16) The Walk-In

In Sex and the City the movie, Mr. Big builds Carrie a huge walk-in closet, thereby solidifying his place in her heart. Indeed, the closet becomes the backdrop for their climactic make up scene. Aside from its pivotal role in the film, the walk-in represents a larger manifestation of our "stuff"-filled culture.

In an age of rampant consumerism, it's often hard to remember the way things were in the past. Though you may not have been alive to experience it, one can imagine a time when people's possessions could fit into a closet you can't walk into (much less lie down in, as Carrie and Mr. Big do). The walk-in was only created as an answer to an overwhelming amount of stuff.

Another indicator of our current love of material things is the number of storage/organization companies that exist. When the square footage in your house just won't cut it, you can pay for an extra storage pod out in the boonies. Or hire a professional organization consultant to come in and optimize the space you have. One look inside any gargantuan Container Store, and it's clear that people are capitalizing on our mountains of stuff.

Some may look at walk-in closets and wax nostalgic about a return to a simpler time of less stuff. While unlikely, it's interesting to imagine what other resultant entities might spring from a continued accumulation of things. When the day comes when walk-in closets aren't enough, what's next?