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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Downsizing – Spare Bedroom 1: Library

October 19, 2017 By

The summer of 2017 was officially the start of Phase 2 of our fixer-upper.  This means we had saved enough money to conquer partial bathroom renovations, master closet makeover, a cooling vent and insulation for the garage (I didn’t really get this but Jeff thought it was a priority) and doing something with the two spare bedrooms.  After a year and a half everything had found a place but it wasn’t organized in a way that felt like home.  This was especially true in these two bedrooms which were filled with a hodge podge of what we had brought with us and most of it was oversized for this house which made the rooms seem smaller than they were.

It took me a little while but with some strategic thinking I began to list what I’d like to use each of these rooms for which helped me envision what would be needed to make that happen.

Bedroom 1 which measures 11′ x 9’10” was to have 3 purposes:  a place to hold books and read (aka – the library),  exercise and to sew. 

This is how the library portion of the room came about.  I love books and often read a favorite more than once.  There is something soothing in tangible pages to flip through, being able to mark the margins and turn down the corner when something touches my heart.  Yes – I have an iPad and think it is wonderful, especially for travel, but I don’t ever want to live in a house without my favorites:  A Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindberg, Adventures in Prayer by Catherine Marshall, Hinds Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard, The 10 Faces of Innovation by Tom Kelley, Live Carefully by Jerry Traylor, Beautiful in God’s Eyes by Elizabeth George and so many more.

We had brought two bookshelves with us – one was ours and the other had belonged to our daughter.  They were different woods and heights but when we first moved in they had the most important quality,  providing a place to remove books from moving boxes and store.

I began to dream about furnishing these rooms with a focus on function and price.  I didn’t need brand new and when my friend, Angie, introduced me to Facebook Marketplace, I found a resource that fit those goals.  As I found a few pieces for other parts of the house and learned how to use chalk paint, my confidence grew.  Soon I was ready to move the mismatched bookshelves out and begin my search for matching bookshelves.  Fortunately for me someone else was ready to say goodbye to two Broyhill units for $200.00. 

It is fun getting something new (well, new to me) but it also means some effort is required because the bookshelves that were there now needed to be emptied and moved to make room for the new.   In a very short time I went from organized to chaos.  This is often the point in a project where I ask myself “What was I thinking?”

One of our bookshelves we sold on Facebook Marketplace for $35.00.  The other bookshelf which was sturdy, well made and solid wood still had some life in it and soon I was placing two coats of white chalk paint and later distressing before a clear coat of wax was buffed in. As if I hadn’t created a mess already, I decide to add painting to the mix. There are times it is good that Jeff is at work.  

Here it is in its new home in the den waiting for the wax to dry before books are placed on shelves.  I am happy to say it now holds a variety of books, including my cookbooks.

I need to give a big shout out to my dad who is always available to pick me or my husband up in his truck as I procure another treasure.  My son-in-law, Josh, has also come over to move some of the heavier pieces.  It takes a village to make a house a home.

Finally, the bookshelves were picked up, dusted and vacuumed (let’s just say they came from a house with cats) and it was time to move the bookshelves in.  Not shown in this picture but new brushed nickel knobs replaced the bronze ones.  The shelves have lighting and are 19″ deep which allows for a nice display.

One of the last pieces for this room, has been the chair.  I wanted a comfortable chair for reading and hand sewing.  I found this one on Offered Up (another site to look for treasures) for $50.00.  It had recently been recovered in gray  and fit into the corner.  

I will be showing completed pictures of the room after I have shared the different sections.

What was Jeff doing while I tackled the room?  This guy is such a hard worker and is as committed to making this house our home as much as I am.  He replaced all our baseboards – so much work but what a difference this has made.

Coming up next – Spare Bedroom 1 – Exercise

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Downsizing and Our Kitchen Makeover

What’s In My Library

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