Organization: The Hall Closet

I finally made time to tackle our hall closet. These are the before pics. The top of the closet isn't so bad, but the further down you go, you can see I've just been throwing stuff in there.  

 

 

And here are the after pics.

Yes, I know the green blankets are leaning (I didn't realize it until I looked at the pics on my computer). :)

 

So what I did was basically take everything out. Then I went through the boxes and sorted, purged and reorganized each box by season/Holiday.I put all the banners, lights, and décor into Ziploc bags so that they wouldn't get tangled up.

I have a box for Spring/Summer, Valentine's/St. Patrick's, and Fall/Winter.

I also have a box for party supplies which has party hats, goody bags, balloon weights etc.

The top of the closet holds my candles, Scentsy stuff and my punch bowl (which I'm considering getting rid of. I haven't used it in 7 years).

 

 

The next shelf holds all of seasonal/Holiday décor.

 

 

The next shelf holds our seasonal pillow covers and pillow cases, party extras and décor extras.

The next shelf holds all of our bedding. I just fold the sheet sets and put them in a pillow case to organize them. I'm sure Martha Stewart would cringe if she saw my linens but it works for me!

 

The bottom of the closet holds all of my extra family photos, European trip photos and my photos from all of my photography classes.

So glad it's over with...now the hard part....keeping it organized!

 

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Organization Inspiration

I recently read a blog post found here.

 

And I became inspired to tackle some organizational projects that I've put off or simply ignored. Do you ever look around and go "how did my house get this bad"?

 

So I made a list of about 15 areas that I wanted to tackle. I'm hoping to have all of them finished by the time I go back to school in August.

 I started with my craft closet. Here's the before. It doesn't look so bad, but that's because half of what should be in there, is in our living room.

 

As seen here!

I started by taking everything out and sorting my scrapbooking supplies which are on the left. I gave away anything I haven't used in a while. I put my current projects in a basket at the top that's easy to get out when I'm ready to work.

The right side of the closet is devoted to my Etsy shop. I store all supplies and finished products in separate containers so they remain clean and dust free.

The hanging striped shelving in the middle holds scraps of fabrics, patterns, sewing supplies etc. The top shelf that's open holds all of my shipping supplies (envelopes, packing tape, business cards etc. When I get an Etsy order to fill, it makes it very easy to ship it out quickly.

I saw this on Pinterest and decided to try it myself. Super easy! And a great way to organize your fabrics. You just take a hanging file folder, cut it along the fold and use both pieces to hang fabric on.

After talking to my husband about needing a craft room because I spend half of my time getting supplies out to work on something and then spend a bunch of time cleaning up my messes (that usually end up in the living room), he suggested that I buy a craft table to put in the office. Great idea but I'm low on cash, so I just got out our 2 card tables and set my most frequently used supplies out and now it's set up for me to work.

 

After the craft closet, I tackled the master bath. I was tired of Sophia's bath toys being everywhere.

So I bought a filing crate and threw them all in there. I like that it has holes on the bottom too so that excess water can drain out.

All of her soaps and shampoos got thrown into a basket that I use for my bath supplies.

 

Next up, underneath my bathroom sink. Yikes!

I started by purging anything that was outdated, expired, didn't need/want etc., like these Velcro curlers. I haven't used these in years!

And these razors....I bought them because they were cheaper than the ones I love and I now know why they were cheaper....they are painful! I'll pay more for comfort when I shave.So in the trash they go!

Then I sorted and made a big mess.

I even got rid of nail polishes that I never use.

I already had these baskets that I think I got at Garden Ridge about 11 years ago, so I just moved my various piles of products into containers.

Bathroom drawers are next....before.

After...

 

I am a sucker for lip products. I don't know why. I have rather thin lips, but I'm always looking for the perfect color and if I'm ever in Target, you can bet I'll have at least 1 lip product in my basket. Unfortunately, I've bought more misses than hits. So I decided to get rid of the ones that were misses. I actually tested them all out to make sure.

After....

I even went threw our medicine cabinet getting rid of expired products.

 

It felt good to bring some order to this chaotic house.

Right now I'm working on purging. The thing about Pinterest is, it has me saving odds and ends in the hopes that one day I'll use it to create something. There has to be a balance there or I'll end up with a closet full of wine corks.

 

Next up, the hall closet. Wish me luck! It may take a while.