The Great Archeology Dig is OVER

On my father's boat every inch of space had to be used. Likewise living in my small studio. Add to the space limitations that I detest clutter -- thus everything on the surface is neat. However, it can be life threatening to open any of my closets (my daughter is the opposite with clutter around her flat but closets that have the precision that would make an Army sergeant inspecting a barracks weep with joy). The area under my kitchen sink was truly an archeological dig whenever I wanted the iron, soap or pan that wasn't hanging from a beam. No matter how often I arranged things neatly, it lasted five nano seconds on a good day, less than one on a bad.

Gerard (Gigi) is a local contractor that has done 90% of the work in my place. He is rare among French workmen. He comes when he says he will usually to the minute. He came up with the simple solution of a shelf, albeit it around pipes. It may not look like much to you, but to me it is pure heaven. There's room to see what is in there. Of course my qualifications to go on a real dig may get rusty, but I can live with that.

On the other hand, the storage area over the bathroom has all the mess hidden by curtains that match my window curtains. If I feel too badly about not having anything to dig through, I can always climb up there...or to be honest, just go through my underwear drawer.

As long as Gigi was there I had him cut the tiles I laid down on the fireplace hearth to fit exactly. Although this isn't storage, the white tiles do make the room look a bit bigger while clutter makes it smaller. I can remove the tiles if and when I want a fire, although I have to also remember to remove the board that blocks the fireplace to keep heat from escaping up the chimney. If I could make that board a flap and clean the chimney, maybe I could use it for storage???? Nah, better to not accumulate one thing extra.