Wednesday, October 3

I have always loved small spaces. In my brain, a small home equates into intimate space, warmth, easy to decorate, quick to access, etc. I loved living in studio apartments- being able to walk into my home and quickly scan all the dark corners to double check no weirdo is lurking. Throwing parties with 15 people was never a problem as I first worried it would be. In fact, they couldn't have been more lovely & cozy on winter evenings in Minnesota. More recently, due to my status as a beginner adult with incredibly limited funds, a small home is all Ben and I could afford here on the north side of Chicago. All is good with the one thing I never thought much about: a small home needs a basement. Our small house does not have a basement.

"You know what a basement really does?" my wild haired, sixty-five-plus neighbor asked me once earlier this summer. Her tone implied basements could perform seedy, snarky, surly transactions. I was nervous to reply to her question as my mind was racing with all the ten o'clock news answers: skeletons burried under the concrete, working drug labs, asbestos. "Stuff happens in basements, Jenny. Stuff." I knew exactly what she meant: a basement can be a pit to endless clutter accumulation. That stuff.

As I become an organized freakazoid this week (making the best and most of our three small working closets because I can't stand clutter), I am learning to love or hate stuff. This is a good thing as Ben and I are super tight for money right now. We only buy what we absolutely love and need and lately, we try not to buy at all. Magazines, unenjoyable books, half broken appliances must go! My problem: the nostalgic notes, little trinkets and moose stuffed animal, and drawings made by Teo and Mayerelli. Is anyone else in this bizzare state of consuming, weeding, and then trying to find a space for every little thing from ear phones to receipts? If so, please contact for a ten minute goal setting/ inspiration to hit the closet one more time.

helpful de-clutter link: fly lady

posted by Jenny Wednesday, October 03, 2007

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