to the next generation—meet a slow demise this way. Evaluate your Treasures carefully, and make sure they can survive in this “rough” environment. If not, bring them into your main living space for safekeeping; or let someone else use them
now
, rather than let them deteriorate.

In order to keep out the clutter, we must apply the same criteria to our attics, basements, and garages as we do to our living space: reserve them for things we use
now
—not things we’ve used in the past, or might use in the future.

Good reasons abound for storing stuff in these spaces. They’re ideal for things that are used only part of the year, or are too heavy, bulky, dirty, or otherwise inconvenient to keep in the house. Examples include seasonal equipment (like your grill) and holiday decorations (like your Christmas tree); sports equipment (like bikes, balls, and helmets); lawn and garden equipment for the upkeep of your yard; tools and supplies for home maintenance and repair; tools and supplies for auto maintenance and repair; cleaning items (like brooms, bleach, and wet/dry vacuums); documents that must be retained indefinitely (like real estate records and tax returns); and hobby items that are too messy or unwieldy to store, or use, in your main living space.

These spaces should
not
be the refuge of last resort for items you don’t want to use, see, or think about—but can’t bring yourself to dispose of. Make your stuff apply for its position here, and evaluate its “resume”: look for qualifications like “I’m used at least six times a year,” “I’m necessary for trimming the hedges,” or “Cleaning the gutters would be a real bear without me.” Conversely, turn away candidates with nothing more to offer than, “I remind you of your high school years” or “You inherited me.” If a certain item has been long unemployed, give it its walking papers—you’re not obliged to shelter a garage full of slackers.

Like the first aid kit in the bathroom, emergency items get a special pass here. “Might need its” are always welcome if they might end up saving your life! Make sure you have enough water, canned goods, and other supplies to weather a natural disaster or other disruptive event. Consult preparedness books and websites for detailed lists of items you should have on hand, and tailor your inventory to your personal needs and geographic location. As a minimalist, you may be reluctant to stock up on items for unforeseen circumstances; however, if the time comes when you need them, you’ll be very glad you did. Perishable supplies can, and should, be rotated throughout the year; so at least you’ll get some use from them as you consume and replace them.

A popular—but not
good
—reason for storing something here is that it commemorates your past. Turn a critical eye on those yearbooks, swimming trophies, letter sweaters, graduation gowns, and other memorabilia; unless you truly plan to don your football or cheerleading uniform again (and more power to you if you still fit in it!), free yourself from these artifacts. Refrain from hoarding dusty boxes of stuff to prove who you once were, or what you once did. If a certain item is really that special, display it proudly in the house; it’s not proving anything to anyone stashed away in the basement. Remember, your stuff is not a record of your life—
you
are. Give similar thought to any heirlooms hidden here: if they’re not special enough to keep in the house, question whether they’re special enough to keep at all.

In these storage areas—as in other parts of the house—it’s critical that everything have (and stay in) a designated spot. Haphazard piles of miscellaneous things can swallow up these spaces in no time flat. Resist the temptation to throw something in a corner, or jam it on the nearest shelf; if you do, you’ll end up with a huge, disorganized mess that’ll only attract more clutter.

Plan out the space carefully, and assign items to appropriate zones. For example, keep your lawnmower, rake, pruning shears, potting soil, and seeds in a lawn and garden zone; store your boxes of Halloween, Christmas, and Easter decorations in a holiday zone; gather your tennis rackets, roller blades, snowboard, and soccer balls into a sports zone; consolidate your windshield wiper fluid, wrenches, motor oil, and jack stands in an auto repair zone; and stash your screwdrivers, hand saw, power drill, touch-up paint, and pest control products in a home maintenance zone. Dividing your storage space into specific sections helps you find what you need when you need it, and keeps useless clutter from sneaking its way in.

You might assume that everything in these spaces would be categorized as Deep Storage, but that’s not the case. Our basements and garages contain items we use on a regular basis; therefore, we need to organize the space so that the most frequently used items are within easy reach. In your Inner Circle, store everything you access often—like cleaning supplies, lawn equipment, and tools for home and car repair—on the most accessible shelves, racks, and hooks. Think of your Inner Circle as “active” space; it serves a functional role, housing all the necessary supplies and equipment (and perhaps even the work area) to perform regular tasks.

Your Outer Circle, on the other hand, is primarily storage space. It should consist of higher and lower shelves, and farther reaches of your attic, basement, or garage. In this section store your holiday decorations, perishable emergency supplies, and out-of-season maintenance and sports equipment (like your snow blower and skis in summer, or your sprinklers and camping gear in winter). Generally speaking, your Outer Circle should house items that are used only once a year, or part of the year. You may find it convenient to move seasonal equipment back and forth between your Inner and Outer Circles as needed.

Finally, Deep Storage is for items you have little intention of laying eyes on again, but are obligated to keep for some reason or other. This category shouldn’t contain much; in fact, non-perishable emergency supplies, and financial or legal documents, are about the only things that come to mind. Most importantly, don’t use Deep Storage to hide things you don’t want to deal with: like your grandmother’s tea service, or the comic books you collected many moons ago. It may be tempting to sock them away for a few decades, in hopes they’ll bring a fortune on eBay; but the chances that they’ll grow that valuable (and stay in mint condition) are rather slim. And if you don’t feel like dealing with them now, will you really want to deal with them later?

In your attic, basement, or garage, keep anything that serves as functional space—like workbenches or tables—completely clear. The tasks performed in such areas are sometimes dangerous; therefore, maintaining clutter-free surfaces is an essential safety precaution. In other words, you don’t want tennis balls rolling around when you’re working with a power saw or handling hazardous chemicals. Furthermore, when you set out to tackle a project, having to clear the area of junk first is discouraging. The mess may prompt you to go back inside, plop on the couch, and call out a handyman instead. To keep your worktop clear, install a pegboard panel above it; all your tools, screws, nails, bolts, and other bits and bobs will then be off the surface, yet within reach.

Likewise, do everything you can to keep the floor clear. These spaces can be awkward and dark, providing a ripe tripping hazard if anything is underfoot. When you’re negotiating the terrain with a ten-foot ladder, or fifty-pound bag of rock salt, it’s a bad time to discover that your child’s wagon is out of place. Make liberal use of vertical storage space—such as shelving, and wall-mounted hooks and holders—to store things off the floor. Hang garden tools like rakes and shovels, sporting equipment like skis and skates, and mesh bags of smaller items like soccer balls, helmets, and other accessories. Install overhead racks to stow bicycles and large items out of the way. Ideally, you should be able to walk through the space without stepping over, skirting around, or bumping into any objects. For a tidy look, opt for a uniform, wall-mounted shelving system, rather than an ad hoc assemblage of stand-alone racks.

In addition to creating a neater, safer environment, vertical storage has other benefits as well. First, it makes items easier to access. You won’t have to wade through boxes to find your scuba equipment, or dig through piles to unearth your weed whacker. Second, it protects them from damage. Items stored on the floor are susceptible to moisture, insects, and other critters—and in danger of people, or cars, running into them. Third, it keeps the clutter in check. Stuff on the floor tends to gradually spread out, creeping through the space like a lava flow. If the floor is off-limits as storage space, you’ll accumulate a lot less junk!

Because these storage areas house a wide variety of items—from coolers to kayaks, and rakes to roller blades—modules are the single best way to keep them organized. They help us maintain order in what can be a crowded and chaotic space.

First, consolidate like items, from the largest down to the smallest: in addition to grouping your shovels and rakes, sort your nuts, bolts, and screws by type and size. (For the natural born organizer, it’s the stuff of dreams!) Divide your supplies into the most specialized categories possible. Rather than label a handful of boxes “home repair,” separate the contents into plumbing, electrical, woodworking, painting, and exterior care modules. Likewise, sort decorations according to occasion or season—that way, you won’t have to root through your Christmas balls in order to fetch your birthday streamers. Organize sports equipment by activity or participant, and store winter gear (like boots, hats, and gloves) in a separate module from summer gear (like flip flops and beach towels).

In the process of consolidating, you may be surprised to discover how many hammers and screwdrivers you have. We often buy extra tools and hardware when we have trouble finding the ones we own—resulting in even more clutter in our workspace. Other times, we acquire specialized implements for certain projects, and never use them again. Take this opportunity to streamline your supplies to the essentials: cull the duplicates, save the necessities, and purge the rest.

Next, find appropriate containers for small to medium-sized items; left on their own, they’re apt to wander off and get themselves in trouble. I like transparent bins and boxes, as they enable you to see the contents at a glance. Clearly label or color code opaque containers—like green for garden tools, or red for emergency supplies—so you don’t have to comb through a dozen boxes to locate what you need. Better yet, take it one step further: make an inventory of each container’s contents, print off the list, and tape it to the front of the box. With such a system in place, you’ll be able to lay your hands on anything in a matter of minutes—as well as keep out any stray items.

Arranging your stuff into modules makes it a breeze to locate things, put them away, and survey them before purchasing anything new. However, it can be easy to forget what you own once it’s out of sight. Therefore, consider listing or photographing items as you pack them up (particularly those in long term storage). It’s a great way to keep track of things for insurance purposes and project planning. Having an inventory at your fingertips is invaluable when filing a claim; and if you’re wondering if you have a certain tool, searching your computer for it may be more pleasant than searching a cold, dark basement.

Consider limiting the contents of your attic, basement, or garage to what fits on your shelving or vertical storage. By taking the floor out of the equation, you’ll remove volumes of potential clutter and free up the space for other activities (like parking your car, working on a hobby, or forming a garage band). Besides, it just
feels
good when you’re not weighed down by so many things!

Limit your possessions by category as well. For example: restrict yourself to just one or two boxes of seasonal decorations, and select your favorite pieces until you’ve filled the allotted container(s). Thus, you’ll have a lovely collection, rather than a random hodgepodge. Such limits are not only beneficial to your storage area, but also to your home—for when it comes to décor, less is more. A room looks more elegant when decorative pieces are kept to a minimum; and it’s easier to retrieve and display your best items when you don’t have to rummage through a boatload of boxes.

If you’re not careful, tools and garden equipment can commandeer a large swath of your basement or garage. Limit them to a certain section of the room, or a certain number of containers, to prevent their expansion. Retain only the finest and most useful items, and refrain from purchasing a specialty tool for every task. Similarly, limit the amount of hardware you own; if you’ll never use a thousand screws, don’t buy (or store) that many. Assign a particular container to them, and when it’s full, declutter the excess. Limit your lawnmowers, leaf blowers, circular saws, orbital sanders, drill presses, and other equipment, too; unless you employ a maintenance staff, one should be sufficient.

Sports equipment can also multiply quickly. Keep it under control by limiting the number of sports in which you (and your children) participate; one per season is a reasonable amount. This strategy not only cuts down on clutter, it provides an opportunity to develop expertise in particular pursuits. When we focus our efforts on fewer activities, we increase our potential to master them—an achievement which can be far more satisfying than trying every sport known to man. Such limits are particularly beneficial to children, who may feel overscheduled and overwhelmed when shuttled between baseball, karate, tennis, and ballet lessons.