Storage Problems

[Qilin]

I broke my porcelain gaiwan today. Am heartbroken because it would be tough scraping together the money for a replacement.

My main problem is storage. I don't have space to put a chapan permanently on display so my teaware is stored on a high shelf that requires me to stand on a chair (the kitchen cupboards are full of my family members' stuff) and cup/lid fell off and broke when I was trying to get hold of the saucer.

Ideally I would love to have my teaware permanently on display on a chapan on a small table (my kitchen table is too small/crowded with objects) but my family members would object to a new item of furniture(they are protective of their space) and I can't afford it right now anyway.I make tea nearly every day so my teaware won't get dusty or anything.

Any advice?

[Tead Off]

Time to look for a new family?

[Qilin]

Time to look for a new family?

I sure wish I could. They are not very tolerant of the money I've spent on my tea habit. I don't even collect pu erh bings.

[IPT]

Do you have to brew tea in the kitchen? How about the living room, or bedroom? You do not have to use a chapan, you could brew with tea boats. That way you would need very little space. Could you maybe hang a simple shelf on the wall to display your tea ware? If you used the tea boat, then you could put everything on one simple shelf and it would be out of the way.

[Herb_Master]

They are not very tolerant of the money I've spent on my tea habit.

I think a few of us can empathise with you there

[Ostara]

oh my haha i like the bedroom idea, im going to end up getting possibly a tea boat for my room or something. I live in the attic room of the house which gives me more room actually to move around and i get the quiet time i need away from people sometimes but its a pain to keep going up and down stairs so im investing in an electric water heater type of thing and a tea boat and just sit it on top of the coffee table in front of the bed. But you could always make a trip up to goodwill they always have great prices on coffee tables and such so you might be able to find a small table ot shelf maybe for your room or where ever you would want to put it? Always a thought, on another note i wish i had money to feed my tea addiction but i also have an addiction to carnivorous plants so having both of those addictions would be conflicting LOL

[entropyembrace]

I brew tea and store my teaware and most of my tea in my bedroom. I have an electric kettle on my desk and also a small storage thingie with lots of cubby holes to keep my teapots and cups. Tea is mostly on a book shelf.

[IPT]

Have you tried giving tea to your carnivorous plants Ostara?

I have a tea tray in every room in my house, including the bathroom and both balconies, so there is nothing wrong with brewing tea in the bedroom. I had one in almost every room and my wife teased me that I did not have one in the bathroom, so I put a small one in there. It does not get much use, but it is there.

[Qilin]

I don't have a electric heating solution so I heat water on a stove in the kitchen. That's the reason I brew in the kitchen. There's no desk space in my bedroom for storage and the living room table is off-limits.

Are you referring to those zisha teaboats? They are quite bulky and heavy.
http://www.tenren.com/dulapuclteab.html

I can't really put up a shelf because my parents have forbidden me to drill holes in the wall so I have to get some kind of cupboard or table.