Clothing

Tiny House Part 20: The Closet

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

Welcome to my closet! I’ll be honest, I was hesitant to share this one at first both because it was still a mess when I wrote the last post and because it’s a bit much. However, given the importance of a functional closet, it seems like it’s also a necessity. So here we go.

I’ve mentioned the closet curtain before. it’s the SMILE WEAVER Peacock Blue Blackout Curtains. It’s only 74″ long, which is obviously a bit short, but the next size up would have required hemming, so I’m still trying to decide what I’ll ultimately do about the curtain. Maybe I’ll add fabric to the bottom? I opted for a room darkening curtain specifically because I wanted something weighty enough that it wouldn’t be blowing in the wind (AKA, poofing out every time I walked by) so if you’re in search of a bedroom option, this would be a good one. I wondered what I’d think about the silver metallic accents; I was pleasantly surprised to find I really like the extra visual texture they add.

As you can see, the closet is right beside my adorable fridge (That link is in last week’s tour). It covers most of the wall between the kitchen and my door; you can catch a glimpse of my lingerie chest in the second picture above. Specifically, the closet opening is right at 50 1/2″ wide, with another 3″or so inside. When I moved, I culled my closet hard, so what you see here is most of what I’ve got. I do have a couple of coats elsewhere, and some more casual items and sweaters in my lingerie chest. When summer comes, those winter items will likely return to their original location under the bed, although space is at a premium there too.

If you study the wall inside the right end of my closet, you’ll see a few unexpected items. The silver strips hanging close to the front are my metal rulers; they’re leftovers from when I was really into art and crafting, and they’re too useful to get rid of. They’re on a simple cup hook I screwed into the side wall. The bags you see hanging up higher are also on a cup hook, though a sturdier one. After trying this location and that, I settled on this wall as the best option for my broom and dustmop. Those two things can be a pain to hide, and as you can see the shoe rack hides them well!

How did I do it? Take a look at this next photo.

I installed a tension rod that runs from the front to the back wall. I didn’t even have to buy it; I’d brought it over from the other apartment and hung onto it just in case. Then I pulled out more of those leftover shower curtain hooks and BAM, had the perfect hanging system for those two mess cleaners.

The shoe rack is the first thing actually hanging on the rod and it handles quite a few pair of shoes while others are safe on the floor. No link for this since it was given to me, but such shoe racks are pretty standard. So is the arrangement of long dresses to pants, to skirts, etc., as you make your way down the curtain rod. I did specifically put shorter items over the filing cabinet and crates. I even cheated, folding up my really long, LuLaRoe dresses so they could hang short in this area. (Those dresses will not hold wrinkles. I could pull one out now and wear it.)

The closet was the best possible option for my filing cabinet, which is on wheels. The two wood crates on top of the filing cabinet are filled to the brim.

The bottom crate contains my bed linens. The top holds my jeans. They’re folded into fourths and take up so much less space than if they were on hangers. This arrangement also saves me from having to mess with those doggone pant hangers, which always seemed to tangle.

My cowboy boots just fit to the left of the filing cabinet. This picture also gives you a glimpse of my backup package of toilet paper and a popup laundry hamper that I may or may not keep since I’ve yet to use it in this apartment. Then, going on up the wall, you see a couple more cup hooks. Those things are super cheap and great little helpers!

You may have noticed that I use black velvet hangers. I prefer these for two reasons. First, they take up less space than plastic or just about anything else. Second, shirts don’t slip off these hangers! Amazon sells theirs pretty inexpensively, or you can get these…

Utopia Home Premium Velvet Hangers 30 Pack – Non-Slip Clothes Black Suit with 360 Degree Rotatable Hook Heavy Duty Coat

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Sister Adventures

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

walk laugh a 2017 06 crop

Photo Credit: Memories in Motion Photography (Candace Townsend)

Isn’t it special how the truly exciting things in life often involve our siblings? My sister Clarissa and I, even though we had our times of disliking each other growing up, have always played together. The last two years have been no different. First, after much prayer, we opened a clothing boutique. Coming from an entrepreneurial family, it would seem such a move would be obvious, but we’d never even considered going into business together before. We actually closed the business a couple of weeks ago, but that’s for later.

Then there was the day she dragged me to the gun range. She has a concealed carry license and had been telling me for months that I needed a break and shooting is therapy, so one day I caved and joined her to take my turns shooting both of her handguns (I preferred the .38, if anyone cares). I think I frustrated her when I refused to come out and say I’d had fun, but I did have to confess that it was very satisfying to try something completely new and do so well. In fact, it was a gift.

To understand my satisfaction, you have to know that I was always afraid of failure when I was young. I never learned to skate, for instance, because I feared making a fool of myself. Doing so well my first time at the range was extremely satisfying. Will I ever return to the range? I don’t know. It’s hard to excuse spending so much money on ammo when you’re only doing it for kicks.

Third, we went out of business with a bang. Sounds ridiculous, right? Going out of business is usually a terrible thing, but this was different. We prayed and considered carefully before concluding that it was the right move for us, and then we did something so exciting it still gives me goose bumps. We took all of our clothing and gave it away at a shelter for battered women. ALL of it. Many of these moms had taken their kids and run with only the clothes on their backs and what little they could carry. Seeing their joy at freely choosing several brand new outfits each was AMAZING, and it satisfied a long-held dream of mine.

I’ve always wanted to do something big – like give away a car or something. It wasn’t on my Bucket List, because I’ve always thought a Bucket List was for things that were at least somewhat within reach. If it had been on a list, I’d have called it my Dream Big list.

Because God led Clarissa and me into this particular adventure in the first place, my relatively small investment in our business was turned into something huge. When we calculated what we’d given to the shelter, we’d done the equivalent of giving away a car – a new car. You might think I’d regret investing money and time into a business that would close down after a year and a half, but I don’t; I consider it a huge blessing. Even if this final thing were the only reason we’d launched Cady’s Closet, I would say it was a grand adventure, and I haven’t stop smiling since we set up our pop-up boutique for the last time.

Now I’m looking forward to our next adventure. Sisterhood is an awesome thing.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

They’re Not Consultants. They’re Dealers.

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

I’m talking LuLaRoe here. I thought I’d come back, now that I’ve been wearing it several months, and share some more about LuLaRoe, why I love it, and…whatever comes to mind.

My almost-7-year-old granddaughter (Whose mom is a new addict) was in my closet recently and asked, “Is all of this LuLaRoe?” I laughingly assured her that it wasn’t, then glanced around just to confirm I was being entirely honest. Truly, LLR doesn’t even make up half of my closet…yet, I don’t think…but I have definitely been able to weed out a lot of other seldom-worn pieces because I no longer need them in order to have enough options.

If you’ve never stood in your closet, frustrated because you couldn’t find anything you wanted to wear, you don’t know what I’m talking about, but as I explained in It Started with a Prayer, in recent years I’ve considered morning outfit choosing a chore. I don’t anymore.

I cannot express how versatile LLR is. I do have a few “outfits,” but most of what I own goes with so many different things that I could conceivably take one piece and wear it several different ways in a single week. Also, as you’ll have seen (and will see) in some videos I’ve posted, people have found great, fun ways to tweak Irmas, Maxis, etc., to the point that they don’t even look like themselves anymore. I’m not very good at this myself, yet, but I’m determined to learn!

LuLa care is a little bit different. I don’t mix mine with anything else when it comes to laundry. I have a LuLa laundry basket, and I wash those things separately. Generally, I don’t hand wash; I put everything into a gentle cycle with cold water, and hang them to dry. One of the things I love about LLR is its tendency NOT to wrinkle, so hanging pieces straight out of the washer has never been a problem for me. I do know of others who put their clothing into the dryer for just a little while and hang them before they’re truly dry, and they’ve never had any problems with pilling or shrinkage.

I’ve heard it said that LuLaRoe is a fad that will disappear. I doubt it, truly. The company is great about designing both timeless and on-trend patterns, and several of their styles are classic as well. Most people still associate them primarily with leggings, but my most recent purchases have been dresses and skirts, and I can see having all of them for years to come.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Since writing this blog post, my passion for LuLaRoe has led ME into the business, so my sister and I are taking the plunge and becoming LuLaRoe consultants. Check it out!

LuLaRoe Cady’s Closet VIP Boutique