Closet Makeover

Two things you should know: 1. This post may be quite boring. 2. I'm almost embarrassed to post it. Often people comment about how clean my house is...well, for the most part it is, but don't look in the closets. I have a 5 year old and a 2 year old, so you know there is a mess somewhere. Oddly, if the room is spotless, but the closet is still messy I feel like the room is messy. So a couple of weeks ago I tackled my kids closets. See Savannah's before picture above and below.

It had become quite dis-functional and post-Christmas I needed it to function more than ever! I began searching the internet for closet organizing tips and to my surprise I didn't find much! Most sites were only trying to sell me their organizational storage systems. Other bloggers didn't have much to say about it either. So this post is for someone who, like me, could use a few suggestions.

The first thing I did was to sort through everything - clothes, toys, STUFF, and get rid of things! I suggest making 4 piles: 1. To keep. 2. To toss. 3. To donate. 4. To store. I think I had a trash bag full of things to toss, and a trash bag full of things to donate. From there I organized her clothes. As you can see above I color-coordinated them which not only looks nicer, but makes it easier to find things.

I also organized the top shelf. I was able to create so much room just by getting rid of things. Also, I did find a tip about using clear tubs for clothes that are being store for the next season. That way if you need to pull a few things out you know which tub they are in without digging through it!

I also moved an old shelf into the closet to maximize space. When you can store stack things up you save so much space! This could be done with an inexpensive bookshelf or organizer found at Walmart or Target. I also read that clear tubs make better toys boxes. When you child can see the toy they want they are less likely to dump the toy box! This has worked for Savannah.

For small toys I bought a couple of cute tubs at Target. Before Valentines Day they were only $2.

Purses and bags were hung on push pins on the side of the closet. I think command hooks would be better, but I was trying to use what I had on hand. One tip I found online that I love was to use a tall trash can for dirty clothes instead of a laundry basket because it takes up much less floor space!

So there are just a couple of tips for a neater looking, more functional closet. If anyone else has any helpful tips please leave comments! I love hearing from my readers.