Space - the Final Frontier

We went to spend Christmas with the in-laws - which is a whole series of entries in and of itself that will have to wait for another time. But the trip meant driving from Maryland to Florida with two kids. We were gone a week and spent 3 of those days on the road. While in hotel rooms we watched a lot of home improvement shows and came home motivated to clean up our clutter and make our tiny (less than 900 sq feet of living space) little cottage more comfortable for a family of 4.

So we went out to get storage stuff. Mostly large plastic totes that can be filled with stuff and stashed under the eaves in the attic. But something else I just couldn't resist were the neato as-seen-on-tv Space Bags. You know - those things that you stick stuff in and then vacuum out the air.

First, let me say that there is something gee-whiz about watching the bag shrink down as you listen to your new vacuum come dangerously close to overheating and bursting into flames as it struggles to get enough air from a sealed plastic bag.

Now for some things that have occurred to me as I ran around looking for stuff to store in said bags:

- These bags are fantastic for storing fluffy things like bedding. Blankets, sheets, pillows. etc. However, it probably is not the wisest choice to vacuum pack your blankets in the middle of a cold, rainy, gray winter.

- These bags are not so great a space saver when the majority of the items you need to make room for are things like glass flower vases, books, and 13 BAZILLION old computers your husband has had since he was 12 and won't get rid of because *someday* he plans to tinker with the parts.

- Only a cold, heartless bastard would subject stuffed animals to storage in these bags. I can't even imagine the horror and nightmares it would inflict upon my daughter if I tried to tidy up her room by storing Binky Bunny or Tulip the Monkey in one of these things. No amount of storage space is worth the therapy bills that would generate.

So.... if your home decor is Early American Computer or Neo Stuffed Animal, these bags - though definitely gee-whiz - may not be the best storage solution for you.

Just some advice from the Edge of Chaos.