What Is a Lumber Room?

British English

• According to the Oxford English Dictionary, in British English and sometimes American English, "lumber room" refers to a room for storing pieces of furniture and other objects no longer in use. The term is not as common as it used to be, though it appeared in American English in the 19th century. Other odds and ends might be stored in a lumber room as well. The room might additionally be functional, as in the case of meeting rooms for organizations. Or it might serve purely as storage for unused objects, as in the case of wealthy Britains who did not often dispose of replaced furniture.

American English

• In modern American English, "lumber" often refers to large cuts of wood and logs, used for market timber. But according to the Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary from 1913, it once commonly referred to old, unused items that are bulky or of a small value. In the 1828 edition, it also referred to a heaping of disordered items. You could "lumber" a room by filling it with such items. In modern usage, "lumber room" can be a turn-of-phrase referring to a non-literal, unorganized collection of objects or ideas.

Lumber Rooms in Homes

• Establishing a lumber room in your home is a surefire way to eliminate clutter from a household. By devoting a room or part of the house to lumber, or unused objects, you can clear other areas for functional use. Extra furniture is piled in a lumber room to free up space in other areas of the home, such as the garage. Homeowners may use a lumber room to store items that are used infrequently, but which they do not wish to throw away. The result is a neat-looking home.

Communal Lumber Rooms

• In modern times among communal settings, a "lumber room" may be shared by a community, such as an apartment complex or a college dormitory. In these contexts, a lumber room functions as a shared storage space for items that are out of use. The storage room is used collectively and might contain empty boxes, used clothing, rags, old books and various worn-out belongings.