Getting closet organizers - a downsizing post
Maybe you are thinking to yourself, "but wait! I thought you were all moved in!" You are correct, of course, but even within our new space, there's some downsizing to be done. And, of course, decluttering. It is far too easy for unnecessary, unwanted, or unloved things to pile up.
One of the great things about my new space is the ginormous walk-in closet in the master bedroom. It consists of two separate spaces: a door opens into the closet from the bedroom, and you step into a dressing-area of sorts, complete with a counter, sink, mirror and light bar. At first, I wasn't so sure I liked the counter/mirror bit, but it's proven handy when we're getting ready to go out. Then there's a doorway into the main part of the closet, which is actually pretty huge.
Only the closet wasn't well thought-out.
When my sweetheart first moved here, it had a single bar with a single shelf above it in the back closet. He eventually replaced that with a Closet Maid system across the back wall, which had a few overlaps that made it hard to actually hang double rows of things. When I first met him, his stuff filled that closet system. Plus two other bedroom closets in the house, and half of the front hall closet, and a large bar in the laundry room, and two dressers.
Part of the issue is that the master closet wasn't well-organized, and part of it is that he had far too much stuff. (He needs the usual seasonal wardrobe, plus he has two seasons of "work" wardrobe, which in his case is tai chi or other workout pants and T-shirts, both short- and long-sleeved.) Plus the closet had to hold shoes and linens and some tai chi weapons. Oh. And then we had to fit some of my stuff, too.
Today, we are investing our money and a nice guy named Doug's time and effort to install a closet system that ought to work a lot better for us, and allow us to get pretty much all the things into the closet that we need. I suppose you could say we are decluttering/downsizing by adding something to the house, and I think that's a fair way of looking at it. We are reworking the space to make it into a real working closet, with plenty of storage space for ALL THE THINGS.
In short: Sometimes to declutter/downsize, it pays to ADD stuff.
Here's a photo of the closet once it got done, although you can't see how truly large and wonderful it all is:
One of the great things about my new space is the ginormous walk-in closet in the master bedroom. It consists of two separate spaces: a door opens into the closet from the bedroom, and you step into a dressing-area of sorts, complete with a counter, sink, mirror and light bar. At first, I wasn't so sure I liked the counter/mirror bit, but it's proven handy when we're getting ready to go out. Then there's a doorway into the main part of the closet, which is actually pretty huge.
Only the closet wasn't well thought-out.
When my sweetheart first moved here, it had a single bar with a single shelf above it in the back closet. He eventually replaced that with a Closet Maid system across the back wall, which had a few overlaps that made it hard to actually hang double rows of things. When I first met him, his stuff filled that closet system. Plus two other bedroom closets in the house, and half of the front hall closet, and a large bar in the laundry room, and two dressers.
Part of the issue is that the master closet wasn't well-organized, and part of it is that he had far too much stuff. (He needs the usual seasonal wardrobe, plus he has two seasons of "work" wardrobe, which in his case is tai chi or other workout pants and T-shirts, both short- and long-sleeved.) Plus the closet had to hold shoes and linens and some tai chi weapons. Oh. And then we had to fit some of my stuff, too.
Today, we are investing our money and a nice guy named Doug's time and effort to install a closet system that ought to work a lot better for us, and allow us to get pretty much all the things into the closet that we need. I suppose you could say we are decluttering/downsizing by adding something to the house, and I think that's a fair way of looking at it. We are reworking the space to make it into a real working closet, with plenty of storage space for ALL THE THINGS.
In short: Sometimes to declutter/downsize, it pays to ADD stuff.
Here's a photo of the closet once it got done, although you can't see how truly large and wonderful it all is: