Room to spare

In my grand effort to un-clutter our home, I decided to have the smaller of our two bedrooms converted into a walk-in closet/office. The room, which measures about 12′ by 18′, was crammed with furniture and bags–loads of bags– brimming with everything from knitting needles to cat litter. It would never stay neat and so it made my mind feel cluttered, too. It has one smallish closet, into which I’ve stuffed most of my wardrobe.

I found a wonderful cabinetmaker, told him what I needed (lots more closet space and drawers, open and closed shelves, a work area, and cabinets.) His suggestions were perfect.

The team of men started the installation today and already it looks great. Here’s what the empty room looks like. I should have taken a before shot, but didn’t decide to blog about this until everything was moved out. But imagine a huge sofa on the right side, and two wood cabinets and a huge desk on the left, each topped with about 250 odds and ends.

I’ve lived in about a dozen apartments in Manhattan during the last 40 years and I’ve tried to shape each to reflect my needs at the time. Now my biggest need is to simplify and throw out, not to accumulate and clutter. I’ve heard many FOFs say this in the past. I guess we realize that possessions are not the spice of life. And even if we have a lot of them, we don’t need them staring us in the face 24/7.