If your home is too big because children or other family members have left the house or it is too small because you are expecting additional family members or pets, you may be left with the feeling that the home you are stuck with is inadequate.
But before your make any rash decisions you should evaluate a few things currently and prospectively in your life.
The article, ?How to find the right size for the life you live now,? written by Jane Adler and published in the February 25, 2007 edition of the Chicago Tribune provides a few areas to evaluate in order to ?rightsize? your home. A midlife housing crisis can make you feel like you are living in the wrong place and make your home feel uncomfortable. But then what kind of house and where is really right for you. ?So maybe it's time to rightsize. That's the advice of California-based broadcaster and novelist Ciji Ware. Her just-published book ?Rightsizing Your Life? offers insights into how to create the environment that's right for you at this stage of life.?
Rightsizing is not necessarily downsizing, although can end up being the outcome. Rather, Ware defines rightsizing as ?a conscious, practical and psychological evolution in the way one lives one's life--a process that enables people to create new surroundings.? Rightsizing is looking at what the right situation is for you depending on your age and current living situation, and begins with examining where you are in life. ?Are you newly retired? Sick of putting up storm windows? Recently lost a spouse? Is your spouse happy about the house, or not??
Rightsizing may not just be about what size house you need in terms of square footage. You also need to calculate various activities or necessary amenities you need such as an office or being close to water for easy accessibility to fishing. ?One couple Ware interviewed moved to their vacation home in Wyoming. When they discovered there was no place for their grandchildren to visit, they built a bunk house for them. That's rightsizing.?
The bulk of the book is based on Ware's personal experiences. The term ?rightsizing? took hold after Ware was living in a 4,000 square foot home and then was forced to move to a 500 square foot sublet in downtown San Francisco. After keeping the majority of their belongings in storage for three years, Ware's employer was no longer willing to pay the $1,200 monthly storage bill. Ware and her husband had to discard many of their belongings. ?They started the winnowing process but found it slow going at first. Ware started to cry when she put the tiny rocker with petit-point feet she had done for her son in the garbage.?
Ware then discovered that you need to only keep the things that you love and need. ?Ask yourself whether the object is beautiful, valuable, sentimental or useful right now. If you can say yes to two of those questions it's probably worth keeping.?
Rightsizing is an emotional process even if you determine you have to move to a bigger house. To curb this, consider an addition to the existing home instead. Rightsizing is so emotional because you are usually forced to move from your home due to uncontrollable circumstances rather than you deciding to move on your own.
A closet is an indispensable part of every household. Modern homes demand state-of-the-art closets, which are in sync with the status of the owner. With the increase in public awareness over closet styling, the closet shelving business has boomed manifold times over the last decade. As it rapidly grows, there is a continually widening range of products. Modern closet shelving is designed to accommodate more closet storage according to the buyer's needs. The designing is such as to elegantly maximize the storage capacity making life much easier than before.
Good designing of closet shelving results in the maximum use of every space in the home. Closets come in various shapes and sizes suiting the requirements of individuals. Although there are a variety of products on the market, the closet shelving business is classified to a few basic types like single shelf-and-pole, double pole and sweater shelves/shoe shelves.
The single shelf-and-pole closets are manufactured such as to include a single shelf-and-pole installation in every piece. This designing results in a comfortable storage of long coats and dresses and often a customized section for children's clothes. A single shelf-and-pole about 66" is provided to hang the dresses and coats avoiding them dragging on the floor. The distance from the bottom of the shelf or floor to the top is measured and then a pole is installed around 64" from the bottom. This height can be customized to accommodate the clothing of exceptionally tall people.
The double pole style of closets is designed to provide just the required height and spacing for general sized clothes. It has an installation of separate double poles of 42" which makes the top shelf 84" from the floor. This design is made keeping in mind the wardrobe of today's generation which generally comprises of pants and shirts which could easily be accommodated in the closet by folding and then hanging on a hanger. This practice requires only half the hanging height of about 34", as compared to the long dress hanging which covers the entire space from the bottom of the shelf to the top. On the other hand, shirts usually require 40" from the bottom of the shelf. The double shelf-and-pole presence in the closet doubles the storage space and makes for an easier installation of shelves.
The top shelf of the closet should cover its entire breadth stretching around all three walls in a U-shaped closet. This design of 84" height of the top shelf determines the second or top shelf over a single shelf-and-pole. A 12" space between the top shelf and the ceiling is provided for shoeboxes, hatboxes and other items.
The sweater shelves are provided 16" above the floor. The consecutive shelves are spaced out at 12" allowing room for tall boots on the floor. The even spacing of the shelves is achieved by installing the top shelf at 84" from the floor. The single shelf-and-pole creates a problem of horizontal alignment with other shelves due to its height of 68" from the floor. A 16" space between the single shelf-and-pole and the top shelf is divided by an additional shelf to create spacing for a few pairs of shoes. The shoe shelves are designed specifically to accommodate all types of shoes from high-tops and pumps.
Both Groshan Fabiola & Ben Franklin are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Groshan Fabiola has sinced written about articles on various topics from Woman Menopause, Medical Condition and Health. For greater information about or more related subjects about. Groshan Fabiola's top article generates over 6120000 views. to your Favourites.