“The waiting is the hardest part.”
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Why is waiting so hard? Maybe because it’s a break in our flow of activity and energy? We want to keep the momentum going…
… so let’s keep the momentum going on the move story.
I went through the whole process of sorting, dumping, staging, packing, and moving. Now the packrat pod is somewhere out there on its way to my driveway while I am home waiting for it to arrive. I’m pacing around with lots of nervous energy imagining how the new stuff is going to change my life.
What do I do with all this energy? What do I do while waiting for something that’s blocking my next steps to organize? …do other things… of course.
You may find it frustrating to wait, but if you channel that energy toward setting up your storage system you will thank yourself later. It’s totally normal to feel this way so work with it and make a new system to get organized and maximize your stuff.
staging – again
At this point in the process, we have an advantage we didn’t have at the start of the move. Packing up the stuff gave us intimate knowledge of what to prepare for on the receiving side. We have a pretty good idea of volume, and we also have the measurements of large and awkward items – or at least a good feeling for the space they will need in the house, garage, or yard.
This means we can channel that nervous energy and excitement toward pre-staging to get ready for unloading the stuff from the packrat pod (or whatever your method of transport was).
It’s a good idea to find a spot near the ‘landing zone’ to put things before we find a final home for them – this is our ‘staging area.’ You might as well get used to the idea, and the process, because until you have it all settled there will be a lot of staging and moving stuff around as you get used to having all this new stuff in your space.
Once you have the staging area set and clear, you may want to examine your ‘stuff storage system’ again. Now is your chance to make adjustments while you have more room to move things around and open space to work.
This is a great time to buy some storage bins, shelves, and other supplies you may need to organize all the new stuff. Putting stuff in clear plastic bins on shelves is a great way to save time later when you are looking for stuff to use in your projects and creative hobbies.
It sounds a little strange – buying new stuff to minimize your old stuff – but it’s true, and you can use this waiting time to prepare so when the stuff arrives you can get it into production more quickly.
Remember, we are going to minimize the stuff as we stage it and store it, but our higher goal is to maximize the stuff to feed our productive and creative self. It’s easiest to do that if we have our stuff well organized.
stuff storage systems
In my case, I know the big lathe is going to be hard to move again, so it must land in the best place right away. I also need to keep a clear path through my staging area as I unload. You may be facing the same challenges with managing your stuff.
Where I’m going to put the lathe is where I originally planned to put my garage work bench. Fortunately my system can be adjusted pretty easily and I have time and space to prepare it while the packrat pod is on the way.
My storage system is based on simple shelves made with 2x4s, OSB sheets, and plastic bins. I try to optimize the shelf height to accommodate a standard bin size, but bins are surprisingly non-standard across manufacturers. Later we can discuss options and maybe even review different bins, but for now here is what my system looks like.
You can see how flexible my system is. I can store boxes on the shelves, or I can use the shelves as a work bench too. Since they are made of 2x4s and 3/4 inch OSB they hold a lot of weight and can handle bolted down tools like a grinder, drill press, or vice.
For the big lathe I need to move the work bench shelf. Bummer, because I was planning to use that as my primary wood working and general ‘fix it’ area. My small workshop is overloaded and to make room for my new hobbies (ham radio and electronics) I need to move my saws and woodworking stuff to the garage.
It took a little shuffling around, but I made room to move the bench and turned it back into a higher shelf. (maybe I can make a video to show steps in that project)
optimizing space
My storage system evolves over time. I’m living in a small house and that seems to force continuous adapting as my needs change – since I don’t have any large spare rooms to use for temporary projects. That constant change makes for a strong system. It must be flexible to handle the regular changes I know will happen.
While I’m staging for the pod to arrive I realize a mistake I’ve made for years… all the yard tools and outdoor stuff is taking up precious space in my garage and workshop! That has to stop. Moving that stuff outside is safer too, and cleaner, and will make more space inside for me to work on my projects and hobbies.
See, I told you my system is always evolving…
The best way to optimize my space (minimize) in the garage is to set up a storage shed outside where the lawn mower, weed whacker, power washer, and other accessories can all live. Technically it’s not ‘minimalist’ because I’ll still have most of that stuff when I’m done, but it counts in the minimax philosophy since it’s making room to be more productive and creative with my other stuff.
Plus, I can minimize some of the yard tools and stuff as I move it out into the new small storage shed in the yard.
Given the challenges we all have these days – post pandemic – I need to prepare for yet another waiting game if I end up ordering the shed as a kit from one of the big box stores…
I keep reminding myself that time was invented so everything doesn’t happen at once… at least now I have a little time to prepare for the stuff arriving soon!