The renting business in Hong Kong has a habit of reducing your expectations as well as the living area. You begin with having the thought that it can work out then a couple of months down the line you are piling coat of winter on the chair that also houses your gym bag and the laundry of the previous day. Space does not merely run out, it fades away. This is where mini storage comes in and frankly speaking, this is not commonly discussed.
The usual advice? Declutter. Sell things. Live minimally. Almost sounds good until you get to know that the majority of people are not hoarders, but they only live. Seasonal clothing, additional bedding, perhaps some of the old papers that you cannot entirely trust moving online. Disposing of all of them is unrealistic. It is simple guilt under the guise of lifestyle counsel.
I did not particularly think much of it. Storage units were like those used by business, or people in large homes. In Hong Kong, though, it is almost a continuation of your apartment. You are literally leasing air space.
When your bulky items are not looking at you on a daily basis, then a small flat just becomes different. Suitcases? Gone. Winter jackets in July? Out of sight. Even the incidental objects such as spare chairs or boxes of old books- you do not require them every day, so why not make them fill the space that is in your real living quarters?
And here is where people do not talk aloud: it is not simply about space. It’s about mental clarity. Clutter nags at you. It is in the corner of your mind and whether you like it or not, it is there. When your room is cooler you feel it. Less visual noise. Less stress.
Minimal storage in Hong Kong is also quite flexible. You don’t need a massive unit. There are some that are almost as small as a closet, and that is ideal. You only pay what you need and not an oversized space that you will never occupy. And there are quite a few climate-controlled places, and this humidity makes it matter more than you think.
It is also this silent change of lifestyle that occurs. You no longer need to rearrange your apartment with every single step: you take something out of the corner and then place it in some other corner. Not a storage puzzle.
Of course, it’s not magic. The question of what is placed there is yet to be determined. When you put all the stuff into the garbage bin without considering, you will only have to form another clutter problem elsewhere. But when put into proper use, it is the equivalent of having an additional room without incurring Hong Kong rental rates on said room.
Best thing about it is that after people have tried it they hardly come back. It helps not because it is fashionable or is a clever idea, but it actually fixes one of the annoying things in everyday life. And in a city with little room, that is valuable than most interior hackery.