When you choose less space: it's not all that exciting, and that's okay

Note to potential downsizers: if you've been in one space for awhile, you may be used to certain things a certain way, and you're not sure you're up for a change. Additionally, photos of tiny houses and articles on apartment websites can make you feel like there must be a rare Zen art to finding cute ways to stash things. Figuring out how to cleverly store the laundry soap in a no-storage laundry closet can be as stressful as moving itself.

But it doesn't have to be that hard.

This is our so-easy-I-forgot-to-think-of-that laundry soap storage: on top of the washer.  Nobody's going to photograph it for Buzzfeed or Pinterest. It was just the obvious place to put the detergent bottle.

This is the only real storage we have in the bathroom that Mr. Fixit and I use, which is also the main bathroom: there's a very shallow medicine cabinet, and the space under the sink, which holds two plastic dishpans, which hold anything we'd rather not leave out. You can buy all kinds of shelf things for bathrooms, but we don't have room for them. And this is the point: we don't have that much to store in the bathroom anyway, so it works out.

This is our totally unexciting entrance closet. It has an old Stack-a-Shelf unit for shoes. It has coats. It has a few things on a shelf, and a basket for paper recycling. 

Are you seeing a pattern here? 

We are not in love with having to organize and store stuff. I do not say that out of lack of sympathy for those who are honestly crushed for space. And we do have a very nice storage room slash pantry, which a lot of other apartments we looked at did not have. Without that, we'd have a whole lot more hooks on the wall, vacuum cleaner in the coat closet, etc. etc. So you might think I just don't know what small and cramped is, or I've forgotten what life is like with little children,  and you could be right. (I did live in a studio apartment before I got married. It was usually a mess.)

This is the best advice I can give from a couple of middle-aged Squirrels (and Squirreling), who have gone from smallest to small to pretty good-sized, and back to small again: if at all possible, have a little less stuff than you think you have room to store. Then you will probably find you have a spot for it, or at least that you don't have to go out of your way to devise storage for it. Ten of something requires a special shelf or box; one or two, you can slip in or under something else, or store in the empty space on the washing machine. If you can live with the one or two, you have solved the problem.

Zen not required.

The most helpful set of cleaning tips I've seen lately

A blog post about getting the thrift store smell out of things, but it's better than that. How to use saddle soap and shoe polish on leather, remove yellowing, and use suede erasers (did you know they existed?) Extending the life of things is always a good idea.

Decluttering Scavenger Hunt (want to play?)

The list of items for this decluttering scavenger hunt came from the BeMoreWithLess website. It's supposed to be a family or a group challenge, but I'm playing by myself (occasionally passing something by Mr. Fixit).

1 small kitchen appliance (toaster, food processor, juicer, blender – if you don’t use it, lose it):

coffee percolator (an extra) and food processor (we have a newer, smaller one)

3 items from your closet that do not fit you: none, unless you count the Peanuts t-shirt I wore as a toddler

1 item from your closet that still has tags: I couldn't find anything.

20 hidden items (stuffed in your garage, shed, or another hidden storage area):  

bunch of kids' mittens and hats; I'm sure those add up to twenty

2 coffee mugs: we already did those

any candle holder that hasn’t held a candle in more than 6 months

2 winter coats: we already cleaned those out

5 trinkets: I do have a box with some ornaments that could find a new home

10 products in your bathroom that you haven’t used in more than 2 months: n/a

2 pieces of art that you don’t like to look at or haven’t looked at in months because they aren’t on the wall: n/a

any expired food in your fridge or freezer (toss this please): n/a

any unopened, unexpired food in your pantry that you aren’t going to eat (donate this please): n/a

2 tools you haven’t used in more than a year: the tools are Mr. Fixit's domain.

1 collection of goods to support a hobby you gave up (if you stopped camping, sewing, fishing, or coin collecting … it goes): n/a

5 pieces from a junk drawer that you’ve been saving just in case (even though you don’t know how to use them): n/a

2 throw pillows that should have been thrown months ago:  already did that

10 books: I've gotten rid of a lot already.

2 cookbooks: already did that

kids' toys in storage: Lydia cleaned out a few things, plus we sent a bagful of crayons and markers to the thrift store earlier this week.

10 mystery items (anything goes):

Loaf pan cozy

Valentine's Day stash

DVD sets

Pencil case

Unidentifiable objects

Stationery. I decided to rescue the binder, though.

Well, that was fun, wasn't it?