The clutter expansion principle
Lessons in physics, plus big life moves over here.
I was cleaning out our storage areas recently (read on to learn why). As usual, I pondered the human tendency to accumulate stuff.
Why is it that no matter the size of our home—be it tiny studio apartment, single family home, or mansion—we seem to invariably use up all available storage space?
It brought to mind my middle school science class where I learned that gas will always expand to fill whatever container it’s in. This is kinetic molecular theory. The molecules aren’t bound up with each other so they’ll wander off to fill the space that’s available.
This is what happens with our stuff. When you notice there’s space for X item, you put it there. Then Y item joins it, and so on, until you end up with a chaotic cabinet/closet/whatever. This absolutely happens to even me.
Let us call this natural phenomenon kinetic storage theory.
Kinetic storage theory is why it’s important to containerize things and approach your storage spaces very carefully. At the outset, know that every…