Well, this summer’s main project for me has been the ultimate Tetris game: fitting all of our belongings into a 10 x 20 x 10 foot storage space. We are moving from a 3000 square foot house to a 43 foot boat, so we have a few items that won’t make the transition with us. Okay, more than a few. We will return to land eventually, we are reluctant to get rid of much of our stuff. We are not knick-knack people and our style is rather spare, but we have still managed to amass a decent amount of furniture, house wares, books, tools, computers, etc. Moving it all to storage has been a great exercise in figuring out just what we truly need. We’re paying to store it, so it had better be worth keeping. Craigslist and the Goodwill have been a frequent part of our summer.
I rented the space in May, and have moved everything there bit by bit. Just me and my Honda Odysssey – no need for a gym membership with this workout. It’s amazing how much that van can hold. While Greg has focused on
readying our boat, I have spearheaded the move myself. Cash has come in handy lately, with tasks just too big for me to handle on my own (such as moving a 4-foot tall dresser on top of a 3-foot tall dresser.
My best friends in the storage space are my Ivar Ikea shelves that go back to our apartment days. This amazing system allows for easy setup of sturdy shelving with an incredible flexibility of arrangement. Individual shelves can be moved to any height, easily accommodating the various sizes of my boxed goods and leaving no empty space. I lined each 20-foot wall with shelves and filled them from floor to ceiling. The remaining space will be filled with furniture and all things we need at home until the very end .
My Tetris skills have been pushed to the brink with the plan for getting all of our furniture in the remaining space. I created a simulation with pieces of paper to-scale and in the shape of our furniture, which I move around the to-scale map of the remaining floor space. I’ve created a plan that uses doors and desktops on other furniture to create large-scale shelving for the furniture. I’ve got three rows of three layers that go right to the ceiling. Darn those couches. Even on end, they just muck things up. Finally today I had to cry uncle. I’ve spent days working and reworking the plan to no avail. We just need to rent another small space. I can admit defeat – but I don't like it. Some part of me will be disappointed when this game ends, but no matter: I still have my stock of Sudoku books for the voyage.
You didn't decide to craft a second storage space out of bamboo from your yard and that extra fabric?
I knew all of that tetris playing would pay off some day Paula ;)
I love the sense of humor in this and the previous post, Malta India! You definitely seem like people embarking on something that makes you happy! I'm reading from the beginning of the blog after having discovered it from the article in Montessori Life. Thank you! It is really fun to share this experience with you.
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