KonMari-ing our closets

So.  Organization is pretty much on everyone's mind in January, but especially this year with 'Tidying Up' streaming on Netflix.  We watched the first couple episodes, and like many people, it resonated with us in a big way!  Shaun is not one to go through his clothes very often, he had sweaters and jeans in the closet that he hasn't worn in ten years.  That means these clothes were moved to Minnesota and to Illinois without us ever addressing the issue.  He actually got rid of two huge black garbage bags of clothes that didn't "spark joy," but it is much harder for me to get rid of things.  Here's what I was looking at on a daily basis:

Disaster!  There was constantly stuff on the floor, piled on my nightstand, and everywhere else I could throw something.   I realized that the 'bookshelf' solution that worked well for clothing storage in my dressing room years ago was not that effective inside a tiny closet.  Also, please hold while I go cry into my glass of wine and look at photos of my beloved dressing room. 

 I also had this 'bin of shame' that just held a huge pile of stuff that I didn't use often (cough cough *workout clothes*) and was always such an eyesore. 

 Here's a better look at that pile once I removed all the random bags from the floor:

The floor was always like this because things would fall off the bookshelf and I was too lazy to put it back.  Also, slippers.  Such a problem, you damn sippers!

I knew I needed to go through the clothing and KonMari that crap, but I also realized I needed better storage in here.  I decided to go with white mesh Elfa 'dressers' from The Container Store, and it has worked out really well in this small closet!  The best part is that January is their annual Elfa sale, so I got 30% off.  (Spoiler alert, it's still expensive!)

When things are piled on shelves, it usually makes a mess when you try to remove something from the bottom of the stack, so drawers were much better for things like tank tops, t shirts and pants.  Assembling the Elfa stuff wasn't exactly fun, but it was easy enough.  You have to hit the pieces together VERY hard, so be sure to protect your floors really well when putting together.  I opted for the driftwood melamine tops instead of white, clear feet and the clear drawer clips that ensure you can't pull the drawers all the way out onto the floor.  Here is the final product!

This closet is 48 inches wide INSIDE, but the space between the open doors is just 37 inches.  Whatever drawer units I picked had to fit inside that width so I could slide the drawers out without hitting the closet doors.  I ended up choosing the tall (10 runner) narrow (14") frame for the left, and a short (4 runner) wide (22") frame for the right.  Together they are 36 inches wide, perfect for this space. 

Once you pick your frames, you just buy the drawers you want, the top you want, and put it all together.  The units are clipped together in the front and back, so they won't slide around.  I love how much easier it is to get to my things!  I can also push back the teal bin (which holds my bras - ha!) and make enough room for emergency folded clothes that need to be put away if I'm short on time. 

I tried my best to do Marie K's folding technique, but ended up pretty much just rolling everything in the smallest drawers.  I love that everything is one layer deep now, no wondering what I have.  I can also pull the drawer all the way out without it falling, to see the back. 

Some other things I added to increase the functionality are Container Store shelf dividers for the existing wire shelving that came with the house.  I was so happy they fit perfectly!  I need one more for in between the last two stacks of sweaters. 

I also purchased this clear plastic ventilated shelf liner from Container Store, they sell it in 12, 16, and 20 inch depth to fit standard wire shelving.  I had to cut little boxes out to allow the shelf dividers to pass through, but the bonus is that the shelf dividers hold the liner on with no sliding around.  No more snagging my sweaters!

I've had these hooks sitting in my laundry room unused for years, finally got around to installing them in here for jewelry and robe storage.  Thanks, Youngsters! 

I love how these look, and I didn't mess with anchors.  Just drilled a small hole in the drywall and screwed them in.  

A few more little things I added are Elfa hooks behind the hanging clothes to store belts:

 And purses:

I also have a couple handbags on the lower drawer unit top, and it's a great place to store boots and shoes so they aren't on the ground. 

 I also have enough room on the right side to store tall boots, which is nice.

All of my jeans and leggings fit in the short unit, and all my everyday tops and sweaters fit in the closet somewhere.  I got rid of several bags of clothes, so I'm feeling pretty good.  Now, I just need to work on getting rid of my 'overflow' clothes in the other rooms.  That is mostly dressy stuff, and things I am not sure I will ever wear again, but find it hard to get rid of.  I'm especially impressed with Shaun's closet makeover, his side is pretty bare compared to before!

 Our closets are looking so much better. 

What you didn't see, the bed immediately after this project.  Ha! 

A little before and after:

I'm so happy with the functionality of my closet now, I'd highly recommend the Elfa storage line if you are looking for help with closets, cabinets, or any space in your home!  Just to be clear, everything in this post was purchased by me at retail price.  As always, this blog is for fun and I do not accept sponsored posts or free products in exchange for reviews.

My new walk in closet

The last time I showed the master closet, it was looking like this:

I had my vision all marked out on the wall with tape, and then I went about ordering all my materials.  The boob light (and the tape) was taken down...

I put up a plain bulb light fixture - ok, it was just hanging by the wires in this photo - painted the trim, and painted the walls with my bedroom color, Behr Aqua Smoke....

Floor trim went in, my DIY crystal chandelier went up, my DIY window treatment went up, I accessorized, hung pretty hooks, and here is the finished product!  

Oooo, I love it!  It actually holds most of the stuff from the dressing room.  There is a lot of hanging and folded clothes storage in this 4x5 space.

It all came together exactly as I thought it would! 

Here are some details from my fabulous little space.  This DIY Faux window shade was so easy!

The chrome rod/shelf supports are from Closetbay.com, I got three for each rod to avoid sagging.  They are shiny and fabulous!  The white laminate shelves are from Menards and Home Depot.  

The small chrome self supports are also from Closetbay, and came two per pack which was a great price!  

The rod and shelf supports come out exactly to the depth of the window trim, so it all worked out perfectly.  I used my signature stained wood closet rods in here, of course!  

My crystal chandelier, which will be shared as a separate post.  It was so worth doing myself instead of buying a fixture!

My favorite crystal hooks from the Home Depot...fun fact, the wall anchors in this wall just kept falling back into the framing because whoever drywalled this room used the thinnest crap drywall ever.  Needless to say, all the shelf supports are in studs!

When I saw this funny postcard I had laying around the house, I knew I had to find a pretty frame to hang it up in this closet.  I hope potential buyers find it funny when they see how my clothes take over just about every closet in our house!

The gorgeous hand loomed cotton rug is from Overstock, I love it.  It is a good complement to the orange Moroccan tile rug in the bedroom, without being too matchy. 

The shoe rack was dug out of storage, and the white storage unit for my sweaters and jeans was a cheapo Room Essentials bookcase from Target.  I also added a little clasp for the original window shutter to keep it closed, it was brass and I sprayed it white. 

The little white cloth bins I found at Shopko for $5 each, what a steal!  I have all my tights and dress socks in those.  

So, that is the new closet.  The incredibly hard to photograph closet.  What do you think?  Is it worthy of taking over the duties of the dressing room?

Closet in...progress?

I'm finally doing something with this closet room attached to our bedroom. I've started marking where the closet rods and shelves will be with blue and green tape.  My tape is NOT level and the exact measurements aren't set, but it is a start.  Figuring out how to plan the closet was a challenge due to the window being 10 inches from the long wall.  

Since I can't mount the rod to the wall on that side, I can't use traditional closet organizers, and I don't want to pay for a freestanding system, I am going to experiment with closet rod brackets that can be mounted to the wall slightly before the window, like this shelf/rod combo from Hardware Hut...   

I will need three brackets to support a rod on that 67 inch wall.  When the clothes are hanging, they will cover half of the window, but I consider that more protection from my neighbors seeing me naked.  Which I KNOW happens on the regular.  Good thing I'm working on my fitness these days!  Yeah right.  So, on the short wall opposite the window, I'm doing the same setup with the brackets to keep things consistent. 

The green tape represents the closet rods, and the blue tape represents the shelves.  The thing I'm slightly worried about is that clothes/hangers will stand out from the wall about 22 inches, so things are going to get tight in this 4' x 5.5' room!  I plan to find some chrome shelf supports for the two 26" shelves on the short wall.  On the little blank wall to the left in this pic, I'm probably just going to put some decorative hooks like the ones in our other closet.  

Of course the first thing I need to do in here is remove the offensive boob light.  Then I can paint the ceiling and walls, and start putting up the closet hardware.  That have yet to be purchased.  

I'm leaving the base trim for last because I'm not sure if I will build in some floor shelving for things like shoes.  If I'm being honest with myself, I will agonize about it, then never get around to it.  Classic me.  I also got my DIY Chandelier project started, but I'm forcing myself to get the important things done before adding any 'fancy' to the space.  

I think tomorrow is the night for me to remove the light and paint the ceiling.  It will be a miracle if I can get that little bit done!    

Our closet is full of coats again

Thank you all for your nice comments about my paint color!  This is the final post about our little closet, so I hope you can read one more.  Wednesday night, I got all my hooks attached and the shoe rack assembled.  Here is the closet all empty and waiting for our crap.....  

It was so pretty I didn't really want to hang anything in it!  The bamboo shoe rack is from Amazon and holds my few athletic shoes.  These bronze hooks are from Target:

I also got some double prong hooks from Target for the back of the closet.

They are perfect for all my scarves.  This isn't even all of the winter scarves I own.  I sort of have a sickness, I think. 

And here is all our stuff, back in and organized. 

Here's a closeup of the bamboo shoe rack.  I love it, but egads what a blurry pic!  It's really beautiful, and the turned-up edge is genius, your shoes can't possibly fall off. 

I bought the wood hangers on clearance at Bed Bath and Beyond for $3.50 a 6-pack.  I also only bought 18.  If the hangers are all being used, we have to take a coat out to get another one in.  No more jumbled mess!  (famous last words, eh?)

The Orla Kiely bin was put back in, all of our gloves are in there.  You know, the ones that are still matching pairs.  The rest of the shelf space is for Shaun's clown shoes. 

I love having the hooks on the side because let's face it, I'm lazy.  I will definitely use them for hanging a coat or two when I don't feel like going through all that work of actually putting them on hangers.   For now, more scarves!!

And a lone hat under the window...

Cost breakdown:

Paint and primer: leftover from previous projects

4 large hooks: $16
4 double prong hooks: $7

Shoe rack:  $35

Hangers: $12

Total: $70.  Not bad for this before and after!

ps - you better believe there was a trip to Goodwill after this closet redo!