Small Linen Closet Makeover

January 1, 2019 By

It’s been almost 3 years since we downsized our home.  The list of home projects is becoming smaller but there are still a few to be tackled.  Two on this list are to organize our small hallway linen closet and also our kitchen pantry.

I’m happy to say that over the holidays, I accomplished the linen closet with the help of Dollar Tree.  I bought an assortment of different storage containers, watched a couple of YouTube videos and pulled a set of chalkboard tags I’ve had for a couple of years and set to work.

Here were some of the steps I utilized.

  1. Choose a color scheme to act as my guide:  blue, brown, white, gray and black.  
  2. Sort through towels.  I kept 8 bath for the closet because there were already two towels in each of the bathrooms.  I kept 5 wash clothes and 5 hand towels.  The rest were donated.
  3. Sort through over-the-counter and prescription drugs and dispose of them by town/city guidelines.  Create storage container with drawers for small items and a tiered storage area for larger supplements.  (I have a storage box that holds 30 days of my prescription and supplements.  This is in one of the drawers which makes a lot more sense from where it used to sit – on top of my sugar container with my baking supplies.)
  4. Use a container for toilet paper so we don’t have to retrieve from garage.
  5. Roll up beach towels and placed in a container on the floor.
  6. Create a cleaning container.
  7. Create two more storage containers of cleaning supplies.
  8. Create a storage area for lightbulbs.
  9. Create a storage container for batteries.
  10. The blankets on the left side of the top shelf were placed in pillow cases and tied off with ribbon which gave a cleaner look.

I took a side by side picture as I made progress – what a transformation and encouragement to keep on going.

Here is the finished project.  I couldn’t be happier with it.

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Downsizing – Closet Makeover

January 26, 2018 By

In our previous home, we had Classy Closet come in and put organizers in our closets.  We have also done this in our two smaller bedrooms and intended to do the same in our master closet as well – and maybe someday we will.  There are so many projects in our fixer-upper and I began researching a more cost effective closet solution.  I took some guidance from Chalene Johnson and used several tips on how she organized her closet.  This woman has so much good information to share so once again I extend my thanks to her willingness to share what’s worked for her so I can make it work for me.  I’ve included the link to her closet blog post and audio so you can get the details from the pro.  HERE 

Storage is prime real estate in our smaller house but we have successfully made the change from each having a closet to sharing a closet. Here were the steps I took.

  1. Research what others have done.
  2. Take notes.
  3.  Purchase the hangers and organizers. (I gulped at buying all new hangers but will say the ones Chalene suggests were well worth the money.)
  4.  Emptied my side of the closet.
  5. Went through want I really wear, made a list of what might need to be replaced
  6. Think about what I could use the wall space for.

My hanging organizer is used for scarves, leggings, and workout clothes.

Once my husband saw my side of the closet, he wanted his area organized as well.  His hanging organizer holds shoes and hats.  The two garment bags hold his suits and my dresses.  Since there was some extra room – I also store rolls of gift paper in them. He ended up adding his own special touches to our closet. (not pictured) 

  1. He painted the closet (yes – everything needed to come out but it was worth it.
  2. He replaced the rods with metal ones.

More room for shoes

The wall space was used to store the iron and ironing board.

For your convenience, here are links to the items I used 

Joy Mangano Hangers – I bought mine from Amazon but they are currently unavailable.  It looks like Target has them online or you can do a search for other sources

Skirt and Pant Hangers

Tie Rack

Hanging Cubbie

Bins

Hanging Shoe Rack

Jewelry Organization

Ironing Board

Iron

Ironing Board/Iron Wall Holder

We had received a quote of $1500.00 to have a closet organizer built.  I probably spent about $300.00 and doubled our storage capacity.

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Downsizing – Spare Bedroom 1 – Exercise

January 18, 2018 By

Now that the holidays are over, I am putting some time into completing Part 2 of the Spare Bedroom Makeover Series.  This room is used for several purposes – Library, Exercise and Sewing.  If you missed Part 1 – the Library, you can find it HERE.  

Since we’ve moved into the house, this room’s primarily purpose was a space for me to exercise.  My goal was to create a space that not only reminded me to exercise (one reason the weight rack is left out in the open), but allowed me to play a streamed or DVD workout, and have my equipment handy but mostly unseen.  

Again I found pieces around the house and purchased second-hand that when given new paint and hardware brought them to life.  When choosing pieces, the storage the pieces could provide was key.

The first step was to remove a solid oak entertainment center we had brought with us when we moved.  It was too large for the room and would later be donated to a thrift store.  We tried to sell it, give it away but there were no takers.  Sometimes you just need it gone so you can move on.

I purchased this piece for $50.00 from a young mom who was trying her hand at repainting furniture.  When I got it home, I went to clean it and the Windex took the paint completely off since a sealer hadn’t been applied.  My blue piece now had a gaping black circle. There was a moment when I thought “Well, that wasn’t the best purchase I’ve ever made.”  But soon Plan B was formed and I was heading to the store to choose a color of chalk paint.  I find this the hardest part – what color????  I chose a color that looked like a favorite pair of soft denim jeans.


I also pulled a wobbly metal file cabinet we have had for over 20 years out of the den (hmm! would the chalk paint adhere to metal?) 

Yeah!  The paint adhered beautifully.  New hardware was added.  To add a little height and stabilize the cabinet from rocking, I picked up some wooden toy wheels and painted them.  Jeff was able to screw them to the bottom.  I added foam pads to protect our hardwood floors.


Here are the pieces painted with new hardware.  I found a light that happened to have unfinished wood and a shade that had a similar blue.  The picture was a $10 find from Offer Up.  There is still room for my laptop and having the enlarged monitor is nice when I’m utilizing a streamed or DVD workout.


I was able to store my workout DVD’s and my step risers inside.  The file cabinet has binders that hold written workouts and also sewing information (I will talk more about that in Part 3)

I also bought a few small bottles of chalk paint in other colors for accent pieces.  What a difference painting the wood on the lamp brown made.  All of sudden it blends in with the picture frame as well as other elements in the room.

I was able to place my stability bench in the closet as well as the bottom part of my step bench.


An exercise tubing with handles is attached to my door along with towel holder.

Two bottom shelves of the library bookcase are used to house assorted plastic containers to hold miscellaneous exercise equipment.  I used some of the blue paint to paint the containers so they matched the furniture.  

I have an inexpensive dorm rug in this room which gives a little extra cushion to my exercise mat.  When the mat is not in use, it is rolled up and tied with a piece of ribbon and stored behind the file cabinet along with my foam roller.

My workout clothes and shoes, headband, hair ties are stored in a cloth bin so all I need to do is pull it down and get dressed.   I also have a bag packed with gym card, iPod, headphones, toiletries, flip flops, and makeup that is stored behind the gray library chair.  Having this packed and ready to go helps me eliminate excuses for early morning workouts when I want to head to the gym, shower and then head straight to work.

My workout clothes storage bin is stored on top of the library bookshelf.

I am pleased as punch with the exercise area of this room.  It is well equipped, functional and best of all except for my weight rack, the room doesn’t feel like a workout room unless it is in use.

Estimated Cost of the Exercise Portion – $200.00 

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Downsizing – Kitchen Makeover

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