Thanks to estate-sale armoire, I now have plenty of storage for my 'stuff,' at a reasonable price

My new armoire storage and my tiny, old chifferobe shelves

    I recently purchased a large armoire at an estate sale. It's not a "fine antique," but it's an old piece of furniture that looks nice. And it's big; five feet wide by seven feet tall.
    I was desperately in need of more storage space. The rule in our house is that Jinny gets whatever storage space she needs and I get what's left. We had been sharing a small chifferobe that, in my view, is so small it's hardly worth a nickel. (I also have a bachelor's chest and a closet for storage, so I wasn't living out of three shelves and a drawer!).
    I put the armoire in place more than a month ago, but haven't gotten around to making use of it until this week. I considered trying to install a ShelfTrack system that would have given me lots of shelf space, but decided that cost too much and might tear up the back. I also considered drilling holes and putting in shelving, but that would be fairly expensive as well, not to mention a lot of work.
    I ended up buying two 24"x14" wire shelf sets for $19.95 each. They took perhaps an hour to put together, but only because I took one of them back apart and reassembled it to change the shelf heights. The inside width of the armoire is just over 58 inches, so there's a 10-inch gap between the shelves, which works out fine.
    There was a place for a clothes rod at the top, so I paid $14 for an adjustable rod. I couldn't figure out exactly how to use it, so I just put it in place and taped the seam with duct tape to keep it from contracting. Good ol' duct tape.
    I'm going to use the armoire to hang my short-sleeve button-downs and trousers; my long-sleeved shirts, suits, and rarely used items will remain in my regular closet. There is only enough room for a few pairs of shoes, so I will keep some of my favorites in the armoire and the rest in my closet. And in the 10-inch gap I mentioned earlier, I was able to store a couple of pairs of boots, and there's room to hang a couple of long overcoats.
    On my left shelf I have socks, short-sleeved "polo"-style shirts, and long-sleeved sweatshirts and sweaters. On the right shelf I have printed t-shirts I like, colored tees to wear around the house, a shelf of white t-shirts, and a shelf with some shorts and really old ragged t-shirts that I can't bear to throw away. There's also a tie-rack on one of the doors that will hold about 25 ties or belts, which will come in handy.

My old t-shirt collection
(Click to enlarge)

    The left bottom drawer is devoted to white socks. The right drawer contains all my old Phi Tau and Cavalier Shoppe t-shirts. These are priceless!
    We didn't get rid of the chifferobe; we just moved it to the other side of our bedroom fireplace. And Jinny now gets the whole thing to herself, which gives her some more storage, which will be overstuffed within a week.
    I can't remember the exact price I paid for the armoire; it may have been as much as $325, which is a good deal for a functionable piece of furniture. The storage racks and clothes rod cost about $54, so for $380 I've solved a lot of storage problems, with a piece of furniture that I'm happy to look at.
    Believe it or not, I actually have a good bit of empty storage in an old bachelor's chest that I have. I'm sure I'll fill it soon. One of life's rules is that possessions expand to fill all available space.