Overwhelming Big Box Self Storage

12/06/08

I have always secretly adored organizing. I love putting things in drawers and bins and having them out of the way. During finals week when I was an undergrad, I remember always organizing my closet. It was cathartic and helped get my mind focused. This usually happened around 10pm and could last well into the morning. I lived in a sorority house with lots of other women, most of whom loved a weekend trip to Target (or "Targe," as we would call it). Target offered a ridiculous amount of color coded multifaceted self storage options. You could also pick up snacks, socks, a book and some cheap exercise wear to round out your shopping experience. It is a dream for a girl on a budget. What I did not know back then is that the Target self storage options of my college years would become a whole fad in the retail industry.

Now that I have children, my desire for organization has led me to explore new and fancy self storage options. There seem to be loads of little tiny wooden, paper and plastic pieces all over our house at all time. In my effort to corral those items, I have tried any number of receptacles. Baskets, linen bins, plastic cubes.

My self storage monster was fed when we moved to a new house. We now had a playroom with shelves. The playroom had lots and lots of little pieces on the floor at all times. I noticed this big store called "Container Store" just down the street. Could it be? A two floor store full of stuff to contain your stuff?) (I can hear George Carlin now.) How can it be that we, as a nation, have so much stuff that an entire big box store has sprouted up to offer more stuff to put all that in? I ventured in and was overwhelmed. There was a self storage expert on hand, should I need to know how to measure my closet for wire brackets and brads. I was in way over my head, in spite of my years of sorority training at Target. I walked past trash cans that looked like frogs, collapsible laundry twirlers, acrylic boxes for paper clips. I started to panic and get disoriented. HELP! I JUST NEED SOMETHING TO PUT TOYS IN! Where is that self storage expert? Do you think he has some smelling salts?

I chose 3 lovely linen bins and got the hell out of dodge. I have not been back since. I find I do not need the pressure. Target, once an innocent place to romp and play and get organized, was one of the big box store pioneers. We got our feet wet there, and now have moved on to the need to have an entire big box store for containers or wires or whatever. My self storage love affair has been cheapened by the big box store. Perhaps I will take up basket weaving to fill the time.