I've read not to make any major design changes to a new (to you) house until you've lived in it for a while. It takes some time to find your rhythm and traffic patterns in a new space. Where are you putting your purse when you come home? Where do the kids repeatedly leave their toys/books/bits of paper/lego creations/hair bands/crayons/iPod/stuffed animals? Is that the best cupboard for the glasses, or is it too high to reach when the dishwasher is open? Plans that look great on paper or in your head can frequently fail the "real life" test.
I'd have thought after living here for 6 years, I'd have found a place for everything. It's not for a want of space. Our home, while over 80 years old, was built with a remarkable number of closets. The problem is more in their placement in the house and what I've accumulated in each of them. What seemed like a logical organization at the time now seems scattered, a hodge-podge. So in the midst of spring cleaning this week I've had a few forehead-slapping revelations about closets and what they should (and shouldn't) hold. The cedar-lined closet in the upstairs hall should hold my clothes, not an unholy mix of financial papers, shoes and old photographs. The downstairs hall closet by the kitchen should absolutely be reconfigured as a pantry. And the closet at the top of the stairs should house the filing cabinet, surplus printer paper and any framed-but-not-hanging artwork left after the big purge this weekend.
Whew. I feel better having figured that out.
Comments