Greenbelt Townhouse

A little boy's room was on display in the Greenbelt Museum. The closet was a good size for a child's room. The closet contained a rod to hang clothes on and one shelf on top of the rod. The closet has an approximate volume of 56 cubic feet. The following items were found in the closet.

I was surprised to see a coat in this closet because I thought that coats were hung downstairs in the "garden side" closet. Additionally, I had expected to see a little boy's clothing in the closet and found a girl's dress hanging along with a boy's outfit. I also think the doll clothes hanger is more of a little girl's item rather than a young boy's. The wagon was another puzzling closet item because I would not think the boy would carry the wagon downstairs every time he wanted to use it. I also wondered why the US flag was located in the closet and not out in the room somewhere. On a better note, the toy barn was beautiful and handmade. I inquired if maybe it was a present from someone, but the tour guide was not sure. I must admit they do not make toys like that anymore unless one is willing to pay a great deal of money. I thought the box with a lock was a nice touch because children do like to hide "treasures" in their rooms or maybe place their money in a lock-box. Finally, I was informed that many children played in their bedroom closets to get away from the rest of the family, kind of like the front door closet.

Murdock's House

Ben is ten years old and has a full closet. I must admit it is even more crowded than mine. When I told Ben this he laughed and said "Yeah, I always find new stuff whenever I clean it out." (7) His closet is approximately the same size as the Greenbelt closet and also contained a rod to hang clothes on and a shelf on top of the rod. The closet has an approximate volume of 90 cubic feet. The following items were found in the closet.

For all the toys Ben has in his closet it is pretty clean. His secret is that he normally throws the toys on the floor behind the large hamper so you can not see them. His only complaint about the closet was "my mom's clothes are hanging in my closet." (7) He has many books on the top shelf and he actually tries to read one every other night. I asked him how he reaches the books and then he began to climb. He stands on the hamper and gets down a book; it's amazing how kids can compromise. As for the games, he had a few board games but many SEGA games used in computer-like game systems. He stores all his school supplies in the closet because he does not have anywhere else to put them. Finally, he showed me his holiday decorations that he puts on his window and his Halloween bucket full of candy he was hiding from his mother. I asked Ben if he hides money or anything else in the closet. He said he only hides his candy in there; his money is somewhere else in the room.

Comparison

Both closets contain clothes and toys, which seem to be the main focus of a child's closet. The two closets are approximately the same size, although I do wonder how the Greenbelt child would reach the top shelf unless he climbed on the chairs. I was not very impressed with the closet presentation at the Greenbelt house. I did not feel that I could relate to the child except through the very few toys and one piece of clothing.

Ben's closet is full of items that definitely spell out his character. He likes to play with toys and games, especially SEGA games. By the large amount of books and school supplies, I must infer that he enjoys reading and school. Finally, his hamper has the Dallas Cowboys logo on it. This leads me to believe he likes football and especially the Dallas Cowboys. I was unable to infer any of the child's everyday actions other than maybe playing with few toys.

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Kitchen Closets