The Elfa System

This is not what my bedroom closet looks like even on a good day.

I share a closet with a person whose clothing collection includes a shirt my father wore during the Korean War and the ripped sweatshirt he bought the weekend my mother died which was not yesterday. I confess that my holdings include several holiday sashes I have worn almost never and a collection of antique pillowcases in a box with my grandmother's painstakingly tiny tatting on the edges -- too fragile to use but too precious to send to Salvation Army.

After realizing that we had not been able to walk into our Walk-In Closet for some time, I decided to take action. I would empty the closet, toss what could be tossed, and paint with a nice latex eggshell. And then, so that our closet and our very lives would be Organized, we would install: The Elfa System.

This would not be our first Elfa experience. At the risk of being confused with Martha Stewart, we have a hall closet devoted to non-Christmas holiday things: Halloween pumpkins, little flags to wave for Independence Day, Easter baskets, gift wrap. This closet, after years of holidays, is still quite organized and we owe this to Elfa. I'm telling you . . . those wire basket drawers are the best. Not quite as helpful as salvation, but close.

Closets are funny, secret things. We speak of people "coming out" of them. (My husband is credited with the phrase, "He's not just in the closet; he's in Narnia" spoken years ago about someone who has perhaps still not come to grips with who he is.)

And that's the thing: our closets tell us who we are, what's important to us, how well we take care of things, whether or not we procrastinate. They can be a treasure trove of historical data, reminding us of our Lilly Pulitzer years, our years living in dramatically different climates (those lined wool pants that weigh at least ten pounds), our childhoods. I still have the Easter bonnet I wore when I was four.

We might be known out in the world as efficient and well-organized. But the disturbing truth is that maybe we are secretly Messy. Our world appears to be as orderly as Elfa but our closets look like a bomb went off in Target.

So, for now, the closet looks tidy and I feel like a better human being. Everybody: come take a look in my closet. You could eat on the floor in there. (But it won't always be like that.)