How Much Can Housemates Bring Into the ‘BB' House?

Have you ever found yourself watching Big Brother, and, after seeing one of the houseguests smoking a cigarette or writing in a journal, wondered: "How the heck did they get that in there?" Because I do. All the time. Which always leads me to ask — what exactly the houseguests can bring into the Big Brother house? The clothes on their back, of course, and any number of toiletries and clothing items to get them through the summer are givens — but, like, what else are they allowed to bring? When someone like John laments not having his guitar, for instance, you have to wonder what the limitations are on the things that the houseguests are allowed to bring into the house.

Let’s start at the end and work our way back, shall we? One thing we all know for sure is what each houseguest walks out of the house with: a single duffle bag. This means that there can’t be any big items allowed in the house like a guitar. (Sorry, John.)

Another thing that definitely isn’t allowed in the house? As former Season 12 houseguest Ragen Fox noted on his blog, clothes with logos or art on them aren't allowed. And this one isn’t a rule that houseguests should take lightly: Like, if you come in with five shirts and two of them have logos on them — sorry, now you only have three shirts.

Everything else “extra” that you see in the house — cigarettes, puzzles to keep their minds active, pens and journals — have to be snuck into the house and “sequestered,” according to Fox. I’m not sure how the producers would keep all of that in check — random room checks, maybe? Regular cleanings? Insisting the houseguests hand over the items when they see them? — but the bag limit is definitely the main way they keep items limited to what is allowed in the Big Brother house.

One thing is for sure: There isn’t much room for luxury in the house, but the houseguests make do with what the parameters allow. Jason has been smoking his little heart out, for instance, and John has been getting his music fix in with air guitar and becoming an integral member of the Whackstreet Boys. Who needs more than that?

When food and water and a pool is provided for you, there isn’t much else a Big Brother contestant could need.

Things change so quickly in the Big Brother house, it can be hard to keep up. To keep track of everything going on in the Big Brother house, check out Bustle’s very own Big Brother podcast, The Diary Room. Listen to the latest episode below, and be sure to check out future episodes on Bustle’s SoundCloud page and iTunes.

Image: CBS (2)