Storage Memory

Remembering what your family owns and where it lives.

A private visual inventory that helps families quickly find stored items before opening boxes, closets, or filing cabinets.

What it is?

Storage Memory is a searchable household memory that lets users photograph storage containers, closets, or document folders before putting them away.

Instead of searching through multiple boxes, users can simply search for an item and see where it was stored..

The Question

Can a simple digital memory reduce the cognitive effort of managing physical belongings?

As our household accumulated storage bins, seasonal clothing, medications, documents, children’s belongings, and hobby supplies, I realized the challenge wasn’t organizing them.

It was remembering.

Storage Memory explores whether a lightweight digital memory can answer simple questions like:

• Where did I put it?
• Do I already own it?
• Which box contains it?

before the search even begins.

Features

• Photograph storage bins, boxes, closets, or shelves
• Build searchable inventories
• Quickly locate household items
• Track documents, medications, seasonal items, and hobby supplies
• Designed for private family use

Privacy

Storage Memory is designed with privacy as a core principle.

The long-term goal is for the application to run locally on a family’s own computer or mobile device whenever possible, keeping household inventories private rather than stored on external servers.

The experiment is still exploring the best technical approach to achieve this.

Future Directions

Storage Memory has already inspired several related experiments.

Closet Memory

Create searchable inventories of clothing and accessories.

Questions such as:

• Do I already own a blue dress?
• Where is my red cap?
• How many winter jackets do I have?

could be answered instantly.

Document Memory

Apply the same idea to important documents, including passports, warranties, manuals, school papers, tax records, and household paperwork.

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House Memory

Expand beyond individual storage bins into a unified memory for the entire home, allowing families to locate objects across closets, storage rooms, garages, cabinets, and filing systems through a single searchable interface.

Journal

Read the laboratory notes behind this experiment and follow how the idea evolved over time.

Journal —>

Other Experiments

• Reflections Cards
• Storage Memory
• AV Microstories Reader

Experiment Status

In Development

The current prototype focuses on searchable storage inventories. Future versions will explore local-first operation, AI-assisted inventory suggestions, and expanded support for closets, documents, and whole-home organization.

Platform

Web App (Prototype)

Last Updated

June 2026