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8 ways to consolidate your geeky pad

Written by admin, Saturday, March 29th, 2008 in Fashion, The Style Guide

A really damn messy room.I really enjoy having lots of video games, posters, and all sorts of other stuff available to me. But sometimes, it’s a bit too much. At this point, virtually every average joe has a DVD collection of some kind, a game console or two, and some general crap that just needs to be organized. Here is 8 ways to do that.

8. Let everything have a “place”‘

nuff said- your gaming stuff belongs in a specific location, your books in another, etc. One of the biggest flaws of most pads is that they tend to mix up in one jumble- avoid it. If you have work or schoolwork in your place, make sure it is in a special location where you know where to find it.

This makes sense both from a physical and mental perspective. If you know where things are, you will naturally not only be able to find them better, but it will begin to make sense- and you will feel less overwhelmed when it comes to general clutter. It’s always much easier to mentally “know” when it’s time to work when you go to your desk with your paperwork on it- or when it’s time to screw off when you go to your couch to play a video game.

7. Open up floorspace

This is simple- get rid of tables and things that obstruct your ability to walk around freely in your place. Never stick chairs and other objects in your way- not only is it a safety hazard, but it’s just stupid. If you can’t walk from one end of a room to another with some path without tripping over something (or having to step over it), then you have a problem. All this requires is a bit of reorganization.

6. Make those decorations classy, not crappy

Repeat after me: Posters should never be taped to the wall, nailed to the wall, stapled to the wall, or otherwise stuck on a bare wall.

Okay.

Poster frames are cheap and easy to acquire- use them. If you like having movie posters around, get the ones you like and get decent quality frames- it will look leagues better and less college student-esque. More so, avoid going overboard on other forms of wall decorations- the general rule of thumb is, nothing out of a magazine you tear out, and think stylistically before fanatically. As spartan as that sounds, it will help.

5. Get better, more suited furniture

Ditch the childish “gaming chairs” and related junk. You do not need a special “gamer edition” desk to properly enjoy video games- you just look like an idiot. If you are over 15 years old, inflatable chairs are childish. Similarly, never use multipurpose furniture (see: folding tables) for furniture- it looks bad and unprepared.

I do know furniture is expensive, but trust me, it’s worth it. There’s nothing stupider than seeing a 20-something with a living room comprised of bean bag chairs.

4. Pack and store away (or throw away) stuff you don’t need

Fighter Pilot RoomBox it and toss it, give it away, or put it away. Some things (winter clothes during summer, various photo albums or the like) don’t need to be out all of the time- so put it away, label it, and don’t worry about it. If you don’t intend to wear an article of clothing again, donate it to charity. Shit, if you have furniture you don’t like, donate THAT to charity.

3. Toss old game consoles, emulate

We all love old games- however, it’s come to the point when none of us can really fit a NES, SNES, Genesis, N64, PS1/2, Dreamcast, and XBOX into our everyday lives. The nice thing? All of what I listed (and more) can now be emulated with a decent computer with some good tinkering, and you can enjoy your games on one system.

This takes a bit of work, but pays off for it in the long run. While it may limit your ability to play multiplayer, the ease of getting many good multiplayer games via new consoles makes it ridiculously simple to enjoy old games with friends. You can easily set up an emulator on your existing PC, or even go so far as to make a cheap Linux box for your media center that plays all your favorite games- it all works. And it’s all sweet, and a lot easier than having a ton of stuff crammed into your cabinets.

2. Get organizing solutions

Stop jamming clothing into boxes, DVDs into random bags, and books into drawers. If you enjoy making a collection, it should be no surprise that you need to invest in good ways to organize your collection- ways that don’t risk you losing your stuff, or even worse, harming it due to improper storage.

There are plenty of storage solutions for anything you might have- from CDs to DVDs to anything in between. For DVDs, invest in shelving that specifically fits DVDs as closely as possible. For books, invest in typical shelving, but make sure it can hold the weight of the collective books. For clothing, get a nice dresser or shelving solution, and never neglect your closet- get uniform, nice-quality wooden hangers.

Let’s put it this way- if you don’t keep it organized, you might lose it. And that would suck.

1. Sell old technology for better stuff

One of the silliest things I’ve seen in recent days is someone who had a fairly powerful PC (8000 series nVidia, etc) using a huge rear-projection television at 1024×768 for “hardcore gaming”.

No.

Old technology is big, bulky, and most important of all, useless. Unless you are a collector, there is no reason why you should have hundred pound CRT monitors or large bulky PC cases. Sell what you have and spend the cash getting something nice and worthwhile. For example, large rear-projection TV sets can sell for $400 or more- the same amount of cash you could use on a sweet 1080p flatscreen. Similarly, huge off-white PC cases can easily be replaced by a tech for smaller, sleeker cases that don’t take up a desk of their own- it isn’t expensive or hard.

Yes, this does require a bit of cash, but it’s worth it.

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5 Responses to 8 ways to consolidate your geeky pad

  1. David says:

    It seems you’ve just described how to trade humanity for cold efficiency.

  2. Steve says:

    So David, how many visitors have you had that DID NOT flinch at the sight of your place?

  3. Steve K says:

    I’ve got to kind of agree with david. It does seem like if you follow these directions your gonna drain all the indivduality from your home. However the are suggestions, so you dont gotta follow them exactly. For example i heavily disagree with his advice on tossing old systems and just emulating. Gaming has been a large part of my life since i was a child. Ideally I would have a room just dedicated to gaming, if just the stuff i grew up with. A private study of sorts i guess.

  4. Kris says:

    8: Yes.
    7: Yes.
    6: Yes.
    5: Kinda.
    4: Yes.
    3. Okay what. I’m going to have to go with David on this one. How are you supposed to tell a nerd to throw out his fucking SNES? NES? N64? SEGA? You can’t, because those are cherished artefacts of a Golden Age long passed, when games didn’t have to be super-graphical sex-for-the-eyes flashy(Also, Bloom).
    2. Yes.
    1. Sometimes people just don’t HAVE the money.

  5. Rick says:

    Obviously everybody who has shared an even slightly negative response to Dave’s suggestions have never had a girl over. It does pay off, in spades, and I’m talking about the panty-dropping kind, too. Women do pick up on that (the result of your efforts, I mean) and they see a man who is in control of their lives, and if it’s done stylishly, all the better.

    No girl, or random hook up opportunities? Not my problem, but following David’s suggestions does generally up your self-esteem. You should be proud to show off your living space (keeping the opposite sex in mind when you do put in the effort).

    Just because David said you need good furniture, it doesn’t mean you have to go to Room and Board to order ten thousand dollars worth of (awesome) furniture, but it does make sense to make sure what you have is clean, presentable and definitely not ratty. If you don’t have furniture, then craigslist it. It doesn’t have to be Room and Board, but it also cannot be some couch you picked up off the street either.

    Buy decor (hello individuality) as it also shows you care about how you live. And keep your floor clutter free. Architects and designers create interiors almost algorithmically based on research to make sure people can get from one end to the other in an easily accessible fashion. Case in point? Most any public place does not make you jump through hoops to get somewhere (unless it’s a hedge maze, if so then all bets are off). Make sure you keep that part in mind when de-cluttering/re-arranging.

    Stylish people generally are not super rich, but they do have something that makes up for it: knowing how to mix and match, how to arrange, and how to make things work within limits, both money-wise and other-wise.

    Following these suggestions plus daily upkeep (no more than 20 minutes a day; think of it as exercise) will simplify your life (which could mean more game time, if you think of it that way). So set standards, high ones. When you get your own place, you will not only have more pride in yourself when you gaze upon your castle (okay lame joke but still, feel some pride dammit, you worked hard for it), but you also won’t be embarrassed when you have surprise company.

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