Estate and mortgageToo Many Clothes and Not Enough Bedroom
The commercial and residential building trend for today is more living area
space and less bedroom space. When an apartment complex has to compromise - the
large bedroom and its accompanying storage space will be the first to get the
pink slip.
Lack of storage space is a flash from the past, when storage was not in
walls or in shelving but in massive pieces of furniture each had a specific
purpose and the grouping seemed to take up the whole room. As a renter - you"ll
have to supply your own storage.
What"s the solution? Consider how America used to live. Small bedrooms
herald back to way before the fifties, when people accumulated fewer things and
consumerism was less focused on the individual and more on the common good of
the family. That changed substantially after World War II and the birth of the
"Me" Generation - better known as baby boomers. An exhilarated nation lavished
new goods bought cheaply from around the world on its families, children and
grandchildren, and consumerism has never taken a step back. No longer are we
happy with one of everything (one winter coat, one TV) - now we have been
enculturated to appreciate variety over value.
Increased availability and reduced prices for consumer goods has created an
enthusiastic consumer for collecting small goods - clothes, trinkets, and
accessories. For those who love to shop at The Gap and The Limited , and can
afford to buy a whole new wardrobe every season, lack of closet space and
smaller bedrooms can be a real inconvenience.
If space is a problem, look to the past on how to solve it and make it work
for you in the meantime.
1. Revamp Your Wardrobe.
How did our grandmothers manage with those tiny closets and fancy carved
wardrobes that we now use to hold our TV"s? The answer is simple - they had
fewer clothes and they took better care of them.
Throw out anything you have not worn in over a year. Be brutal. Clothes
hanging in your closet won"t give you any additional value, they just keep
getting limper until you never wear them at all.
Assess what is left for wear and tear. Weed out some more. Again be brutal.
Try to make a mix and match plan with what remains. Any item that doesn"t go
with at least two or three other items, you don"t need. A blouse should go with
at least a skirt and a pair of pants, and perhaps, jeans. A sport coat should
complement at least two different pairs of slacks. Some clothes can traverse
the seasons and work layered under other things. A T-shirt can add warmth to a
medium weight sweater that will get you through most cold days.
2. Buy fewer clothes and take better care of them. Any new item you buy
automatically makes at least two items in your wardrobe obsolete. Don"t believe
me? Do the math. You"ll likely wear a new item as often as twice in the first
week you own it, then you might wear it as often as once a week or more for a
few weeks more. You"ll also stop wearing items from the same "era." Why? The
psychological associations are simply too strong. If you really want to buy
something, look at how long the season is to wear it - 3 months to six months
depending on the climate in which you live then divide the number of wearings
(once a week) into that period. That is a quick way to decide if you realize
that the great blouse you just found is going to cost you $30 a wearing because
the seasons are about to change.
Joan Crawford was right. No more wire hangers...ever. The thin wire wears a
groove into clothes and causes unsightly lumps in anything with a knitted
fabric. Knits should be folded and stored. Wherever possible, get your hands on
coat hangers or plastic hangers and use those for your hangables.
3. Decorate with some of your favorite wearables. Is your hat collection
taking up too much room? Hang one on your bedpost, make an arrangement on the
wall. Accent with bunches of upside down dried flowers. No way to keep your
ties neat? Create a rack on one wall or use as a headboard. Ties can add color
and style. Add to your collection with funky ties from the back of Dad"s closet
or the Salvation Army.
4. Put everything on the walls that you can, including lighting. Lamps take
up a lot of room on small bedside tables, room you may need for other things.
Brace small shelves on the wall on either side of your bed and present your
lamps like works of art. Invest in shelves that you can take down and take with
you when you move. Create vignettes on the shelves that can be useful and bring
color and urban wit to your bedroom - books, memorabilia. Decorate with items
that are distinctively you.
One of the most charming decorative items from the past are wall shelves,
brackets and sconces. If you go into new furniture stores, you will see that
wall storage is making a huge comeback and at very expensive prices.
5. If your bedroom isn"t large enough to accommodate the kind of furniture
you really want, paint a tromp-l"oeil version of what you want. Tromp-l"oeil is
the art of painting or fabricating something so that it looks like the real thi
ng. One decorating style book suggests painting a canopy on the wall and
ceiling behind and above the bed to give the illusion of elegance. Rooms with
small windows can be similarly fooled with paintings that feature windows and
pictures of beautiful views.
6. Change the way you study, pay bills, or work at home. Move the "home
office" out of the bedroom and find a convenient place in your more spacious
living room area.
Psychological studies show that when you study, read or do work that
requires concentration, you will perform better away from areas associated with
relaxation and sleep. The reverse is true also. You will sleep better away from
demanding reminders of projects due.
7. Keep it simple. A few large pieces of furniture will have more utility
than scaled down versions of more items. Use one nightstand instead of two, but
make it a large one. Use a large dresser that can accommodate all your
foldables. Out of season items can be stored in boxes and put in the closet or
under the bed.