[Name your fave domestic goddess here] I am not.
So, the first task of the 31 days to an organized home is the "entryway." I actually screwed this up a bit, because I got caught up on the coat closet part (which I have, sort of) and missed the whole point of the entryway as being a good place to start.
My coat closet sits under the stairs. The same stairs that you almost fall into as you walk in the door - the entryway is so miniscule.
At any rate, I have a closet problem, so I guess it will do.
So I don't know how this is going to come out on the blog. I'm posting this via mobile app. But what we have here is a before and after shot of my coat closet under the stairs.
To some, this might be like an exercise in "what's different about the picture?" since unlike the "imperfect housekeeper" of the inspirational blog ("have less stuff than you have space for!") my space is dark and small and jammed in both the before and the after.
(I would also like to point out that her closet is painted a lively color, while mine is still ... well, smudgy contractor beige and riddled with giant holes where the wall anchors failed during past organizing attempts. I would like to open the floor for volunteers to come fix that paint problem for me. Anyone?)
I took the advice of another organizer's article (they are abundant), and moved all the crap out of the closet into a separate space before trying to organize.
To indicate what that looked like when I dumped the entire contents of the tiny closet, my husband came into the room at the very beginning of my project and declared, "what the heck happened in here?" before turning on his heel to hide in the bedroom, lest I rope him into the project. I just cackled and got started.
I won't go into much detail from here except I finally tackled that bag of junk that . . . Okay, let's be honest . . . bagS of junk that I'd jammed in there when I was in a hurry to clean out the car and didn't have the stamina to do more than empty it into a reusable grocery tote. (See? Goes back to that "where the hell does all this stuff go?" thing.)
But I did it! Right now there are only coats, winter accessories, and our work bags in there. Oh and the vacuum (which has no other home) and the ironing board (same story) and maaaay..be some random stuff in the very back that I wasn't interested in dealing with tonight.
But it's way better. I swear. ;)
It IS way better! I can see a big difference. Congrats on not giving up!!
ReplyDeleteIf the ironing board turns out to be what we call in my house "an ankle biter," there's the option to hang it. Door or back of closet. I mean, who irons anyway? Not me!
ReplyDeleteYou've inspired me (again). I went after my narrow coat closet I share with Russell (16 mos. old) I put command hooks on the inside of the door. I have 3 bags hanging from the hooks. One for her hats and gloves. One for my hats and one for my gloves (Momma's stuff is bigger).
ReplyDeleteIt's an old house and like so many old houses its closets are stupid. Vast ceiling with no floor space, tiny door, tempermental door latch, cold like it's outside, no light fixture, epic spider webs you could use to close a Dorito bag. And why, oh why do they have at least one ridiculously deep shelf where stuff goes to get lost?
I removed the front TWO boards on that shelf just so I could retrieve a coat without hitting myself in the forehead.
I put a tension rod in so that I could hang Russell's itty bitty coats.
It's looking better. I should have taken a before picture but when you have 10 min. to do something before nap time is over, and you have about 5.5 min. worth of energy, you have to strike while your get up and go is hot.
Keep them coming! I need to be inspired DAILY. Thanks!
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=365ffcd19a&view=att&th=143e9c9d1876609a&attid=0.1&disp=safe&zw
I love it! We can cheer each other on as we go :)
DeleteAnd, by the way, I completely agree with you about old houses and "stupid" closets. My house isn't even as old (1943), and it's seen recent renovation. Still, it's very clear to me that the builder(s) failed to consult a woman when making some of their (strange) storage choices. What good it storage space when you can't access it?