Organization projects are an often overlooked category, but with a new baby on the way I've been finding myself adding a lot of them to my list. Our master bedroom walk-in closet is my current focus. Even with all that space, my husband and I can't seem to fit all of our clothing into one closet. For the past year and a half, part of his wardrobe has been housed in one of our guest bedroom closets. But that bedroom is marked for baby's nursery so that closet needs to be cleared out. Instead of shifting everything to the other guest bedroom closet, I decided to overhaul ours in order to make more room.
Obviously, we started with a donation pile. Sometimes it feels really good to fill a few bags full of donation items, and that is exactly what we did. It was amazing how much room that cleared up. The next step was to organize the seasonal clothing. My big, bulky sweaters and winter dresses were taking up valuable shelf and rack space. So I decided to buy a few baskets to hold my loose items. A.C. Moore had some great "Store It by Nicole" baskets on sale, and I had a few RetailMeNot coupons to use. I purchased several baskets in different sizes.
For a while, the baskets were very useful. I could stack my items higher than I would have on the shelf alone. I could also hold the smaller items like medicine and toilet paper without displaying them. However, after a while, I was getting a little annoyed. The baskets were too high for me to see the contents inside and I kept mixing them up and putting them back in the wrong places. So I decided to label them.
Organization projects aren't just about being functional. They are about beautifying the spaces in your home that might not necessarily be seen by anyone else but that you have to look at on a daily basis. I decided I wanted chalkboard labels on all of my baskets. That way I could change the labels at any time. And, of course, because chalkboards are in and cute. I went back to A.C. Moore and Michaels in search of some small chalkboard labels that I could somehow attach to the baskets. Everything I found was either too small, too big, or too expensive. The cheapest option I found were little framed chalkboard rectangles for $2.50 each. With the number of baskets I had, that would have cost me over $25.00. Not exactly what I had in mind.
Instead, I bought some $0.25 wooden hearts that I decorated myself. Below is the process I used.
Obviously, we started with a donation pile. Sometimes it feels really good to fill a few bags full of donation items, and that is exactly what we did. It was amazing how much room that cleared up. The next step was to organize the seasonal clothing. My big, bulky sweaters and winter dresses were taking up valuable shelf and rack space. So I decided to buy a few baskets to hold my loose items. A.C. Moore had some great "Store It by Nicole" baskets on sale, and I had a few RetailMeNot coupons to use. I purchased several baskets in different sizes.
For a while, the baskets were very useful. I could stack my items higher than I would have on the shelf alone. I could also hold the smaller items like medicine and toilet paper without displaying them. However, after a while, I was getting a little annoyed. The baskets were too high for me to see the contents inside and I kept mixing them up and putting them back in the wrong places. So I decided to label them.
Organization projects aren't just about being functional. They are about beautifying the spaces in your home that might not necessarily be seen by anyone else but that you have to look at on a daily basis. I decided I wanted chalkboard labels on all of my baskets. That way I could change the labels at any time. And, of course, because chalkboards are in and cute. I went back to A.C. Moore and Michaels in search of some small chalkboard labels that I could somehow attach to the baskets. Everything I found was either too small, too big, or too expensive. The cheapest option I found were little framed chalkboard rectangles for $2.50 each. With the number of baskets I had, that would have cost me over $25.00. Not exactly what I had in mind.
Instead, I bought some $0.25 wooden hearts that I decorated myself. Below is the process I used.
Step-By-Step Process
My closet already looks 10 times better. One completed project is the perfect motivation for other similar projects. Immediate transformations are always so satisfying. I went ahead and made a list of items that I want to complete for the closet's continued makeover.
Master Walk-In Closet Makeover List:
I realize that my list is long and ambitious. It generally is. But I figure I spend a portion of every day in my closet, so why not make it a room that I enjoy being in?