The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1885-02-07
Closet Room.

A place for everything, and every
thing in its place" is an adage familiar
to us all, and full of wisdom. But to
keep "everythiDg in its place. one must
have place for everything, and this is
not easy to have. Many houses are
built with iamentable want of closets,
for closets are expensive in room, ma
terial and labor. In planning house
they are frequently, if not generally, an
afterthought, and are thrown in where
space for them can best be afforded.
Waen women plan their own houses
there will be ample allowance of closet
room. If one has plenty of money, cab
inets, wardrobes, chests can be bought
that are at once ornamental and useful,
and form part of the furnishing, but
the main dependence of the average
housekeeper must be closets. These
when furnished with shelves, drawers
and rows of hooks are an unspeakable
comfort and convenience to the order
loving housewife. In city houses, where
everything is constructed with a view
to economy in space, we often find them,
but In the average country house very
rarely.
So there must be recourse to bureaus.
bags, chests and improvised closets.
The last may be constructed wherever
there is space to put a shelf, and may be
OF the size of the shelf in length and
width. Hooks screwed into the bottom
of the shelf will serve to hang garments
on, and curtain may be hung on rods
fastened to the shelf. A valance tackled
above the rods on the shelf will form a
more complete protection from dust
than the curtain alone. IN many rooms
that are closetless corner can be spared,
and may be made either into a trianpu-
lar or rectangular closet, as suis the
fancy or convenience. Weights sewed
into the hem of the curtain will keep it
In place. Goods boxes make very use
full closets for kitchen or cellar work.
Shelves may be put in them, and the
covers, hinged properly, serve as doors.
With covering of paper or coat of
paint they may be made not unpleasing
to the eye. Shoe boxes, used by the
shoe packers, are very useful as sub
stltutes for closet room. The covers
should be hinged to the box, and these
neatly upholstered to form a pleasant
seat. Furniture calico fastened around
them In ruffies or folds conceals the
angles and the wood, and converts utility
into beauty. Room can readily be found
for these, and they fill the places of
chairs or lounges quite well. Soap
boxes and candle boxes and starch boxes
make very convenient receptables for
small articles if they have covers hinged
on, and are lined with paper and covered
on the outside with pictures or calico
pasted on. A couple of hinges, less
than dozen screws, little taste and
odd pieces of paper or cloth, may
be made to transform an ugly box into
thing OF useful comeliness.
Bags in every variety and shape are
needed by the housekeeper. A stout
piece of nice bagging makes good
clothes bag; an end of a rope should
be sewed into the hem, so the top of
the bag may always be Hospitality open.
One of these hung III every bedroom is
indispensable, and makes the gathering
of clothes for the weekly washing a very
easy matter. Shoe bags are a great
convenience, and can be made so as to
hold one or a dozen pairs of shoes, and
keep them from gathering dust and
mold IN closet corners, besides prevent
ing the vexstion of hunting them up
when wanted. Scrap bags are neces-
sity, and may be made very ornamental
by the exercise of taste. They are in
dispensable in every room in the house.
Irstesd of bags, baskets or jars may
be used, and these can be made hand
some by the exercise of skill and taste.
Wall pockets and brackets are very
great conveniences where one lacks
closet room and shelf room. The form
er may be made of splints or pastebosrd
covered with cloth and trimmed with