We have a lot of closets, our house is 20 years old. The master bedroom has 3, one large one (mine) and 2 that together are a bit smaller, each of the other 3 bedrooms have good sized closets, the baths have linen closets and in the basement there is a pantry and a huge (12 feet wide and 3 feet deep) storage closet where I keep all my small appliances, extra casseroles, and misc 'stuff'. Yet we don't have enough room. There's something wrong with us.

The good news is....you can't become a pack rat! I have plenty of closet space but the closets are totally packed. In January I'm going to start cleaning out. DH must have 2 dozen suits he hasn't worn in 15 years. Lots of table clothes I haven't used in as many years and clothes, clothes, clothes that haven't been worn in years. Goodwill is going to love me!

I have a lot of really big closets but it is not nearly enough they are all slap full and I need more space. What we really need to do is take every thing out of our 2 giant hall closets and the coat closet and purge. some of the stuff was just put in there in boxes when we moved here and we never have taken them out and gone through them. I know there is so much that is stuff we could do with out.

our walk in closets in our master are much smaller than the one we had at our other house but that closet was the size of a regular bed room it was large with built in drawers etc. And even that one was not big enough!

Queen of the Pack Rats here...we have a lot of closet space--all full. I really need to start tossing things, or my heirs will hate me when I pass on.

I am a closet freak, I turned my youngest son's bedroom into a fabulous closet when he left, still use the master closet too. We lost several closets when we moved to this house, that it the only thing I have ever missed about our old one.

I think you'll always fill whatever closet space you have. Originally our house was 1400 sq. feet upstairs (we've added on since) and has a entry closet, a small linen closet, closets in 2 bedrooms plus a smaller walk-in in the master, a pantry and a laundry room closet... they are all packed with stuff. Downstairs we have a large cedar closet plus 2 large rooms for storage. The stuff is overwhelming... I am hoping once my DD gets a 'real' job and is done with college she can take the stuff that is hers and some of my stored stuff that she can use at her new place.

Our house was built in the 1920s.

Two bedrooms, each with a very small closet. One is about the size of a broom closet, and the other a bit wider. The wider one has a window inside, which had puzzled me until I read that in the old days this was for "airing out" stinky clothing.

Hallway has a little linen closet with two shelves and three drawers. Dining area has a very small coat closet. That's it.

We have 3 bedrooms in our house. Master has a closet 8 x 2. Each of the other bedrooms have a closet 5 x 2. We have a small coat closet in the hall outside of the guest bathroom. There is a linen closet in the main hall. I have some shelves over the washer and dryer in a closet in the kitchen. As everyone elses they are all cramed full of stuff that hardly gets used.

Yup, I'm jealous. I think Lydia is right: We tend to fill up whatever closet space we have. Same with refrigerators. I remember when I got a new fridge that was much larger than my old one. Within weeks (days?) it was just as crammed as fridge #1.

Just very small closets in my house unfortunately. Lots of storage space in the basement but that isn't really convenient.

In my last house we had a walk in closet in the foyer that was as big as some people's bedrooms(not really) and each bedroom had big walk in closets. That was 28 years ago and then I moved to this old 1840 farmhouse which is way bigger in size but has virtually hardly any closets. Downstairs there's a small one beside the side entrance that we built . That's it for the downstairs except for the built in pantry we had put in during our kitchen renovation about 9 years ago. Upstairs each of the four bedrooms has a closet if you want to call them that. They are very small and dark. Only one has a light in it. I have a huge antique cherry armoire in my bedroom which I couldn't live with out. It breaks down into four pieces because otherwise it wouldn't fit thru a doorway. The two large uprights sit on a pedestal and there is a large bracket over the top. One side has hooks and rods and the other side, pull out drawers. It's very well made and functional for something about 170 years old. I have toyed with the idea of making the only small bedroom, a huge closet. All the bedrooms are large and so was this but they had to cut it up in the 1920's to install a bathroom and linen closet in the hall.

the house I am considering has two closets.. but one has only about a foot wide space for hanging clothes. However, there is a linen closet in the bathroom.

Luckily the bigger bedroom will do fine, with a closet built across the one whole wall.

That's the only reason, that house would work.

Moni

small apartment. One hall closet and one in the bedroom, and yes, they are FULL. I use one side of the hall closet as a pantry/linen closet, the other side is for office stuff.

2 bedroom apt. here.
Font hall closet for coats etc, closets in both bedrooms. The master bedroom's closet is wall to wall, with double bi-fold doors. The doors don't go wall-to-wall so there's the hard-to-reach ends that are good for little-used stuff.

The 2nd bdrm closet has shelving and drawers and rods that hubby uses as his closet.

There is a nice-sized linen closet. There's also a utility closet that had one warped shelf when we moved in. I immediately bought some mdf shelving at Rona and turned it into my pantry. I had the cupboard and stacking cubbies before. It's very much a life-saver. I don't know what I'd do with everything there, without it.

We don't have a lot either. We have a fairly good size one between the 2 bedrooms. It is one of those you can go in one room and out the other one. It is a pain.. Then we have a small one at the front door. We added a bedroom and have a closet there. We do have a nice sized linen closet in our bathroom. Hubby built me a really big pantry all a cross the end of my kitchen.

My son built me the drawers under our bed. So nice to keep sheets and such. Then under the spare bed I have 6 of the under the bed storage bins on wheels. Need I say more? A woman never has enough closets..

alisande...here's an idea that may work for you, I did this in a house that had no closets. Do you have an unused bedroom/library room that's near your bedroom that's kind of small and not big enough for a bedroom or it could be big just if it's not being used for another purpose. What we did is we turned an unused small bedroom into a huge walk-in closet. It was WONDERFUL! Could this work for you?

Well my closets are mininum in my house now. No pantry, that drives me crazy...I have put shelves and a portable pantry in there and it still is not enough. I have shelves in my basement that provide extra storage for my kitchen stuff but that is not all that convenient.

I am surprised your friend with the 1930s house has closets? That's surprising to me. It must have been custom built by someone that had a lot of stuff( probably wealthy)HA!

Jasdip, that looks great! You're such a neat organizer.

Arkansas Girl, nice idea, but no, it wouldn't work here. The upstairs has three bedrooms (each serving a purpose) and a bathroom. I have several clothing racks in the attic (hot in summer, cold in winter). I really need to get rid of some clothes that I'm not wearing.

I have no idea how old this (half) house I'm renting is. The tax information says 1900 but that's the default date. There's a small closet by the back door. It seems to have been cut in later, I'm guessing in the 70s, based on the fake wood paneling. There's a small storage area above it but until I get some kind of step ladder for the kitchen, I can't reach it!

Upstairs the 'master' bedroom has a shallow closet with shelves. I keep linens, craft supplies, and other items in there. That used to be the only closet in that room but at some point they cut in a long closet on the other side of the room That closet is perfect for my clothes and shoes.

The boys have a very small shallow closet. Instead of one rod straight across, there are three short rods running back to front. The third room has no closet (or door - we use it as a toyroom). The bathoom seems to be a late addition, cut out of that room.

Was this double home once all one house? I haven't figured that out. My mom grew up in a double that shared a stairwell and bathroom - I wonder if it was something like that because the moldings upstairs do seem cut off in the hallway and the bathroom seems a late addition, yet the basement is divided and the front doorways seem old and original.

That's it - 4 small closets - thank God for the big attic. The old, damp basement isn't good for a thing except for the washer and dryer.

My house was built in 1984. There's a big coat closet when you walk in. A counter-depth double-wide pantry in the kitchen(75 drawers & cabinets), with a built-in planning desk that has filing cabinets on either side. The master Bdr. has a walk-in closet. The sink/vanity area is 12'long in the mastr-bth, all drawers & cupboards. The usual closet in each bedroom, buuuuuuuuuuuut.....there is a built-in media center in the center of the house with electical outlets, shelves and cupbords. Then downstairs there's a HUGE cedar-lined double closet for your winter clothes storage in the summer. Then a valuables closet, cement lined walls, structurally built for the house, put to another use(Fire protection) with a fire-rated floor safe. The family room has a wall of built-in bookshelves with bottom storage. Then.....we have an attic above the garage with drop-down stairs for additional storage. Then the garage has grey formica cabinets, salvaged from an office building remodel.....lining all the walls. :0)

Our villa only has two closets--one in each bedroom, but the one in our bedroom is a large walk-in and the other bedroom has a small walk-in. I have a nice pantry in the kitchen and a 1-1/2 car garage (which needs a good purging).

It's plenty of storage for us--I'm sort of a minimalist. As I get older I tend to think like Wanda VA and remember what it was like helping to clean out our parent's home. I don't want to do that to the girls.

I do miss having a linen closet in the hall though.

I often wonder how you folks who don't have basements.....warm weather climates do it.

It's tough having to find room for everything all on one floor. Even if I lived in a climate where there was no frost, I'd put in a basement just for storage capacity.

Our home has a lot of closets, but I could use more. Amber still has one closet in use for Barbie dolls and Norm has collectible glass in the front closet taking up space. I have a nice pantry, but wish it was bigger. No closet now in the master bath as we took the big closet in it and put my washer and dryer in it some years back. I like my washer and dryer upstairs where the bedrooms are though. Never enough closet space.

Sue

We have a basement, but it's more like a dungeon: dirt floor with a stream running through it in wet weather. Not good for storage.

Nicole, I'm not speaking to you anymore. :-)

Arkansas Girl, I meant to add that I think they said 1930s. It looks like a craftsman (arts & crafts) design--brick, with a small porch and dormers. Lots of rooms inside, most of them not very large except for the master bedroom, which is huge.

The kitchen is the only room in the house I don't care much for. It would give a kitchen designer fits. The room can be entered three ways, so it's more of a pass-through than a room, I guess. The stove with surrounding cabinetry and small counters sits by itself against one wall with the microwave above it. The sink is against another wall at right angles to the stove, with a doorway in between. The fridge and dishwasher are across from the sink, with another doorway in between them and the stove. No windows in the kitchen.

'Stuff' increases to fill available space. It's the 'goldfish principle'. If you buy a fish a bigger bowl, he'll grow to fill it.

George Carlin was famous for his comedy routine about Americans and their 'stuff'. American park their cars outside of huge garages that are filled with 'stuff'.

A national magazine (National Geographic?) once devoted an issue to showing families from around the world and their homes, with their posessions laid out on the ground. Some good-sized families in other countries own a few rugs and pots and a change of clothes. The middle-class American family they showed had possessions that stretched to the horizon and off the page.

I've become a ruthless closet weeder, and I seldom shop for anything other than groceries.

My house was built in 1933 and has 2 closets. The master bedroom closet is 10 x 2 and I am hoping to add more shelves for a linen closet. There is also a cupboard up high that I can't reach except for a step stool. I use the high cupboard for linens but it is inconvenient. The second bedroom which is very, very small had a small closet added to it just before I bought it. In Iowa a bedroom can't be called a bedroom if it does not have a closet. I do have a basement for long term storage. I have no place to put my vacuum or my steam cleaner. I am going to turn the second bedroom into my sewing room and also use it as a closet. Guests will have to sleep on an air mattress. Both bedrooms and the bathroom have 2 doors, the living room and dining room have 3 doors. That take up lots of wall space.

I forgot to add we do have a basement which is just like Susan's..damp with stone walls. The old coal bin is now my indoor greenhouse where all my outside plants winter over.Some of the cats' litter boxes are down there too .The attic is very big and dry, so that's where everything else is stored plus we have two outbuildings for that type of stuff. A garden house and a two story carriage house also houses outside stuff.

The way most people in California do without basements or attics is to fill their garages with their stuff and park their cars on the street or in the driveway. I hate that!

Jasdip, that's the same "pantry" I have but mine is the wood grain. Are those other shelves just the cheapy ones like from Target? That's what my pantry is. It was a life saver though I wish I'd have splurged on one a little bit larger BUUUUUUT I could get those stackable shelves that you have and add...I had not even thought of that! Good idea!

We're OK with closets. We have 5 Bedrooms and 4 bathrooms and they all have decent closets. Now that the kids are gone I am fighting the urge to move some of my things into their empty closets. I've only allowed myself to put my heavy winter coats in one bedroom and I've been very strict about not moving anything else.

When we put the addition on 20 years ago we more than doubled the size of the kitchen and I now have absolutely glorious storage there.

But Susan- don't forget you also have an entire barn! Although I doubt you'd want to trek across the yard in the winter to retrieve something.

Arkansas, they don't sell those cubicles anymore here. The company that made them closed up. :) I use 2 stacked up, so there are 6 cubbies.

The shelving is melamine (I think) from our Rona, which is equivalent to Home Depot. They cut whatever size you want.
Very sturdy and smooth.

Below the shelving on the left, is open, and I have a rubbermaid bin where I keep my bags of flour and rice.

We have plenty of closets, and since it's just the 2 of us, I can spread out, and since we're pack rats, it's pretty sad that the closets are full. The problem is too much stuff--not enough closet space. I read over on the organization forum and get all inspired until I go open a closet door and look at all that stuff. It's just easier to close the door. Our kids will be so mad at us when we die! LOL

So will mine, Vannie

But Susan- don't forget you also have an entire barn! Although I doubt you'd want to trek across the yard in the winter to retrieve something.

You got that right, Quilly! :-) And that probably explains why I've allowed my DS to use it for his stuff--although a lot of that will leave the barn when they move into their new house (hopefully this month). No, the path to the barn is treacherous in winter. The structure does hold a great deal, though.

We keep things locked up these days. We didn't used to, but then the guys who worked on my roof some years ago stole our welder--and admitted to the police that they tried to steal a generator, too, but couldn't get it out the door.

Dang, here I opened this up thinking I was going to be able to get a couple of extra closets sent to me!!

Jas, really nice pantry. I miss that...

Moni

Good luck with that, Cate. LOL

Cate52 - very clever, I like that.

My house is probably average for closet space. The best part is that I have a small walk in closet of my own. It's neat but rather crammed. I don't think I'd like to share one with my husband. I've gotten used to my own little space.

Do you have a free standing clothes cabinet or do you store your clothes in the other bedrooms?

We have a fair amount of closet space. There is a double closet at the entrance way, a closet outside the kitchen where I keep appliances, canning and the vacuum cleaner. Two of the three bathrooms have good sized closets, the master has two walk in closets and the other three bedrooms each have generous closets. Oh, and there is a closet in the laundry area as well.

I clean and organize my closets and cupboards routinely. I always did do this on a regular basis, but now that I'm off on sick leave, I spend a set amount of time every day doing it, and a set amount of time doing another task that I've fallen behind on. This morning I worked on the craft room, and I itemized each of my cake and cookie decorating tools on my computer. I sorted the items by group. It amazes me that I've spent as much time sorting and cleaning as I have, and yet there still seems to be so much to do. There are things in all of my closets, but I can't say that any of them are stuffed.

Do you have a free standing clothes cabinet or do you store your clothes in the other bedrooms?

Moi? I have an old but nice cedar armoire in the upstairs hallway for blouses, blazers, and skirts, and an old and not nice at all something-or-other downstairs (largely hidden from sight) that holds casual outerwear.

There are three clothes racks in the attic, one zippered to hold woolens. My sweaters are in dresser drawers in the guest room, and I have dresses, coats, and shoe racks hanging in both bedroom closets. All of this makes it sound like I have a large collection of clothes, but I really don't. Some of them don't even fit. :-)

I am blessed...lots of closet space...the living room has a 4 x 4 closet that was turned to a video closet...floor to ceiling shelving meant for VHS tapes...it's full..the rest has shelving which holds my stereo equipment...there is a coat closet in the foyer as well as a double door'd closet which holds extra dishes...mostly party supplies...the kitchen has two pantries...each about a 3 x 3..upstairs each bedroom has big closets and there is a closet at the end of the hall which holds extra blankets, blow up beds and Christmas supplies for the upstairs...it also has a linen closet in the hallway...In the basement is a huge room that holds the rest of Christmas supplies, my sewing area, crafting area and just general junk...my son's bedroom is in the basement and he has wall to wall closet with two sets of bi-fold doors...we are blessed with closet space!

We have closets in each of the 3 bedrooms, plus a coat closet and linen closet. We also have shelves/cupboards in our utility room - plenty of room there. My dh is a packrat, comes from a family of packrats ("we can't throw this out - it might come in handy some day!"). But since we recently cleaned out my parents home - what a chore that was, and they weren't even packrats - we don't want to leave a mess for our heirs. So we're working on keeping the "stuff" down...on a practical level, it's easier to keep the house clean when you don't have a lot of stuff. My inlaws have so much stuff that they and their house stink. It's awful. They don't need all of that either.

Moni...once you find a house to buy I'm sure you'll organize it well! :0)

Jasdip...nice job! It's very well organized!

Alisande....funny! ;0)

Only one closet and it's in the livingroom, more of what they used to call a "coat closet". Standing cupboards and armoires everywhere else for storage, including a chiffonier in the bathroom. I do have a crawlspace or attic and a cellar, but like someone else mentioned it's a dirt cellar with a gravel floor and doesn't make for a good storage area.

The only closets in my house is one in each of the three bedrooms. The walk-in in the master is larger than the guest bathroom but smaller than the pantry. Go figure!

Our 2-storey hosue was built in 1976 and it has sufficient closets. Upstairs, there's a walk-in the master bedroom and each of the other 3 bedrooms have closets; two hallway closets and a bathroom closet. (The bathroom closet haa a laundy chute in the floor.) Downstaris, the fireplace in the family room is flanked by two book-cases, floor to ceiling. There is only a pantry in the kitchen, but there are plenty of kitchen cabinets.

But you know, you can never have too much closet. LOL !!!
We've filled all our closet space except for the spare bedroom. Its closet is partly filled with storage items such as things from my mother's estate.

Oh, and lets not talk about the mess in the garage. I've installed an 8' x 12' shed out back for storage of outdoor stuff. That's filled with a snowblower, wheelbarrow, extra furniture, and storage boxes. Sigh, I need a bigger shed.

I do know what you mean about minimal storage space. I and my sister was raised in a small 4 room farm house: kitchen, front room, and two bedrooms - NO closets. It did have 2 porches. The rear porch was partly enclosed and that is were much of the overflow was stored. The fron porch was open. In winter, you'd find a stack of firewood in the corner, s shovel, and muddy boots. How did we manage? We did not have a lot of stuff. Clothes were folded and placed in chest-of-drawers. Shirts were hung from a bracket placed over the bedroom door. My sister and I shared a tiny bedroom. I had a chest of drawers behind the door; she had a row of pegs on the wall.

In the kitchen, a row of hanging pegs were on the wall. Coats, outer wear, and aprons hung there. A wash basin, pitcher pump, and water bucket completed the kitchen appointments.

It was cramped, but we managed because we had very little. It was like camping out all the time! It was an austere existence.

Today, I have an engineering library and reference materials that would fill half of one of those bedrooms.

Not very well....do you have any extra to give me?

House is a mid-1950's split level. We actually use the small third bedroom as a closet.

My house is pretty well fit with closets. I built it in 1996 with what I thought was a pretty well thought out plan.
The master has a small-ish walk in that suits me. There is also a dormer in the master bedroom so I have 2 half-height closet on either side of dormer. They aren't tall, but they are about 15 feet deep - but is gets shorter and shorter at full depth. I stash all my Christmas decorations in one and personal keepsakes and "junk" in the other. (my master bedroom is huge!)
The 2nd bedroom was designed to be a "later in life" master (1st floor). It has 2 closets. Right now we use the room as his hunting den and my sewing room. One closet has all hunting clothes and the other is my non-food storage for toiletries and cleaning supplies.
The spare bedroom has one with winter coats and "stuff" (who knows??? I should get after it.)
I have a small linen closet in master bath and a small hall closet downstairs for coats.
I also have a rather large pantry closet in the laundry room.
I really need all my closets! I have no basement or attic.

This made me think of two houses we looked at before we did our teardown/build. Each had been owned by an engineer. Each had a basement with the walls lined by carefully divided shelves, boxes and even tiny drawers, each of which was labeled as to contents like "Quarter-Inch Screws", "Carpet Tacks", etc. They were mini-hardware stores!