A word on closets.

I was talking to a friend the other day about when we refinished our basement 8 years ago and made it into a kid's playroom.  I made a big mistake by not putting in a closet at the entry level (this where we all come and go from the house via the garage).  In the summer it's not a big deal...but during the winter,  yikes...it's a tumbled mess of snowpants, mittens, gloves, boots, hats, scarves, sneakers, shoes, puffy winter coats, backpacks and more.   She told me that her house doesn't have a lot of closet space.  This got me thinking....the house I grew up in had very little closet/storage space.  It's 100 years old.  My friend's house is not quite as old...her's built in the 60's or 70's and it does have a reasonable amount of closet space...but according to her...not enough.  My house has lots of closet space...BUT....it was built by a family who had 4 boys.  The woman in that family was clearly thinking of 4 six foot boys/men and all the food, clothes and stuff it takes to house them.  (Thanks previous homeowner!)  

But really though.....why do most older homes have limited closet space?  It's because they didn't need, buy or require huge amounts of stuff (to store either).  You had a limited wardrobe, limited amount of food kept on hand, limited amount of miscellaneous stuff like toys, games, books etc.  You certainly didn't have electronics, dvd's, cd's, and all the stuff that goes with them.  Think about how much STUFF we have acquired in the past 30 years that is "necessary" for general life.  The stuff has to be put somewhere....closets.  New houses....more closets....more stuff.  Interesting...don't ya think?