My Closet Is Not My Own

Hey!

Do you remember what your closet looked like back in high school?  I do.  

It was filled with clothes, of course, but it also had some mementos from my childhood, stuff my mother told me to clean up and I threw it in there, shoes, papers I didn't want to throw away, and the odd accessory.   

Essentially, if you looked in my closet back then, it would've been an extension of me, and you could've gleaned some information about who I was.  Probably pretty egocentric.  I mean, it was a place for all things Bonnie.

nice wooden hangers.  my clothes wish I bought those.

Nowadays, I look at my closet and think, "Who put that there?"  But I also think that my closet is still a pretty good representative of who I am today.

As I take a gander at my built-in shoe shelves, I don't see just shoes.  One shelf contains a varied assortment of washcloths. (the "master bath" doesn't have a linen closet to itself, and the cabinet under the sinks can't hold all the accouterments necessary for the bathroom.  My husband's closet is in charge of the towels.)

Mine are actually various shades of white.  Bleach would help.

Another holds miscellaneous hair bobs, smallish mementos and papers that I haven't found a place for, my one bottle of perfume, and the face cream and makeup bag I always forget to use.

The bottom 2 shelves actually hold shoes, and they don't seem any worse for the wear being piled up on top of each other like that.  I mean, most of them were bought over 3 years ago, so who'd know anyway?

not really.

The big shelves on top that span the perimeter of the space hold too many things to name, but it consists of everything from Christmas and birthday gifts and books all bought in preparation for the next gifting season, to unopened essential oil bottles, to medical tubing and supplies from when our youngest was ill in the hospital.  (might can use those at home again sometime!  Maybe they should go in the craft supply area and out of my closet....hmmm.)

There is another lower shelf that holds items that are in "time out".

What?  You didn't know inanimate objects could be put in "time out"?  I'm sure you did, but you just forgot.  It's the items that have been given too much attention, (particularly loved books, video games, and movies) or have been used as diversions for certain children when chores or schoolwork were waiting to be completed.  
Along with those items, an accidental home has been made for children's artwork, pictures, funeral bulletins, and various electronic odds and ends from the above mentioned punished devices.

You'll also find stickers applied to my walls by loving children, gift wrapping, and sample sized toiletries for children's use on trips, camps, and overnight stays.  I also have a garment or two of my teen aged daughter's hanging in there, along with my own jackets and a few items that I didn't want junking up my bedroom and irritating my neater husband.  Essentially, my closet also serves as a version of sweeping a few things "under the rug".

So, clearly, my closet is truly not just my own, but it does accurately speak of who I am - A mother who is more messy under the surface that at first she appears, who cares little for updated footwear but values a child's feelings, and who is a little sentimental, but not about medical tubing. 
   
I wonder what your closet says about you?