Monday, March 29, 2010

Space challenge 2010

I wonder how many women have homes with space and storage challenges.
I know gals who have walk in closets with built in drawers and shelving...some are bigger than my bedroom!
I live in a bungalow built in 1913 when I imagine women had maybe 2 or 3 "house dresses" and a Sunday Best outfit for church, weddings, and funerals.

I have more clothing than the imagined woman of 1913 who might have lived here, a woman who like myself would reside in a Humble Bungalow.
Humble in size, hence cost and living on a relatively humble income.

I have quickly and not very artfully snapped a few pictures to give you a visual here.
Behind the curtain....

The left hand side, my longer clothing, including coats and jackets.

Right hand side shorter clothing.
In the middle 2 shelves for sweaters

Baskets of shoes

Wardrobe clothes storage downstairs

Out of season and dressy clothes.

As you can see my space for garments is very small. 
I find it a challenge but really it is a great exercise in minimalist wardrobing.
I have the new Stickley cabinet which holds my lingerie, some jewelry, tank tops and scarves. 
I blogged about this awhile ago, see earlier post.
I keep my colour palette to neutrals and of course black, white and greys for the basics.
and with a few exceptions I add colours and textures through accessories.

When I shop I ask myself; 
Do I need this? 
Does it work with most of my current clothing?
Does it look like it will date or is it a classic?
Do I love it?
Is it well made?
Does it fit me and is it flattering?
and 
Do I have room for it?

I almost forgot...I have a plastic bin under my bed for my cashmere sweaters...once the moths ate an entire Banana Republic cable knit scarf in only 2 months....
and it was my favourite chartreuse green :(

I hope that you can see these photos as my Blogger has been incredibly persnickety today.

7 comments:

Suburban Princess said...

I dont think it matters how much storage one has....we will fill it!

the gardener's cottage said...

I agree with Suburban Princess. If you build it they will come.

The first question I ask when pondering a purchase is "will I have room for this?" The answer is always no. So then I have to figure out what I'll get rid of so it will. This is a crazy game I play all the time.

~janet

Semi Expat said...

Those are good questions to ask when buying new items - think I will adopt these and apply !! Damn moths - I hope they were very sick or at least had painful stomach ache - extrememly greedy - a WHOLE scarf!

materfamilias said...

We're really tight on closet space as well, but it's not too bad while Pater keeps most of his clothes in our Vanc'r condo. Once he retires, though, I think he's planning to use some of my (reluctantly, I admit they might be "our") closet space. I try to tell myself this is European living, but I'd love another few feet of closet. Your editing rules make very good sense.

Kerry said...

Hi there. I came on over from Jeanne's blog to investigate yours, intrigued by the name! I live in a townhouse, we're a similar age, and I have a townhouse cat and just wish I had your back garden! Look forward to reading more.

mette said...

You really have arranged your clothes nicely. And you have so much to wear. I have no problem with my closet. I have only a very small fraction of the clothes you have and I share the closet with my husband. If I were you, I´d do one final checkup and calmly remove clothes that I´m not in love with. I´d pack them, and take them away forever.

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

We seem to have a lot in common here!
Kerry- Welocme to the Bungalow!
Metscan- I do share the closet I just did not photograph his stuff!
I will take your advice and get busy culling...it's very liberating to pare down...and I do have a few things that I do not love.