B's room is probably actually a den, not a real bedroom. She's managed to squeeze in a full size bed, two standing dressers, and a small nightstand, and that pretty much covers all of her floor space. The only place she can stand is in the center of her room, where she can reach out and touch her bed or either dresser. She doesn't actually have a closet, so has a series of metal shelves and hanging rods built into the wall above her bed. I guess she...lives in her closet.
Since B's room is so small, our living room is an extension of her room in some ways. In addition to her bookshelf and desk, our living room holds a couch, small TV stand, small side table, ugly coffee table, and two plastic storage containers (mine) that doubles as another side table. We manage to find storage where we can -- my sails are currently propped on either side of the bedroom door, and we have random things tucked behind the furniture (blankets, old computers, etc), stuck in the bookshelves, etc. Our storage/linen closet holds cleaning supplies like our vacuum, but also supplements B's closet, storing her luggage and winter coats. We use the space above our kitchen cabinets to store dry goods like TP, paper towels, etc. My kitchen stuff is sitting in the closet of someone else's apartment because there's no room for it in ours.
My room is slightly bigger, being 10' 5.5" x 9'7". There's two full walls of usable space, one wall with my closet and door, and another with two windows, one of which is the fire escape, so there needs to be a clear path from my door to that window. I've managed to squeeze a standing bookshelf, a small rolling filing cabinet, a small desk (about 2' x 2'), a bureau, and a rolling garmet rack in there. The space behind my bureau holds artwork I don't have wall space to hang. The space under my desk is occupied by a plastic filing box. My bed is lofted 14" so I can store documents in file boxes, linens, sporting equipment, skincare products, luggage, photo albums, etc in various boxes under it. My closet holds a trunk, various boxes, high end clothes and clothes that aren't in season, and any available space is stacked with shoes and handbags and more sporting goods. (And, I don't even own that many pairs of shoes.) The garment rack has my day-to-day clothes, which I switch out with stuff from my closet as the seasons change. The bottom portion of the garment rack contains more bags, soft luggage, etc. The wall next to my door is covered with notes to myself, book and restaurant reviews of places that I'd like to check out, and articles I find interesting. The first year I moved into this apartment, I donated about $1,700 worth (based on the Salvation Army's suggested price list) of clothes, shoes, bags and random household goods.
Essentially, I live like a crazy person.
Here is a picture of me.
One day, my landlord's going to walk into my apartment and discovere that I had been trapped in the apartment for weeks, crushed under boxes that B and I have been living around, and the only way I managed to stay alive was by eating random packets of ketchup I found under my couch.
So, I'm trying to decide what to do about this feeling that I don't live in a real home, that I feel constantly cluttered. Should I suck it up, hold out, and wait for the feeling to pass? Should I hold out for the day I can afford to buy my own place and do nothing? Should I rent a storage space, get rid of my broken down furniture, and drop some dime on real furniture? Would it be worth buying furniture if I don't know where I'll be living in a year's time?
Help. Suggestions would be nice before I start owning lots of cats and stocking up on old newspapers.
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