Organizing the Closet

Well, redoing the bathroom also spurred on a "need" to redo the closet. The door to our closet is actually inside the bathroom, and is usually open at all times....so having a new, pretty bathroom, and a boring, messy closet = no fun.

As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, I'm on a new kick to start being more creative with my wardrobe (which at the moment is going very well). While I was gathering inspiration for this, I came across a whole slew of blog posts on how having a more organized (and pretty) closet will help in making the most of the clothes and outfits you already own (my favorite series of posts on this subject can be found here, courtesy of Kendi Everyday).

So, all of this new motivation was put to good use this weekend as we took our closet from boring and less-than-functional, to something that really works.

Here are a few "befores":

Notice that all of my shoes are thrown on the top shelf (that I couldn't even see over...which means that I would just grab whatever my hands touched first). I also hung a jewelry organizer that worked really well until I started packing it too full of stuff :).

We also had an issue with throwing shoes on the floor. Especially when there wasn't enough room on our shoe rack.

All of Bryan's clothes are on the bottom rack, while mine are well, everywhere else. It gets a little crowded.

Another form of DIY jewelry organization. This was cute for about 2 weeks, and then the pins started falling off because my jewelry was too heavy, which resulted in an even bigger mess (and both Bryan and I getting stabbed in the feet).

We also had boring, beige walls, which looked really yellow with the uncovered light bulb.

So, we cleaned everything out...

And started over!



I'm a white hanger addict. They all have to be the same. It's the OCD in me. All of our clothes are still pretty packed in, but we just had a huge garage sale two months ago, so I wanted to give everything we have a second chance before I decided to toss it :). I also found a place for my scarves, and was able to put my beloved Vera Bradley on display as well as other favorite purses.

We went and bought 5 white wire shelves at Wal-Mart for our shoes. Best. Decision. Ever. It is SO much easier to have our shoes organized on these. Love. Bryan was able to fit all of his shoes on the top 2 shelves, and I put my heels and flats on it. I cut the hanging shoe organizer that we already had and put sandals and casual shoes in it.

My boots are the only shoes that remain on the top shelf of the closet, mostly because it's summer and I don't wear them right now. I'll probaly switch them out when the seasons change.

I have too many shoes.

You may have also noticed something a little different (and fun) on the ceiling. Yes, my love of stripes made it's way into the closet too (You can also find them in our laundry room)!

We also found a light to cover the bare bulb...much better.

Last but not least, I tackled my jewelry problem. It still looks like I have a lot (which I do), but I got rid of about half of the jewelry that I already owned. This isn't even all of it. Many of my favorites are on display in our bathroom. (I am ashamed).

I found cup hooks at Wal-Mart and had Bryan install them. Love this. It's so easy to see every piece of jewelry that I have now. In fact, I'm wearing a pair of earrings today that I haven't worn in 3 years just because I didn't realize that I still had them. But now I know :).

And there you have it. That was our weekend project!

Have a great Wednesday :).