Old Closet....NEW closet!!!

Our little 1970's house has surprising amounts of storage which I am so grateful for! We are definitely blessed to have ample closet space in our bedrooms and in our hallways which almost makes up for the lack of a pantry and bathroom closets. When we first moved in our house in September 2011 these precious closets were stuffed full with random crap. I really struggled to find a home for everything and that was my main problem. Finally, I just grit my teeth, grabbed some garbage bags and dove in!

I started closet by closet cleaning out every thing that was in it, added it to a pile (1.Keep in this closet 2. Keep but find a new home 3. Donate 4. Garbage), then I devise a plan. I have decided that there are a few essentials for closet organization: 



• Shelves/clothing rods depending on what your closet will be used for. My linen closet already had the perfect shelves so I didn't have to add anything. In my hall closet I bought an over-the door organizer and Rubbermaid drawers.

 

• Durable, color coordinating bins or baskets. This is where the planning always stumps me. I try to devise a plan in my head for how many, what size, color, etc but since I do the majority of my shopping at Marshalls and TJ Maxx I never know what I am going to find. This is when keeping receipts and making a return really comes in handy!

 

• Labels, Labels, Labels!!! The number one thing to remember when organizing your closet is to find a home for EVERYTHING you put back in it. If there isn't a home, it doesn't belong there. Labels are great to keep you stuck in this mind frame because heaven forbid you put something in a bin or drawer where it doesn't belong right!?!

 

• My personal favorite way to add color/pattern is shelf paper! Like I said before I do the majority of my shopping at Marshalls and TJ Maxx and this is where I buy all of my shelf paper. They always have super cute colors and patterns. I try to find places to add it; sometimes its the entire back of the closet, on the side for a pop of color, or on a magnetic surface to add invitations, etc to. Really, the possibilities are endless and it is a super cheap and easy way to add some life to a closet!

 

Here is a look at my 3 closets in my hallways that I have cleaned out and redone over the past few months....

 

 

 



Entry way closet

 This closet was DEFINITELY the toughest one to clean out and organize. Over the past year it had become home to extra carpet rolled up, holiday decorations, lamps, cords, and surprisingly coats which is its main purpose! The majority of things that were in this closet did not belong! My keep pile was very thin when I finally got done cleaning it out. One thing that is a small gesture but makes a big impact are coat hangers for a coat closet. I got a pack of matching velvet coat hangers at Marshalls for about $7 and they were well worth it. Make sure that you have a few extra hangers for guests when they come over! I added 2 bins at the top for my winter gear and for various holiday décor for my front door. One thing I decided to do was add some magazine holders to the shelf in this closet. It has become a holding tank for new magazines that I get in the mail and this prevents them being strewn out all through out the house!

Linen Closet

My linen closet was definitely my favorite to redo! There wasn't an abundance of linens in here before, but they were all just shoved in there without organization or purpose. I first planned to add this brown chevron shelf paper to the shelves, but I decided to be bold and add it to the entire back of the closet. I simply removed the shelves and stuck it to the back of the wall! I LOVE the statement that it makes! The linen closet is where the labels really come in handy. I separated our linens into our different bedrooms that way when a guest is coming it is easy to go and grab a set of sheets to add to the bed. I simply rolled up extra blankets and quits and added them. Another thing that I did was make a guest tray for when we have company. On this tray I added a small basket with toiletries, lotion, hand soap, etc. It is easy to grab and set out in our guest bathroom!

Hallway Closet

Our hallway closet has been the biggest change of the three for sure! It was full of my scrubs for work, wedding gifts that hadn't found a home, crap, crap, and more crap! It took me a while to redo this closet because I just really couldn't figure out a plan for what I wanted it to be. I finally decided one day when I was trying to wrap a gift for a friend what I wanted to do. As the bags and tissue paper were falling out of our extra bedroom closet I knew that I needed a wrapping station. I got this over the door organizer at Bed Bath and Beyond  I originally got this to put in my laundry room because I don't have a pantry, but I decided that I wanted to use it for my wrapping supplies! I absolutely love it and I am so glad that my bags, boxes, tags, and tissue paper have a home. I also added a bulletin board covered in fabric to add my gift log that I purchased over at one of my favorite  Etsy shops! Jen with IHeartOrganizing is awesome! I have purchased several things on her Etsy shop and I have been completely pleased! In addition to the gift giving log I add all of my wedding/shower invitations here. I put a 3 drawer rubbermaid container in here to store all of the gifts that I buy before I buy them. I just love this little space! 

 

 

So, there are my 3 closet redos! It is so fun and rewarding to know that if one of your guests just really felt nosey and wanted to open all the doors in your hallway you wouldn't be embarrassed haha!

The key is to personalize your closet space for what you and your family need, clean out, gather your supplies and get creative! The hard part is staying on the daily task of keeping everything in its space and not adding extra stuff you don't need into your new space!