One In, One Out

Matt and I have lived in a variety of homes. Our first one in Denver was a tiny little thing. It was tiny to the point of uncomfortable. Our bed had to be pushed against the wall, which meant that one of us was always climbing over the other person.

The house we bought in Houston was approximately 1,000 square feet with an attic but no garage. We stored our lawn mower and chicken food in the laundry closet, and every space had to serve multiple functions. We had two bedrooms and one bathroom, a tiny dining room that could only accommodate a table for four, and a tiny living room.

When we moved to Austin, our rental house was a huge 1950s ranch. It had a two-car garage and closet after closet.

When it came time to design our long-term family home, we wanted something in between. We honestly couldn’t afford to build a garage, which we were okay with, since our past garages seemed to attract junk. We put as much extra storage space as possible inside the house, in the form of linen closets and even some “attic” space above the bedroom closets. Although I’m nervous about how our house will feel as the boys grow and take up more space, I’m happy with our amount of storage space. I like that we have to be strategic with the items that we own.

For example, a friend of ours just gave us a new cutting board for a housewarming present. We currently have a giant one and a tiny one. With the addition of this new cutting board, we decided to donate the tiny one. We have a basket that we use as a dedicated donation basket where we collect things that we want to donate to Goodwill. Once it gets full, we set it by the front door and Matt usually takes it. Having this kind of system helps remind us to declutter. I think it can be really easy to let things accumulate over the years. Old things can get buried under new things to the point where you forget that the old things are even there.

I’m especially feeling frustrated by my inability to keep up with Henry and Tate’s clothing and toys right now. Because our closets lack any organization, it’s difficult to rotate out clothing that gets too small and rotate in new clothing. I want to hurry and get closet systems installed so it’s easier to access bins of clothing and toys.

One project at a time!