Sometimes I'm overwhelmed with the shear amount of stuff we have. My dream is to live in a Zen simple atmosphere. That probably will never happen unless I lived alone. The other members of my family (hubby and DD) are hoarders. I barely keep them under control.
Our current house has a carport. We don't have a garage which is posing to be quite a problem. We have a shed but it is pretty far away on the property and more set up as a shop, not a storage building. As a result, a lot of the stuff that we'd normally stick in the garage ends up in the house.
In an effort to get a handle on how I'm going to deal with all this stuff, I made a list of what we store:
* Spare kitchen / dining supplies: tablecloths, place mats, seasonally used appliances, thermoses, lunch bags / tote bags, ice chests, etc
* Spare bed & bath linens: sheets, blankets (lots of blankets!), guest pillows, beach towels, etc.
* Camping supplies: Propane stove, sleeping bags, tent, etc.
* Toiletries: this includes cosmetics, bug repellant, sunscreen, back-up shampoo, bars of soap, etc.
* Medications: prescriptions and over-the-counter, first aid kit, etc.
* Books
* Craft supplies: tools and materials
* Disposables: garbage bags, paper towels, TP, kleenex, batteries, etc.
* Pet supplies: back-up food, treatments, shampoo, "dog towels", etc.
* Basic tools (Ideally, the major tools would be in the garage or shed)
* Basic home maintenance: step stools / short ladder, spare screws, hooks, etc (you know, all that stuff that ends up in the junk drawer), tape, light bulbs.
* Sporting goods: This is a huge category that includes bats, rackets, balls (so many balls!), exercise equipment, knives, guns, hunting supplies, bike helmet (and all the other helmets for other sports). This is a huge category for us. Ideally the bikes would be in the garage.
* Office supplies: pens, tape, scissors, rulers, blank checks, stationery, stamps, blank notebooks, printer paper, etc. Includes bill paying ledger and important papers.
* Photos
* Leaves to the dining room table (table is so big we don't leave them in all the time) Spare chairs. We even have a folding table.
* Cleaning supplies: Includes back-ups of chemicals, broom, vacuum cleaner, carpet cleaner, etc.
* Seasonal clothing: everything from bathing suits to muck boots, hats, umbrellas, winter gloves, etc.
* Mementos / keepsakes
* Games / puzzles
* DVDs / CDs
* Seasonal decor like Christmas decorations
* Musical instruments & printed music. Yes, we have quite a bit in this category.
* Emergency supplies: BOB, tornado box, etc.
* Computer supplies: back-up disks, operating manuals, cables, spare printer ink.
* Items staged to donate to the thrift store (I do this so often, I might as well have a designated location)
I'm sure I haven't listed everything. What do you do with all this stuff?!?!?!?
Our current house has a carport. We don't have a garage which is posing to be quite a problem. We have a shed but it is pretty far away on the property and more set up as a shop, not a storage building. As a result, a lot of the stuff that we'd normally stick in the garage ends up in the house.
In an effort to get a handle on how I'm going to deal with all this stuff, I made a list of what we store:
* Spare kitchen / dining supplies: tablecloths, place mats, seasonally used appliances, thermoses, lunch bags / tote bags, ice chests, etc
* Spare bed & bath linens: sheets, blankets (lots of blankets!), guest pillows, beach towels, etc.
* Camping supplies: Propane stove, sleeping bags, tent, etc.
* Toiletries: this includes cosmetics, bug repellant, sunscreen, back-up shampoo, bars of soap, etc.
* Medications: prescriptions and over-the-counter, first aid kit, etc.
* Books
* Craft supplies: tools and materials
* Disposables: garbage bags, paper towels, TP, kleenex, batteries, etc.
* Pet supplies: back-up food, treatments, shampoo, "dog towels", etc.
* Basic tools (Ideally, the major tools would be in the garage or shed)
* Basic home maintenance: step stools / short ladder, spare screws, hooks, etc (you know, all that stuff that ends up in the junk drawer), tape, light bulbs.
* Sporting goods: This is a huge category that includes bats, rackets, balls (so many balls!), exercise equipment, knives, guns, hunting supplies, bike helmet (and all the other helmets for other sports). This is a huge category for us. Ideally the bikes would be in the garage.
* Office supplies: pens, tape, scissors, rulers, blank checks, stationery, stamps, blank notebooks, printer paper, etc. Includes bill paying ledger and important papers.
* Photos
* Leaves to the dining room table (table is so big we don't leave them in all the time) Spare chairs. We even have a folding table.
* Cleaning supplies: Includes back-ups of chemicals, broom, vacuum cleaner, carpet cleaner, etc.
* Seasonal clothing: everything from bathing suits to muck boots, hats, umbrellas, winter gloves, etc.
* Mementos / keepsakes
* Games / puzzles
* DVDs / CDs
* Seasonal decor like Christmas decorations
* Musical instruments & printed music. Yes, we have quite a bit in this category.
* Emergency supplies: BOB, tornado box, etc.
* Computer supplies: back-up disks, operating manuals, cables, spare printer ink.
* Items staged to donate to the thrift store (I do this so often, I might as well have a designated location)
I'm sure I haven't listed everything. What do you do with all this stuff?!?!?!?