A co-worker who is moving his family of five to a new home mentioned “pods” the other day, the containers that warehouse your possessions to allow you to move in gradually over a few days rather than one.
Moving can produce such angst. All of those things we’ve accumulated: a wall of books that range from “The Iliad” to “Ragtime” to “You on a Diet.” The closets that speak of Norma Kamali of the 1980s and Victor Costa of the 1990s.
That’s why Judy Niedermaier’s story is so refreshing and uplifting. She owns her own company, designs furniture and reps designers, among other business ventures. All those projects. She must have a lot of things.
But in Lisa Skolnik’s story “The joy of moving” Judy talks about her fourth move in 10 years without angst or trepidation. She says she simply puts her house “on a diet.” She once told Lisa for this magazine: “Subtraction is the easiest thing you can do for a room. . . . When you subtract things, you leave space to make upgrades,” such as a better chair or painting. Plus, when you find something you want to acquire, “now there’s room.”
That brings us back to the “pod” concept, which may have a benefit besides convenience. The co-worker, who has yet to unload all those pods, is noticing that he doesn’t miss any of the things they contain.
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bbutler@tribune.com
Home on the Range will be back on the range soon.
