The Great Mini Organization Project vs. The Wife

As a person who is addicted to buying more and more of those D&D Miniatures (Which my wife has code-named “Little Men”), I was in serious need of some Re-organization. Originally, I had used a Massive Okeechobee Fats Fishing Tackle bag. This thing was huge and rugged. It had 8 of those plastic organizer inserts and room enough for other gaming stuff, including books. Here it is:

However, after years of buying more and more mini’s, the bag was full. Mini’s were being pushed in as tight as possible, Extra containers were bought to supplement it. And it was out of control. Something new was needed.

After searching several stores, I decided on the Stack-On brand Drawer Storage Cabinets sold at my local Lowes Hardware Store. They come in several varieties. One that has 60 small drawers, one that has 18 big drawers, or they have a hybrid model that has 30 small drawers at the top and 9 big drawers on the bottom.

It took 3 Hybrids and one 18 big-drawer model to finish my project with the mini’s that I currently have. I have a couple mini’s that need big drawers and I don’t have any left, so I might need to get one more to be able to expand. But there is also some room to optimize and double-up mini’s in drawers. However, I am going to wait until the 4E monster manual comes out so I can see what made the cut and what did not.

So I worked long and hard to organize and re-home my minis. And then I finished. My wife came in and said, “This looks great honey, but are those going to fit in the closet?”
“Closet” I said, ” I am mounting these on the wall.
That is when I got it. The ‘Oh-hell-no’ look. and the battle ensued.

I need to explain my office situation in more detail. I have my “Man-Cave” and can generally do what I want. However, when we bought our new house, I made the choice to take the room that is in the open. There are walls on 3 sides, and the third has a short wall and then overlooks the living room on the first story. This room also overlooks the golf course in the back, instead of the street view that is present in the other rooms. Part of the deal for me to get the “cool office” was that anything in the “Man-Cave” that was “Geeky” or otherwise non-wife-approved, must be non-visable from the floor below.

So when I get the “I don’t want people coming over, seeing your office, and seeing these tool things mounted on the wall with drawers labeled ‘catfolk’ or ‘Misc Undead’,” it is a hard battle to fight. But I stuck to my guns and said I would mount such devices in way that they were not visible from the room below. But all I got was a, “You can buy a big storage cabinet that closes, and put them in there.

I do not have room for such a cabinet. I would have to change up my entire office area, and get ride of either my TV or a bookcase. Not going to happen! So that is when I pull out the nuke. I complained on how she did not “support my lifestyle” and was embarrassed about her friends (who never come over) knowing that I am a gamer. I showed her the rows and rows of RPG books, Fantasy Novels, Star Wars Novels, and other geeky paraphernalia clearly visible to anyone stepping foot into my office. I made reference to the fact that I will get up and move everything and switch offices if needed (this would mean she would have to pack up and move too).

After a long and hard battle, I AM VICTORIOUS!

See below, my new mini set-up in all its glory, blood, sweat, and tears…

Filed Under: Miniatures

Tags: Miniatures