Sunday, September 28, 2008

Fun Monday-My Closet. Yikes!!


RDHMom is hosting this week and what a scary assignment this is.



I want to see the inside of your closet!! I want to see if your closet is as messy as mine!!! You can't organize it before you take the picture!!


Can I just tell you that it's probably as messy as yours and skip the pictures? No? Well, okay. This is going to be humbling. Before I show you the pictures though, let me fill you in on a little secret. Our house looks neat a as a pin when you walk through it on any given day, but open a drawer or a closet door without wearing a hard hat, and you're in trouble. It's kind of the compromise Hubby and I have worked out over eighteen years of marriage. He's a neat freak, as in he used to alphabetize his canned goods before I came into his life. Yeah, scary, I know. I'm not a complete slob, and I don't like dirt, but I don't get worked up about a few things out of place. Over the years, we've figured out that we can live in peace if things are neat in appearance but not necessarily neat behind cupboard doors. So please, if you come to a dinner party at my house, don't snoop in the cabinets.


Our house is forty years old and is short on closet space. We struggled for years for a way to maximize the space. One day, I jokingly said, "We should turn that spare bedroom we never use into one big walk-in closet." Then we looked at each other and said, "You don't suppose...." After fiddling with the idea for about a year, we finally did it. We stripped it down, installed a whole bunch of closet stuff and voila! We ended up with a great big room that holds five hanging racks, 17 drawers, 72 shoe slots, fourteen cubbies and a whole slew of nooks and crannies in which to shove things. It is glorious. It went from the least used room in the house to the most effective use of space in our humble abode. I keep the laundry hamper in there, and since the laundry room is right across the hall, everything is washed, folded, ironed and put away within the same general area. The regular closet that was in there to begin with holds the off season stuff, and I simply rotate summer and winter shirts when the seasons change. That task takes about fifteen minutes. At any time of the year we can have all of our clothing at our fingertips. It's really one of the best remodels we've done in our house. Let me show you around, but I must warn you, it's kinda' messy. (In fact, I was a little embarrassed when I downloaded the pictures and looked at them closely. And not just because of the mess. It's obvious I'm addicted to clothing. I mean when it takes a whole room to hold it all, you know? There are two distinct areas, Hubby's and the one Teen Angel and I share. Here's our side.
This rack holds dresses. At the top you'll notice the purse parking. To the left of the dresses is her shoe bin and her drawers. To the right is that disaster of bins that holds my exercise clothes at the top, accessories in the middle, jeans down below and spare towels. The basket at the bottom holds dog toys. Rotten mutt doesn't have anything to play with. To the far right is a rack of suits and jackets and a rack of pants, skirts and shorts.


Oh, and lots of boots on the top shelf. Here's another section.
It contains my shoe bin, my drawers, a rack of my shirts and sweaters and a rack of Teen Angel's shirts and sweaters. Those baskets on top hold winter stuff like gloves and hats. Those bins on the right hold hats , accessories and my Parrothead paraphernalia. Those drawers on the right hold swimsuits and other odds and ends. It is pretty messy in here...EXCEPT for the next section, which is Hubby's. How can you tell it apart? Well, what do you think?Yeah, it's the neat side. The side where the shirts are sorted by color and sleeve length. See? The white long sleeved ones are all on one side. His pants are organized by color and style as well. Can I tell you how much this drives me insane? How much I long to just shuffle that stuff around? I resist for the sake of our marriage. But let me tell ya' I nipped that alphabetized canned good crap in the bud a long time ago. There's only so much a girl can take. Now shuffle on over to RDHMom's and check out everyone else's drawers.

15 comments:

Mike Golch said...

no! my closet is messeyer because it is just a tiny-tiny thing and it is over loaded.

oreneta said...

You would die if you saw our closet...SO small, I have to hang two or three things on each hanger. Strangely the man is tidier than I am - I think, though as I write it I am not so sure - and my side of the closet is usually neater too. At least I sort it out periodically, and he never does.

Hootin Anni said...

Looks fine to me! I'm not 'into' cleaning closets at all. I love the drawers in the closet. Now, I want 'em too.

Come see my mess. It's posted this morning.

Happy Fun Monday.

karisma said...

Now that is a very clever idea! I look at my boys built ins and think what a waste! They tend to chuck all their toys in there! I really must consider turning one of the rooms into a giant closet too! WOW WOW WOW!

Having said that the one in my room is huge but do you think it is sorted??? Of course not, I hang my head in shame! Naughty girl!

Driftwood and Pumpkin said...

After all that workup, i was expecting much worse! My hubby is the neat one too. We have the same arrangement...neat outside, crunchy, er, i mean, messy on the inside!

Kelley with Amy's Angels said...

Ahhh...that's nothing! I've seen much, much, MUCH worse.

Trust me.

Faye said...

What a wonderful idea to turn an underused room into a huge walk in closet so near the laundry. I'm sure it simplifies your day.

How hard is it to resist messing with the neatnik's side?

Tiggerlane said...

You have made me think that I definitely need some drawers in my closet. I just have one dresser in the bedroom, and I need closet drawers, for sure! What a lot of room you have!

Sayre said...

Have you ever seen BROADCAST NEWS? One of the anchors converted a bedroom into a closet for all her stuff, and was embarassed when a date asked to use the bathroom and she had to point him through the closet. Luckily, he was quite appreciative of her closet solution.

I thought at the time that it was a marvelous idea (as closets are NEVER big enough) - and here you are, living my dream!

NariceatL4 said...

Nice closet! I am so impressed. I did not share any of my organized closets. I shared.... the one... the dangerous closet... the 'don't move anything because it will all fall out' closet.

Amy said...

That is awesome idea for an usused room! I would love that!
And much like you understanding my Kid Rock related issues...I understand your messy closets and drawers. My side of the closet is always your basic nightmare, whereas Shannon's half of the closet looks like Monk organized it for him....You and I should get together and sip tropical drinks while listening to Kid Rock, and we can let our hubbys organize....Sounds like a plan to me.;)

jsi said...

Hi there!
Whatta closet!
Give yourself a break - regardless of how or why it evolved, it looks pulled together, functional and made with a purpose.
It takes a bit of courage and bravery to expose a hidden part of our lives, that regularly would go without examination or inspection.
Thanks for sharing!

Alison said...

go mess!!! your closet it huge. his side is so neat, how does he do it.

Thanks for playing this week!!

Cassie's mom here - I LOVE your closet/room....I wish we had the extra room for that...hmm...maybe I can kick Cassie out of her room and make it a closet?? No?? Ok!!

janjanmom said...

No, you can't see my closet-but I am totally in lust with your entire room closet!! I have discussed this option with hubby many many times so I think it is hilarious that you actually have it!! Although my plan has the washer and dryers(two of them) in the giant closet as well.

Trailboss said...

I think I am addicted to your blog. You have the funniest way of telling a story.