Oh, and in my perusal of closets online today, I came across a Houston woman who has a three story, 3000 square foot closet. It was quite possibly the most ostentatious thing I've ever seen. Makes my little space look like one of the cardboard boxes my cats enjoy playing in!

Your closet is so organized. Mine all look like closets cleverly disguised as thrift shops........

Here are mine. I actually like my "simpler" closet in FL better than my fancier one in PA. It's nice to have everything more out in the open.

PA

FL:

Ocotillo, I like your closet. Mine is boring with shirts hanging in a color-coded line.

Beautiful, beagles! I absolutely love your glass-fronted cabinets! Now that's what I call organization with style!

I need to purge more of my clothes. I've been between sizes, and just need to pull the things that don't fit quite right and donate them. I may never be done with this little project.

Fun, I think I'll try to color coordinate a bit better. I like that idea.

I do have a small rug on order for the closet. Didn't need it, but felt compelled. 😁

Completely out of my league, but I love ...

How cool is that, Jinx! Love that vintage tooled leather, and agree that what you have there is one very special treasure!

Living in a small house with few and small closets has taught me to edit. I am ashamed to admit that both my husband and I can keep our entire season of clothes in a European pax size wardrobe and the next seasons clothes in a wardrobe and small reachin closet. Our his and her closets, lol. I do have a cedar closet in the hall with our interview and formal wear. All shoes and coats stay downstairs near the doors to outside.

Uhhh.....no. Very basic, very boring. I share a large walk-in closet with DH that has all kinds of clothes in it that we haven’t worn in a while. Plus two large off season closets that have more stuff we haven’t worn in an even longer while.

Roarah, I think that is brilliant and admirable! Look how nicely organized and neat you both are. Editing is a wonderful thing, and obviously not my strong suit, but I totally see how well that works.

The problem with my closet straightening is that I moved things to other closets, so still have to address them one of these days. I really should make that my resolution for early 2021. I think I'd just feel better knowing the closets in "secondary" rooms don't need attention in a bad way.

Be stil my heart, but it‘s this close to NYE, I wouldn’t dare!

I have a whole Pinterest file devoted to closets. This is my built-in one, now full of Chanel fancies. I also have a total of 72” in Intermetro canvas covered racks with the rest of my clothes.

And my purse closet

I ❤️ Clothes, Shoes & Accessories

Oh, I forgot my coat closet & shoes.

My broom closets look neat, but that's about it. I have to clear out my closet this week-end so that termite inspectors can get to the attic above my bedroom on Tuesday, and so maybe I can photograph it then.

Here's a photo of the curtain I put up to replace the door to my linen closet:

Your closet looks great. I love the addition of art and special pieces. Very organized.

I have gone through or cleaned my closet three times since March. Yesterday, I took in the tall ladder so I could dust off the boxes on top (only store things in the white boxes) and switch sandals for winter shoes (store out of season in crates). I didn't go through my hanging clothes, as I've done that twice already, but I did organize my 2020 pajama collection. Runway show TBA at a later date. :D Having purchased too many pieces, some are now stored in three crates (yes, I overbought).

DH and our electrician/sidekick during our remodel, built the closet around the dressers. They can easily be slid out and replaced with more hanging space if desired. And, yes, the closet is basically a large triangle.... which was previously the master bath, with no windows so we switched when remodeling. I originally purchased this light fixture for the foyer in our first home, then it traveled to the pantry in our last house (might have to click to see).

My dresser top stays neat, his does not. I need to go though his drawers today. Nothing is folded.

Like Ocotillo, I like to hang art. These are silhouettes of our three children, my father and mother, our two (at the time) grandchildren and the round framed piece is me. The wooden shoe shine kit and brush belonged to my dad. The ceramic pieces were purchased on Etsy for dearly departed pets. Bed pillows are stored on the chair during the day. This tower holds my shoes. DH has shelves above his dresser for his.

Lars - that silk is absolutely fabulous.

Our house was built in 1900. Our closets are a disaster. No, you can’t see.

Spanish, a girl after my own heart! I too love clothes (although I like to pretend they "don't matter"), and I can tell you have a passion! You're beautifully organized, though. Do you tend to keep things that way? I rock along pretty well, but inevitably things get chaotic and out of control, with the closet being a place to get in and out quickly. I'd like to do better this year.

Lars, that curtain is divine! You are so talented with your sewing, and chose what appears to be the perfect solution for your linen closet. I imagine it's filled with lovely things.

Allison, your closet is Pinterest-worthy! What a beautiful place to simply enjoy being for the daily routines of dressing! Love the light fixture, which makes me long to switch out my unflattering florescent for something more like yours. The slide-in dressers are brilliant, and the artwork and rugs add the perfect, personal touch. Your closet is an inspiration!

Here's my reality elsewhere. This is the shameful mess in our closet under the stairs. I may work up a head of steam and start tackling this today. Ridiculous to live like this, when one could simply clean it the you-know-what up.

My eyes! My eyes! LOL Just kidding. I have been trying to get DH to do his dresser, so I did it after I posted (and he was not home). He came home to sorted piles on the floor, and he wasn't to happy about me touching his things, but he got over it quickly. :D I've also been trying to get the two guest rooms more guest room worthy. DD1 finally decided how she wants to build-out her walk thru closet, so she uses one of them. The other has a dresser, but extra pillows up high and she hangs drip dry things in there. I'd like to get them empty. Is that impossible?! Don't even get me started on our two foyer coat closets. DH has way too many coats, won't get rid of any of them. If we had company, I would have to squeeze in their coats. Good thing we live in the South.

Thanks. The cat lamp was purchased in the late 50s when my older sister was born. It use to have a music box in the base. I've always had since then, but DD2 told me recently it was in her room growing up, so she would like to eventually have it for her toddler's bedroom. I told her I wasn't sure I wanted to give it up. (Just realized you cannot even see the cat lamp.)

ETA Photo.

Ocotillo - I would l-o-v-e to have your closet space. You've made it really pretty. There are three reasons my closets look the way they do. 1. My distant background in retail still makes me compulsively colorize everything. 2. My love of clothes is enhanced when I display them. 3. My space is so limited that I really don't have room for them to get out of order.

So I thought I'd share some pics of what happens when things get out of control.

Beware - if you're a minimalist, the next section will hurt you bad.

My clothes are stored in a 10x10 room that is also my office (work from home) and my sewing area and an occasional guest room with a single blow-up bed we move into the space. If I could make this my dream closet by kicking DH out of the other room and not get a divorce, I would be in heaven. I also have two rolling racks for when I need to organize or dry laundry.

This past year and a half while I was looking for work (insert stupid Covid here) I did some work for a friend that involved four trips by SUV to pick up clothing/household items. I sold a lot on eBay, kept more than I needed, and have a pile of things going to another friend to pay it forward.

This required several re-works of my 10x10 space. This is the first round (where I purchased a 4-way fixture on CL for $10 to assist). Do you see my desk chair hiding in a corner?

Then, once I got through the initial pile and started selling, I had to rework my space, including the armoire that still needs shelves and holds a lot of sewing stuff...This is before I added a 24" covered rolling-rack/armoire for dresses.

So for anyone who thinks an old bungalow is the way to go, let me provide a word of caution! Small spaces and big wardrobes DO NOT go together. But I am a follower of Tim Gunn and I just make it work. Now I'm in phase 4,982,349,875,230 of trying to organize the space to start working again. I've got 10 days...

I forgot to share the extent of my colorizing obsession...you need to colorize by category and get light hangers for light pants....help me, please!

Sueb, you crack me up. 70 yr old cottage style home here. Ditto :)

1929Spanish, while your space looks busy, it looks incredibly organized to me (and profitable). I wish I were better about selling things, but my overstock is mostly in china that nobody wants and that is difficult to ship safely.

I have been giving away clothing since I retired 3.5 years ago and I still have too much. Just went through another round, some of which is still boxed up or hanging, waiting for me to put it on Poshmark or somewhere. I procrastinate. Our shared walk-in closet isn’t anywhere near as organized as yours, Ocotillo, and forget about having any space to hang any art. My part is pretty much organized by type, and tops organized by color. That’s as good as it gets.

Allison, DH’s coat closet is the same, and I finally made him give away 2 of his 5 leather jackets last year. One of them weighed around 100 lbs and he never wore it. I wonder why? If I try to clear it out when he is not home, he just has room to cram more stuff in there.

In my BC years( before children) I had so many clothes for I maintained the same weight for over thirty years. Then after having a child and turning 40 my body shape changed drastically and even when I hit my goal weight again my hips, feet and bust size never went back to my pre pregnancy size so keeping those clothes really was silly.

It was heart wrenching to admit I would never again be wearing some of my beloved pieces. However, after the first purge I felt so light and my house so simple to maintain I decided to always let go of one item before bringing in another. And I only allow myself so many white button downs, so many coats and so many jeans or leggings, etc. I am the same in my kitchen too.

I realized that I always seem so happy on vacation because I have limited clothes to choose from and yet I feel while traveling I always look my best and if I can live fashionably with just a small suitcase of clothes and accessories for two weeks why not do the same all the time. Less choices does not mean less style it just means less time wasted sorting, stowing and choosing for me. I kept my best clothes but I got rid of a lot more casual thing I was keeping to use for chores or lounging as it turned out. I now have mostly nice quality pieces that fit properly rather than baggy or tight trendy things so purging did not mean I had to stop shopping and acquiring it meant I have to do it in a different way. I live by the motto one should finish one thing before starting another in life. This includes relationships, eating and now my decorating and fashion acquiring.

Allison, I love your cat lamp! I looked it up and it's a spaghetti cat. Look at this,

Lamp

Our MBR closet, taken this past Summer. Pretty much the same now except for Winter clothes, shoes and bags. I woke up with some sort of stomach flu this morning, so I’m not feeling well enough to take any pics at the moment. But, I’m kind of an organizational nerd, so my closet stays pretty organized.

Very ordinary closets here. I've never been one for elaborate closets. We built our house and we have a nice master closet but it's plain jane. I do have drawers and a shoe cabinet but it's all white. It is usually neat and as I've gotten older, I do not hang on to clothes/shoes/purses, etc. like I used to. I have really pared down. (Actually it looks like my cabinets are similar to some of Lynn's). Since the Mr. and I love antiques, all our bedrooms have chests or dressers so that gives us a good bit of storage.

During the pandemic I have cleaned/organized/purged our closets (other than my husband needs to do some purging in his LOL). I have a few drawers remaining and cabinet under the kitchen sink.

This area of the house was completely rebuilt so I was able to choose what I wanted. My last house had a large dressing room, with a large sink and vanity. Here, because DH and I each have our own bathrooms, I didn't want a dressing room.

This is the best part of my closet; its length. It is 22' long, and all mine. You can see, as usual, I've employed one of my signature riotous color schemes.

I do love this little seat. But y'all know I had to move junk off it to take the photo.

This is my fave area,occurs to me I should put a lil' lamp there!

1929; I love your office/closet/dressing room. Gorgeous views out the window. It looks like a place you have fun in!

Thanks, Oakley. I will investigate more. I don't doubt that it came from the same company as the harlequin lamps I have that were purchased at the same time. Dad having the perks of owning furniture stores and finding their things at market.

Mtn, we are having DD1 a wardrobe built in her walk-thru closet. I cannot wait for it to be done in the next few months. *fingers crossed*

ETA: I found a lamp like mine! Here. Has a "Made in Italy" tag on the back of its head.

Spanish, I organize by color, too. It looks nicer, but I find it easier to find things that way. Other than very casual bits, I hang everything. I never leaned to fold properly to have no wrinkles. But my closet has a window looking out onto trees and that makes up for lots of imperfection. 😬

To answer the op question. No. Not brave enough.

Wow, Spanish! What an amazing collection! I love the thought of turning a room into a closet / work space, and would actually like DH to do something like that in our home office, since he already stores a rack of his clothes in there anyway. You do have a knack for organizing and display. That totally looks like a space where one could "play dress up" for hours!

Roarah, I love what you say about being so happy on vacation, largely because you're traveling light. I absolutely relate to that, and even though I still harbor a tendency to overpack, I find myself wearing the same few things over and over. It does make one realize how little we actually NEED. Since discovering Poshmark, I've probably gone overboard buying, but it's hard for me to resist a bargain on something nice in my size. I purposely limit my perusing time on sites like that these days.

Lynn and Mtn, thank you both for sharing your positively swoonworthy spaces! Wow. More inspiration and what I want my closet to be when it grows up. 😁 Seriously, though, I can see that what both of you ladies have created was surely a labor of love, and must be delightful spaces to spend time in every day.

I cleaned out our closet under the stairs today and while not pretty by any means, at least it can be walked into now. I have two big bags and two boxes going to the charity shop -- all stuff that came out of that closet. Dang! I didn't realize it was quite that bad, but thankfully it's better now.

Looks great!

Oh here’s a closet photo

Closets are my dark secret. Why is it easier to donate my DH’s clothes before my own?

With the exception of our first apartment we've always had separate closets and I prefer it that way . DH has never been interested in clothes and keeps track of his own closet. In this house he has 2 on one wall and we put a large, wall mounted TV in one so that we don't have to look at the black screen during the day. The TV is on a telescoping armature so we can extend it or angle it for viewing.

He has 2 of these on one wall:

I have a walk-in - here it is under construction, the far end has an odd angle. This shows one side but I managed to get 14' of wall space which would be enough if I didn't use it as a catch-all. At the moment it's messy and has holiday wrap and gifts on the floor.

@maire_cate neat idea for the closet/tv. I am one who likes to hide a tv. We have the tv in our great room and also our master behind closed doors. We have vintage armoires in each room.

"The problem with my closet straightening is that I moved things to other closets, so still have to address them one of these days. I really should make that my resolution for early 2021. I think I'd just feel better knowing the closets in "secondary" rooms don't need attention in a bad way."

I struggle with this too.

Clutter is, in reality, delayed decision making. Clutter moved to another area is still clutter and I felt weighed down, knowing I was creating inevitable extra work and hassle. By not making a decision, I made one.

I've challenged myself to only handle things ONCE or get rid of them. This has forced me to be more thoughtful and confront feelings that I tried to avoid in the past.

It's easier said than done, but just recognizing this paradox has enabled me to feel lighter.