If you read last month’s column, we can assume that you have held your garage sale, called the Salvation Army, returned the dumpster you rented, or done whatever else was you needed to divest yourself of excess stuff.

The next challenge then becomes, “What will we do with the spare room(s) and the spaces left over?”

Sadly I must admit to being an inveterate pack rat, and of course am aware by now of that immutable rule of physics that states something about the vacuums needing to be filled, so I won’t have a problem with filling space at all.

But if you, dear reader, possess more self-discipline than me, perhaps all you need to attack your vacuum problem is a plan.

Let’s assume that anyway, and we’ll brainstorm ways to cleverly fill all that empty space, shall we?

First of all, what have you dreamed about having all these years if you only had just one more room in your house? Perhaps it’s one of the following:

• Media room?
• Home office?
• Exercise room?
• Craft room?
• Painting studio?
• Potting shed?
• Sewing room?
• Expand an existing room into a master suite?

Let’s take them one at a time and look at the pro’s and con’s:

A media room. That sounds nice. Deep pile carpeting and some comfy new upholstered furniture invoke relaxation and entertainment, and it’s probably the first thing on your husband’s list. But then it occurs to you that a media room might mean that he not only spends too much time in front of his new flat screen TV in those loges you’ve installed, but it might be such an inviting place that he’ll invite all his friends over to watch the game, leaving you to fetch popcorn and beer and mop up afterward. (Maybe it’s best to rethink the media room. Either that, or install a counter with a bar sink and a small refrigerator and teach him to pop his own corn).

So a home office then; something you can both use. A partner’s desk, some file cabinets, a copy machine, printer, a couple of computers and some storage space for supplies (that could go in the closet, out of sight). For a room like that mostly what you’d need is space, but no radical redesign. That sounds good and also practical. But wait - isn’t he the one who’s always bringing his dirty socks into the kitchen and leaving them there? Perhaps you should each have an office - y yes, that’s it, separate offices. Sounds good if you have enough room.

But I’ve always wanted my own exercise room, you say wistfully. That might be good, since I never seem to have time to go to the health club. Yes that would be perfect. We could exercise together! Oh, but dirty socks are one thing; dirty sweats are another. Maybe you should add one of those brightly painted gym lockers. That, plus a gross of deodorizer, a shower, and another television set. And a handy laundry room just outside the exercise room door.

How about a craft room? Install shelves in the walk-in closet to hold all your crafty things, buy a high stool, a couple of sawhorses and a hollow-core door to serve as your worktable, and you’re in business. That would be really nice. Some place I could play to my heart’s content, alone. As long as he doesn’t build model airplanes or ships in bottles, you’re safe.

A painting studio perhaps? That would work, as long as it has no-fuss cement floors and a sturdy door on which to hang that big “Do Not Disturb” sign. NOTE: This works for writers as well. Of course, he may insist on equal inviolate space, in which case you may never be able to enter the garage again.

A potting shed would require some reframing and an outside wall where you could install French doors for greatest effect and maximum sunlight. This would also require cement floors, or tile that’s easily mopped, to get rid of those inevitable potting soil spills. Ideally, it would have a sloping floor with a drain in the center that could simply be hosed down, but then you’d have to have coving up the walls to protect them from splatters, and of course this means more plumbing too, because you need a little sink for potting and soaking and cleanup.

A sewing room requires very little in the way of change, but if all you do is sew now and then, perhaps all you need to do is retrofit a handy closet with shelves for your sewing supplies and fabrics. Even the sewing machine doesn’t need to take up too much space. But I’ll admit, when I was making all my children’s clothes, I’d have loved a large worktable I could leave in place all the time, thus alleviating leg cramps and backaches from cutting patterns on the floor. (If, on the other hand, your helpmate tends to claim all empty surfaces as his, perhaps you should rethink that idea as well).

Which brings us, at long last, to the master suite. A nice, big comfy bed, a cozy reading area with built-in bookcases, a chaise lounge and good light, a sunny breakfast bay with perhaps a café table and slipper chairs upholstered to match the draperies, two walk-in closets (one-half for him and one and one-half for you), separate bathrooms back-to-back, with a laundry chute in each, to encourage those dirty socks to get into the washer where they belong.

Now there’s an idea I can live with.

How about you?