Shopping and living when you're wheelchair bound

Tdarcos · Post by **Tdarcos** » Sat Nov 20, 2010 11:52 am

I have not one, but two plastic tubs in the size and shape of a 30 quart waste receptacle. The one in my room has a plastic bag inside it and is marked "Trash Only". The one sitting in the corner of the dining room is empty, marked "Storage Only: Not for trash - property of Viridian Development Corporation". It is so marked so other residents of this rooming house do not misuse it for that purpose; there is a public trash can (with a bag in it) in the other corner of the dining area. Except for my room, the rest of the first floor is open. Even the 1st floor bathroom has no door. That was my choice; I had the landlord take the door off the bathroom. Of course, the bathroom is attached to my room and is only accessible from my room.

That means there are only five doors on the 1st floor. Front door, back door by the upstairs, back door leading to the porch, door leading to the basement laundry and rooms, the door to my room and the door inside my room to my closet.

I take that "not a trash can" plastic container with me when I go shopping, because I can balance it on the footrest of my wheelchair and use it to carry home groceries and other supplies so I'm not overloaded. It will hold about the equivalent of two hand baskets a store typically has, and keeps me from overloading myself. But I need something; to quote Lazarus Long in Robert A. Heinlein's Time Enough For Love, this power wheelchair "has the cargo capacity of a postage stamp."

Flack · Post by **Flack** » Wed Nov 24, 2010 10:59 am

I have approximately 20 of those tubs. I originally bought the 30 gallon ones, but then started buying 18 gallon (I think) ones because they were half the price and I could store more. I then built custom shelves for them in my garage (blog post, custom tutorial, and lotsa pictures).

I'd say 10 of them are filled with Star Wars collectables. At least two or three are full of Halloween decorations. The rest are storing miscellany: computer parts, old computer stuff, old paperwork/photographs, etc. Then I have another 3 or 4 tubs like that in the attic (accessible from the upstairs game room) with old computer/videogame systems and parts.

I have an odd fascination with shelving and have considered setting up a website dedicated to people's custom shelving solutions, primarily for videogames and collectibles.

AArdvark · Post by **AArdvark** » Wed Nov 24, 2010 2:20 pm

Dude, that's getting into hoarders territory. Remember, less is more. But thanks for the old rotary phone and everything..

THE
SOMETIMES YOU
GOTTA HAVE STUFF
AARDVARK

pinback · Post by **pinback** » Wed Nov 24, 2010 2:34 pm

What did the door story have to do with the shopping story?

Flack · Post by **Flack** » Wed Nov 24, 2010 8:15 pm

AArdvark wrote:Dude, that's getting into hoarders territory. Remember, less is more.

Well the good news is, I've gotten rid of lots of stuff over the past year or so. The bad news is, I have no idea what to do with all the Star Wars stuff I've collected over the past three decades. I have literally thousands and thousands of dollars worth of Star Wars toys and collectibles and no where to display them. They wouldn't be worth 1/10th of what I spent so selling them off's not really an option.

pinback · Post by **pinback** » Wed Nov 24, 2010 11:23 pm

WHAT DID THE DOOR STORY HAVE TO DO WITH THE GODDAMN TRASH BIN AND SHOPPING STORY???????????

pinback · Post by **pinback** » Wed Nov 24, 2010 11:23 pm

Also, where can I post porn on this BBS?

Tdarcos · Post by **Tdarcos** » Fri Nov 26, 2010 12:33 pm

Flack wrote:I have approximately 20 of those tubs. I originally bought the 30 gallon ones, but then started buying 18 gallon (I think) ones

No, you misunderstand me, I said 13 quart containers, which is large wastebasket sized, and is easier to handle than an 18-gallon tub. I've lugged 18-gallon tubs, they are more difficult to handle than a trash-can.