Closet

Organizing a Small Linen Closet

The kids have a very small closet in their bathroom. We use it for their bedsheets, and a few bathroom supplies. But it is always a mess.

I have decided the kids can not get a set of sheets our of a closet without making a total disaster of the closet.  Take this for an example

I don’t know if they needed a set that was at the bottom of a pile or what. But sheets are everywhere. Looks like the top sheet for the  purple set is way up in the first aide basket. Go figure?

There is actually a laundry hamper under there.  What happens frequently (and totally ticks me off) is that I’ll get a clean bedsheet that has fallen off the shelf and into the laundry hamper. So of course I get to wash it again.

When I took the colored cubby’s out of the entry hallway, I was trying to think of a use for them.  I thought of this closet! It has been on my “To Do” list for some time, and now was as good as any!

I took advantage of the fact that the kids know which colored cubby is their own.

I folded the sheets (as I have seen on someone else’s blog) and folded up the top sheet, the bottom fitted sheet and put them both inside the pillow case. So they can pull the whole set out in one fluid motion!

I then put their own sheet sets in their own cubby!

There is no real need to label these since the kids know their colors (my kids are color coded)

I reorganized the supplies. I took all the first aide supplies out and have made a separate box for that and located it else where. That freed up some top shelf space.  I used baskets we had on hand. I didn’t buy anything. The toilet paper supply is in the large basket and their deodorant stock is in the left small basket. When I did my couponing a couple years ago, that was one thing that you could get basically for free (or under $.50 each). I still have several left.

I am very pleased how it turned out.

This will help the kids keep it neater, I will do less “clean sheet” laundry and it put these cubby’s to very good use.

Creating an Organized Closet under stairs

In my teens Basement bedroom we had to create a closet underneath the stairs.

With his new room he was going to need a closet.  The kids had used this area as a fort before, so we had to remove all that stuff and do just a little prep work.  Creating an organized closet under the stairs doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. I think the only thing we actually bought was the hardware to put up the clothes rod and the light fixture.

Here is my step son’s closet underneath the basement stairs.  Ended up working great.  My husband put a light in the closet.  He has a rack for clothes, laundry hamper for dirty clothes, baskets for “stuff” and the shoe hanger with a basket above it.

My husband just had to put the rod in (right after he finished…so all his stuff is still sitting there.)

So… you can be a little creative and create some good usable space where you don’t think you have it.

Using Baskets to organize office supplies

Re-purposing a bookshelf in a closet is thinking outside the box.

This picture is actually looking into a closet.  I had a challenge with a client. Organize all these office supplies.  There was a small closet in the room and a bar across it and a couple of little shelves that had been left by a previous owner. There was no need for clothes for this office….and I wanted to utilize this space.

The client had  this bookshelf that wasn’t being used.  I did all the measurments before I had it moved into the room.  It was going to fit! I was So excited!

Now for the containers.  I wanted to use a clear plastic so that you could easily see what was in them.  I measured the shelf height and length to make sure I could get the most use out of the space…knowing I was buying the right size baskets or plastic boxes.

If you notice I have the lids off the boxes.  It would look very nice and neat to have them on, but would things get put back as easy if you had to lift a lid to do it?  This was a place that I could leave them open and easily accessible.  But….I did put the lid directly under the basket so that you don’t have to worry about losing them…and they are there if you want to use them.

Organizing sizes on the rod in your closet

I am going to be organizing a closet for someone today and I found these closet dividers at The Container Store that I am planning to use.
She has 2 girls and they have plenty of hanging clothes. The baby has many different sizes hanging in her closet and they are all on store plastic hangers. I plan to use the same colored plastic hangers for uniformity and the plastic dividers to divide the different sizes. I think it will improve the look of the closet and the functionality of it.