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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Jewelry Organization – Necklaces and Bracelets

April 5, 2013 By

  The spring cleaning bug has bit me and not a moment too soon.  Several projects have needed my attention – maybe you have a few of  those projects around your home and can relate.  Strange how we can live with something that creates a loss of time and confusion in our lives and then one morning you know something needs to be done.  One of my projects was organizing my jewelry.  I was finding that I had pieces all over the house.

    I am very blessed to have a mother who creates beautiful beaded bracelets and necklaces.  Over the years these have been stored in shoe boxes.  That is a fine solution if you only have a few but my mom is very creative and generous; and I needed to reevaluate what was becoming a mangled mess.  I wish I would have taken a picture of one of the shoe boxes but it is probably best for my mom (and me) that there is not a tangible record.  I looked for ideas regarding jewelry organization but nothing seemed to work for me.  Then I got inspired and came up with an idea.  One of the definitions of inspire is to stimulate to action; motivate.  As I think on that I realize inspiration is more than liking an idea.  It includes movement to act on that idea. I also noted that God had already provided the items needed to create a prototype.

   Years ago we had Classy Closets install organizers in our closets  (I have never regretted doing this).  I also had a few book rings (picture at bottom of this post) in my craft supplies (there were many times over the years I almost tossed them – really what was I going to do with these things? – I would soon find out).   I cleared an area in my closet and gathered a rod for hangers, my book rings and a couple of battery lights I had bought eons ago.  I sorted my jewelry by color and attached the necklaces directly onto a large book ring and then around the rod.  Each group of bracelets was attached to a  smaller book ring which was then attached to a larger ring around the rod. Don’t have closet organizers?  A tension rod or wooden dowel would also work.   Now choosing my accessories for work is as easy as pie.  

Jewelry Organization - Bracelets and Necklaces

Here is a picture of the necklaces—

Jewelry Organization - Necklaces

Here is a picture of the bracelets.  I used two different sizes of book rings —

Jewelry Organization - Bracelets

Here is a picture of a book ring.  They can be found in various sizes at Amazon and office and craft supply stores –

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