I Had More Clothes Than Closets

Sammy Davis, Jr. has been quoted as saying, “I had more clothes than I had closets, more cars than garage space, but no money.”  That’s kind of how I felt when we moved into The Big Yellow House. 

Most historic homes are known for their lack of closet space, and our new home was no different.  We also had no garage, but that’s a different story.  And the money we did have was disappearing fast with all the renovations we were making.  All of the bedroom closets in the house were filled with my clothes.  So were 3 cardboard wardrobes—compliments of the moving company. Larry had taken over the linen closet and what should have been stored there was stuffed into other nooks and crannies around the house.

Yes, this inconvenience was my fault.  I had to have a bathtub in the master bathroom and the only way to do that was to re- purpose the closet in the master bedroom.  I had made my choice and now I was paying for it.  Within a few weeks, I knew we had to find a better solution.  I was tired of sprinting from room to room looking for my clothes. More frustrating was wandering around the house searching for where I stashed the clean towels, extra toilet paper or the first aid kit.  We needed a master bedroom closet, and we needed it fast.    

Since the nearest Ikea is 222 miles away in Woodbridge, VA we placed our order on-line and waited for them to be delivered. My siblings and their spouses (aka The Big Yellow House’s Renovation Team) were planning to spend the week between Christmas and New Years with us, and I had a project to keep them busy.

The boxes arrived several days before our renovation crew (I mean guests), and the project began in earnest by carrying the 9 massive boxes from the carport up the two flights of stairs to our bedroom.  Larry and Gary quickly removed the molding and capped the electrical outlet located on the wall where the closets were to be installed.  Jim began assembling the first cabinet. Needless to say, the project was taking longer than I expected.  Nancy and I got into the mix by assembling the chests of drawers that would go inside the cabinets. 







After two days of holding, screwing, and inserting part A into part B, the closets were fully assembled.  I gathered up my clothes and celebrated each time an armful of shirts was reunited with its sisters. The temporary cardboard wardrobes were carried to the curb and the linen closet was returned to its original purpose. No more did I have to think about where I might find a new bottle of shampoo.

Within a couple of weeks I found just the right crystal-looking knobs and the job was complete.  At least for now.  Ultimately, I’d like to close in the area above the cabinets making them look more like they’ve been part of The Big Yellow House for many years.  But that’s a project for another time.