1 / 2

Elizabeth Delano is pictured in the Springville Revolving Closet Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026.

Jacob Nielson, Daily Herald

2 / 2

Courtesy Springville Revolving Closet Instagram

❮ ❯

Many homeowners with extra space in their basement will use it as a storage room, full of canned goods and emergency supplies. Others turn it into a man cave, fitted with a pool table and a flat screen.

One Springville family chose to use their space for something completely different.

Elizabeth Delano’s basement doubles as the Springville Revolving Closet, a place where parents can get their children free clothing. Parents with kids of all ages, from newborns to 16-year-olds, can sign up for a 15-minute appointment and come get what they need, no questions asked.

Delano said children can outgrow clothes quickly, and her closet is a way to help parents who can’t keep up with buying new clothes — and a place where people who don’t need the clothes can bring them.

“There’s so much life left in the clothing, and it’s sad to see it go to the dump,” she said. “A lot of people throw their stuff away, or send it to a thrift store, where people have to pay a decent markup, even though people would just happily give it to another family. So I’m kind of like that middleman between families.”

Another purpose 

To the best of Delano’s knowledge, the first residential revolving closet in Utah County was in Santaquin. Four years ago, the owner of the Santaquin closet posted online that she was moving and wondered if anyone would take over the closet.

Delano saw the post during a difficult time in her life. She struggled with postpartum depression after giving birth to both of her children, and had just completed an intensive outpatient program after the birth of her second child.

She was looking for a cause she could throw herself into while raising her children and had an unfinished basement with space for a closet. So with the support of her husband, Delano said she “made an impulsive decision” to take it over.

“I’ve always been someone that likes to help people, and it has like a built-in social aspect,” she said. “People come and they see me and we chat. So it was just kind of born for a need of therapy without a therapist. So this is my therapy now.” 

Four years in, the endeavor has been successful.

Delano has a system of posting her weekly availability on a calendar, which usually means 15-minute appointments stacked in two-hour time frames that she can work around her other responsibilities.

She partners with Kid to Kid in American Fork, which provides donations twice a month, and gets steady support from community members who drop bags of clothes on her front porch almost on a daily basis. There are also shoes, a small pantry of self stable foods, baby-related items and a small section of adult clothes, because some teenagers wear that size.

Now is her busy time, with kids going back to school. She said her bins are at lower levels than average — yet each age group appears to be well stocked. She is able to do 15 to 20 appointments a week, which she laments is not a lot, though she reminds herself that she’s not the only resource out there. 

She doesn’t turn away anyone who signs up. 

“No questions asked,” Delano said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a single mom, if you both work. All kids need clothing. Here’s clothing. Take some things. My one thing is, I always tell people not to take things with the intent of reselling, because that’s not why I do what I do.”

Being helpful

Delano said she is not an extrovert, and that it can be hard at times to let strangers into her home. There have been a few instances where people have stolen items off her porch.

But she said she does have good security, watches her home closely and feels the benefits outweigh the negatives.

“Most people are very gracious, and almost think I’m crazy for giving up the space and the time because they recognize that it’s a lot,” Delano said. “I always appreciate the reminders that I get from people, like, ‘Wow, thank you for opening your home for us. It’s a huge help to our family.'”

Many people have opened up to her about their own circumstances. One family suffered a house fire. Others face unemployment or domestic violence. She said hearing those stories motivates her to keep going.

“It helps fulfill my purpose, or give me more purpose,” Delano said. “Or, I guess, justify what I’m doing.”

She also hopes her efforts leave an impression on her children, who she said were really young when she started the closet and did not fully understand what she was doing.

Just this week, she looked at a note her daughter wrote to her for Mother’s Day. There was a caption that stated: “My mom is really good at …” then asked her to fill in the blank.

Her daughter’s answer?

“Helping people.”