Greenbelt Townhouse

This closet was located in the parents' bedroom and was very large, like a walk-in closet. The closet had a rod to hang clothes and four shelves, one on top of the clothes rod and three to the right of the rod. Additionally, there were six hooks protruding off the walls that may have been used for hanging coats, hats, clothes, or belts (5). The closet has an approximate volume of 228 cubic feet. The following items were found in the closet.

The closet may also have contained belts, suspenders, scarves, gloves, glove boxes, and money. I was a little surprised to see coats hanging on the rod, because of the back door closet containing hooks for coats. However, I recall my mother having her more elegant coats upstairs in her closet rather than in the coat closet downstairs. There were many boxes portrayed in this display, signifying the various uses of empty boxes. Sometimes parents would store letters, photos, mementos, money, loose change, presents, or other personal items in empty boxes. There were three hats in the closet compared to one pair of shoes. This really fascinated me and made me believe that hats were very distinguished during that time period. The tour guide explained to me that some people had hats to wear to work, the grocery store, and just out around the town (5). Then the guide quickly said that people did have enough shoes, but they normally had them hanging in a shoe bag rather than on the floor. I was surprised to see that personal mementos were placed in boxes instead of scrapbooks or photo albums. Additionally, I was shocked that there was a large floor lamp standing in the closet. I thought the lamp was either being stored there, or it was used to brighten the closet because it was quite dark. Considering presents were hidden in the closet, I assume the children in the house were not allowed to go into the closet. I really liked this closet, especially because of the vast space available for clothing.

College Park House

The master bedroom in my house is surprisingly mine, although you could not tell by the size and surely not by the closet. My closet is much bigger than my other roommates' closets; however, it is not the best closet. I have two rods to hang clothes on which literally splits my closet in half, not allowing for any room to hang any of my long dresses. This is the biggest problem with my closet. I have to hang my long dresses and skirts in my other roommate's room because she is the only one in the house with a full length closet. I also have four shelves in my closet and plenty of floor space. The closet has an approximate volume of 221 cubic feet. The following items are found in my closet.

Considering I do not have a front door, linen, or good sized kitchen closet, my bedroom closet serves many purposes. Therefore, it is very crowded. On the floor I have many shoes in their shoe boxes stacked one on top of the other. In my small cardboard dresser I have shorts, pillow cases, running clothes, and socks because I can not fit them into any other furniture. My food, which can not fit in the kitchen, is placed on top of the small dresser. Just like my father, I always buy extra bathroom supplies, and so I have to store them in my closet. The one large difference between the contents of my closet and the Greenbelt closet is the presence of the portable computer, since back in the 1940s, computers did not exist. I could not live without my computer because my school life depends on it. This is the reason I keep it safe in my closet. By looking at my cramped closet, one may think I have too much stuff and too many shoes. But can a girl ever have too many shoes nowadays?

Comparison

There are many differences between the two closets because of the two different uses. In Greenbelt the adults are able to use their closet for clothes and personal storage, while I have to share these items with coats and kitchen and bathroom supplies. I also noticed that the doors leading to these closets were very different. The Greenbelt closet's door actually opens towards the owner giving full use of the closet while I have sliding doors. With sliding doors I am always jumping from one side of the closet to the other, unable to access the whole closet at once. Otherwise, both closets house clothes and their accessories very well. The Greenbelt closet stores many personal items which probably give insight to the parents's lifestyle. On the other hand, my closet holds necessity items rather than personal ones.

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A Child's Bedroom Closet