My apartment began to shrink even before I could run out of square feet. That’s the weird part. The location technically had a sufficient amount of space, yet all corners gradually became Brilliant Storage areas without my awareness. Stale old winter clothes beneath the bed. Film equipment in haphazard tote bags. Shelves stood next to the dining table like old friends.
There was a time when I needed to shift a suitcase to be able to sit down comfortably. That was most likely the time when I understood that something went wrong.
I made all the common tricks. Vacuum bags. Plastic organizers. Folding shelves of Internet stores that appeared stunning on the photos, and a bit melancholic in reality. During a week or two things were cleaner. Then the messiness slowly snuck in like humidity in summer in Hong Kong.
One of my friends recommended that we rent a mini storage unit. I initially brushed it off. I believed that self storage cost a lot or was used by individuals who were storing large pieces of furniture when they were in the process of renovating them. It happens that, among ordinary people, there are plenty of overflow. Sports gear, seasonal merchandise, stock of online stores, old family records, beautiful normal stuff.
The funny thing is I didn’t even move that much out of the apartment. A few boxes. Two luggage cases. A fan that I use three months in a year. There were some old electronics that I was unable to dispose of. That was all that transformed the whole atmosphere of the place.
The floor space was again available.
I was even able to open cabinets without things flying off my face. Small victory, honestly.
The warehouse of my choice was around-the-clock accessible and moderately secure, which was important since I did not want my belongings to lie in some dark warehouse with flickering lights. Many contemporary mini storage rooms are tidier than one may imagine. Bright hallways. Air conditioning. Digital entry systems. One was so stinking of fresh paint and laundry detergent.
Surprisingly, it was pricey. In Hong Kong, smaller units can be cheaply initiated as opposed to refurbishing apartments or renting additional office space. Given the cost of living in terms of housing in this area, it was more reasonable to pay monthly a small storage room than to give up the comfort of daily life.
And there is the psychological aspect which no one ever discusses. Clutter is attention consuming at a low level. Consciously, you cease to perceive it, yet the brain continues to process the mess. When my apartment got cleared it became quieter. Easier to focus. I slept more, too, but that is, perhaps, because I no longer had unsteady box towers looking at me across the room.
It is believed by some that renting storage is an indication of excessive purchasing. Maybe sometimes. But urban life imposes alienating trade-offs. Even practical things are an obstacle after some point, in smaller homes.
I now use the storage space as an apartment, rather than a dump bin. During summer, winter clothes are changed. Travel equipment is left there until required. Notable documents are stored in a single location rather than being lost in some random drawers.
And I did not just turn into an organized person overnight. Far from it. However, the fact that I was able to reclaim my space made my daily routine less claustrophobic, and that does not evolve as much as one might imagine.
