The Joey, The Liz and The Wardrobe
That title is supposed to mimic the novel The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (And no, Joey, the order of our names in the title does not imply that you are a lion and I am a witch). And as you may have guessed, this post is about clothing storage, or more specifically, closets.
If you have a closet, you are aware of what a nice convenience they are. And if you live in an older home, you are aware of how they lack closet space. Our house originally had only one closet and it was very awkwardly arranged.
See?
It was three rows deep and the clothes hung across the closet, causing the first row of clothing to block your access to the rows behind it. It was like diving into a thick jungle overgrown with button-downs, slacks and t-shirts. By the time you reached the back, you felt certain that Narnia was within reach.
It worked pretty well and conveniently kept my things free from construction dust. But then one day it collapsed and I had to jam half my clothes into Joey’s “closet” and cram the rest into Rubbermaid bins.
Since the day that photograph was taken, I have eagerly been awaiting the completion of the closet. After a year of never being able to find the shirt I’m looking for, I can’t wait to arrange my clothes with such organization that it borders on being anal. I have dreamed of the day where I can decide “I would like to wear my black blouse,” and then actually find the said blouse hanging neatly in a closet. Before I do the big reveal, let’s set the mood with a song as we so often do here at A Constructed Life.
Click play.
Now scroll down.
She’s among the most beautiful things I have seen this year. After admiring her beauty for a few hours, I will begin anally placing this heap inside of it. 
And I shall enjoy every minute of it because it’s been so very long since I’ve had the luxury of clothes that hang on hangers and are kept in an actual closet!!! Now for a bit of randomness – would you like to know what’s in that big gray box to the right of the mattress?
This big gray box?
It’s my wedding dress. I used to work at a museum where I learned a bit about properly storing historic artifacts, including clothes. I asked for that archival box for my birthday the year we got married. It should keep my dress in prisitine condition pretty much forever…not that there’s really a need for such precautions. And now I have to find a way to fit that huge gray box into this gorgeous box.
woohoo! I love closet space. I can’t wait to have some ourselves!
My wedding dress is sitting in a box at the top of my study closet… why i’m not sure, but I can’t bear to part with it.
If it were me, I’d take this opportunity to buy a few dozen wooden hangers (assuming you don’t already use them) and really pare down my clothing. There’s nothing quite as satisfying as knowing that you really love to wear every piece of clothing in your closet. Now back to my Tivo’d episodes of What Not To Wear…
I was jealous … until you got to the graybox challenge. As you mentioned about older homes, even ones that aren’t yet 70, there isn’t closet space. (My “closet” is about the size of a decent kitchen cabinet.)
I have to do the seasonal changeout each year, whereby one half my wardrobe lives inside plastic trashcans during seasons it cannot be worn in.
Congrats on the new space! And good luck with the gray box!
Jennifer – I’m so glad I’m not the only one with a wedding dress still hanging out. I know just how you feel. Hope you get those closets soon!
Jason – you’ll be happy to know that I did pare down my wardrobe last night as I painstakingly rehung all my clothes. No wooden hangers just yet, but I have moved up from wire to plastic!
NV – Hi! Sounds like closet space is at a premium at your place. Although I dread that seasonal changeout, it’s a nice way to review what clothing you’ll be wearing that season!
That is a gorgeous closet!! Good for you!!