Maximizing Storage Using Volume And Weight

This seems utterly obvious, but amazingly I’ve not seen this directly referred to as a strategy toward reduction of clutter.

As you start to identify items to go, keep your eyes peeled for items that are:

  • heavy (over a few pounds)
  • awkward (oddly shaped, not rectilinear)
  • large (bigger than a breadbox)The relative value one gains from removing these items from your house is disproportionate to their effort.

    For instance, if you’re agonizing over whether a few paperbook books are worth keeping, why not clear ten times as much space by getting rid of that unused toy wagon in the garage?

    Of course, if you have enough of something, you can get a lot of benefit even if it’s small. Consider the effect of getting rid of all your CD jewel cases and putting them in plastic (Tyvek usually, it appears) or paper CD jackets:

    This is only six CDs and these jackets hold the instructions as well. We’re looking an 8-12:1 reduction here, even with keeping the inserts. It’s very unlikely that CD cases will become valuable.

    The cases are inexpensive (about $3-$6 per hundred via Amazon and Ebay) and durable, but it’s possible to make your own. I recommend the plastic ones, the paper ones don’t seem to be much cheaper and they start looking rumpled fast.

    Rather than tossing them in the recycling or garbage, why not keep a few and make some CD Jewel Case Picture Frames?

    For pure return on investment, however, you cannot beat taking software out of the boxes.

    That’s a 30-40:1 reduction. I’m keeping the jewel case inserts, but tossing the box, other inserts, posters, and manual. There’s a few caveats, however.

  • Watch out for older games where the manual or an insert had a ‘copy protection’ page or pages. You need to save (or scan) those as well. This is mercifully rare these days.
  • The stack pictured are the handful of boxes that I consider vaguely collectible or are still new-in-box. Those you want to keep intact, if for no other reason than nostalgia.
  • Cut or keep the product code/upc/serial code if the product demands it during install or reinstall. If you’re not sure, save the code by peeling it off and putting it inside the jacket.I feel a little bad doing this because I worked in shrink wrap software and with the tech writers/artists, and know how hard they worked to produce the items I’m tossing. The manuals are often beautifully produced, but it’s rare they contain information that isn’t online on fan sites – in excruciating detail.

    When I’m done they go into plastic box without a lid like this:

    I know a lot of people like the CD jacket binders, but I think this works better.

  • I can flip through it quickly.
  • It accommodates odd-shaped items better.
  • I can mix/match actual jewel cases with the plastic jackets.As you can see, if the jewel case contains art I like, I keep it.

    I label the front with a label maker. I don’t bother labeling the CDs themselves, the clear plastic makes the CDs ’self-labeling’. The plastic tape seems to work better than the paper tape for labeling these boxes.

    These boxes are about $1.25-$1.50 at Home Depot, Lowes or Target. There’s something to be said for buying a lot of them all at once so you have a lot of the same ‘form factor’, giving you the ability to stack them.

    If you follow this advice, you can spend your weekends outside or actually playing those games, instead of going through aisle after aisle in IKEA buying more shelving.

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