Hello friends! I hope you have all been having a great week! Like a lot of you, this is our last week before school goes back and it is going by WAY too quickly. Only 5 days left!!!
On Monday, I shared some closet organization tips and today I am going to show you our master closet. It’s not quite as fancy as the inspiration photos but it is organized and it functions quite well for us.
When we originally bought our house, the closet just had a set of white wire racks running down each side of the closet. While our stuff still technically “fit” into the closet, it didn’t look very nice and it definitely wasn’t very organized. We had boxes piled up on the floor and boxes piled up on the racks above. Well, apparently wire racks do not like to have boxes piled on top of them and they eventually had enough abuse and broke.
I talked Dave into looking into custom closets but, unfortunately I had to agree that they were way too expensive. For about 1/4 of the cost, we had a friend of Dave’s build this shelving unit for us {as it was WAY beyond our building abilities!} Over the last few months, I have changed a few things around and I think I finally have it arranged the way I like it! Thankfully, Dave just kind of goes along with the flow…
Clothes
I hang up most of my clothes with the exception of my pajamas {and other “comfy, wear-around-the-house” clothes!}, workout clothes, and tank tops. I organize all of my clothes by color as it makes it very easy for me to find what I am looking for. I do separate out the pants and dresses but all of my jackets, shirts, sweaters, etc. are all just hung up together.
I would definitely recommend investing in a matching set of hangers. We have had these wood ones for a few years now but I really like the thin, velvet covered ones as well. If you can’t afford to buy them all at once, keep your eyes open for sales and pick a few up each time. Home Sense {or Home Goods in the States} often has them for really affordable prices.
I purchased the black bins at Kohl’s for about $6 each. On Dave’s side they are filled with his T-shirts and shorts. I had tried to organize the bins by color but he did not comply with my method so I gave up. On my side, I have 2 bins for my pajamas and other “comfy clothes”, a bin for gym clothes, a bin for my accessories {scarves, belts, and other smaller items}, a bin for sweaters that might stretch out if they are hung up, and a bin for my tank tops.
Jewelery
Last year I made this jewelery holder from an old wine rack. It has actually worked out great and makes it really easy to keep everything organized. I find that I change up my jewelery a lot more frequently when I can see everything!
I also painted a tray to match the jewelery holder and added some pretty paper underneath the glass. I keep a bowl and my Anthropology egg holder on it to hold my more frequently worn jewelry so I can just pop it off. I also have a little basket on here to hold all of the change that I collect from pockets!
Seasonal Items
Purses and Bags
I attached some Command hooks at the end of our storage unit to hold my larger purses and bags. The other set of hooks are from Ikea and hold Dave’s hats and some smaller bags.
Most of my fabric bags are stored in one of these bins at the other end of the closet. The other baskets hold our iron, fire extinguisher, and a few other random storage items.
Shoes
I had a couple of old shoe storage racks that I moved into the closet that were originally in other areas of the house but no longer being used. One was placed to the back of the closet and the other one was put on the floor in the shelving unit. There is also room on the floor underneath the bottom clothes hanger for any extra shoes that are not worn as often.
Keepsakes
Even though it is just a closet, it is still nice to personalize the space a bit. First of all, the prettier something is, the more likely I am to keep it tidy. And secondly, this closet is one of the first things that I see each morning. Since I am not a morning person, a few nice things to make me smile is always good!
The Mommy and baby elephant was my first Christmas present from Matthew after he was born. I also have a couple of boxes with some of my favorite art work from the kids and any special cards or notes. There are also some scrapbook albums and some picture frames scattered throughout the closet.
So what’s in your closet? Anyone have any great storage or organization ideas for me?
LOVE IT! I’ve been obsessed with closets lately, since we are moving soon I’m trying to determine the best way to organize, with built ins, bins etc. I agree about matching hangers. They look so much better and more organized. I think that’s an awesome way to organize Jewelry! I really LOVE that idea. I need a way to organize my bags. I have WAY too many of those. I’m lovin’ the closet!
I love it! You have thought of a place for everything and done it so beautifully!
It turned out awesome!!! Boy do I wish I had a closet that big, but ours is organized for the most part. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
I love this so much! Our apartment has a nice walkin closet and I’m trying to figure out what to do with it to make it look nice and organized. It still has boxes and bags in it from when we moved!
This closet looks so very lovely. It also looks enormous!! I am very jealous right now…
I have a much bigger closet than I’ve ever had before, but it’s definitely not as big as your one. And not as pretty (although everything does have a place).
Still, we all start somewhere I guess!
Sarah
http://acatlikecuriosity.blogspot.co.uk/
I love how everything has a place! My closet is next on my list How big is your closet ?
Love this! I love all the baskets too! I am needing to customize my closet as well but will also need to do it on a budget. Thanks for the great inspiration!
Susan
Great job, I love it!
I really love your closet and how it showcases a lot of your personal items. I never would have thought to put a nice decorative shelf or coat hooks up! It looks really great and gave me lots of inspiration for our (future) walk-in closet. Right now we have a teeny tiny walk-in (take one step and you’re in!) but I have plans to renovate our master room to include a larger walk-in (& hopefully a larger ensuite…one can dream, right!?). 🙂
Such a great closet! We’re moving soon and will have a larger master closet to organize, so this will come in handy. Pinning for later inspiration! I’d love for you share this at my MightyCrafty Mondays link party: http://mightycrafty.blogspot.com/2012/09/mightycrafty-mondays-round-10.html#.UEYCD5bTDfY
great post Jenn! So inspiring!!! Looks lovely…and I was wondering if you lied the color Grey?
*oops! Like
Love it! Your smaller shoe storage is so smart! I never thought of adding more boards! Totally inspired and jealous of your beautiful closet!
Take care,
Trish
Yea, okay so I have to do something about my closets. It’s great to look at how neat your closets are, though. I think I’d have to get rid of a WHOLE LOT OF STUFF for my closet to look like this. Best wishes, Linda
Very nice and helpful information has been given in this post. I like the way you explain the things. Keep posting. Thanks!
Closet Organizer
Over time I have accumulated a *free!* set of matching hangers – when I shop, if the store uses clear plastic hangers I ask to keep them. 99% of the time they throw them in the bag, some times they even ask if I want extras. I like the clear because it makes my closet feel a lot more open. I also love these because the hooks spin – easy to hang everything facing the same way, AND seasonally I turn everything “backwards” until I use it. Whatever is still facing backwards at the end of the season goes… Helps me take the emotion out of purging 🙂
Yes, I have heard that tip for getting rid of clothes – good to hear it actually works!