my dirty secret

the first issue i think all renters meet with is: how on earth do i store all my junk if i'm not going to stay here forever?

if you own your place, you can invest in storage options like built-ins and chests that fit just so in your living room. renters, however have to think 'oh, god. $350 for a bookcase i might never be able to use again? ...maybe this giant swaying tower of novels won't crush my cat when it falls over.' and in the meantime, the junk piles up. and up. and over. and around. and it is ugly.

i have the insane luxury, to be found only in my magically delicious brooklyn brownstone, of having an extra room in my new york apartment. there are 4 roommates (let's call them E, L, and M), 3 large bedrooms, and 2 very small rooms. one of these is occupied by L, who pays less than the rest of us, and the other is basically mine, so i pay more. i use it partly as a studio, and partly it's supposed to be a spot for guests to use the pull-out futon when they stay over. trouble is, due to storage issues, the room has been somewhat uninviting for guests.

that's not even the bad view.

so i decided that my goal was to get myself organized, buy some inexpensive shelving and storage bins, paint one wall the lovely shade of green you see there, and get a more space-saving guest bed that i could stuff things underneath.

the cosmetic stuff couldn't happen, though, until i tamed the beast that was my collection of art and drafting supplies.

seriously, that photo is shameful. but we've all got it, don't we? the out-of-control room where everything else collects. i took one night, about $300 worth of shelving, boxes, curtains, paint, etc., and got rid of my dirty secret. i'm still working on the bed, but once it's gone, i think i'll have a room that i can actually use, and my sister won't try to stay in a hotel next time she's in town. in the next few posts, i'll work out how i did it.