In my bathroom is a narrow, unnaturally deep closet with no light. When we bought the house, there were three removable shelves in it. One was placed so low that it made using the floor space nearly impossible and one so high I couldn’t reach anything on it without a step stool. There’s small door to access the bathtub plumbing, with a good view of pipes and a glimpse of the basement below.
After two years of losing items to the back of the closet, I cut the shelves in half. This made it easier to see and reach things on the shelves, and gave me room for tall items – mops and buckets, squeegees, measuring sticks, etc. It was the best I could do with such an oddly sized closet. I’ve often wondered why this one awkward space was included in an otherwise thoughtful floor plan.
A few days ago, I finally figured it out. My neighbors are selling their home and mentioned that the new owner was going to use the ground floor laundry hook-up rather than the one they were using in the basement. Access to plumbing, deep space: that awkward closet is for a stackable laundry unit – just the right dimensions, with water pipes conveniently located through an access door. The space is well suited for its intended purpose, part of a floor plan for convenient one floor living.
How often do I misjudge things in this world because their purposes aren’t my own? I wasn’t around when my house was built, and I certainly wasn’t around when the universe came into being. People lived in my house and on this earth before I arrived, and they will do so long after I am gone. I could do with a little more humility as well as greater respect for purposes and plans of those who came before and those who will follow. Who knows what epiphanies await?
c’est très vrai–back when, I would even have thoughts of how inconsiderate it was for them to build a space for THEIR purposes! I mean, the nerve of those people!
I love it! Thanks, Bill. Peace, Johnna