closet serenity

It all happened so fast and it was out of control. Despite constant efforts to contain our clothes and shoes, our bedroom closet had become a living, breeding, mound of clutter. I know, I know, how can a self-proclaimed, savvy organizer live in such disarray? Trust me, I am so ashamed.




At 30 inches deep and 57 inches wide, I am not exaggerating when I say that this closet is tiny. And, as the only real closet in the house, it has to work for both of us. Ever since we moved in, I have been attempting to force it to be efficient. I bought a shoe organizer right away. I put in a drawer unit that contained medicine, extra toiletries, slippers, and swimwear. I hung a sweater organizer from the top rod to corral our favorite sweatshirts and sweaters. The clothes and shoes seemed to multiply, even though no new articles were being introduced. At some point, I lost my motivation to keep on top of it every day and embraced the chaos that hid behind the curtain.

Yesterday, I was surveying our bedroom. Little piles of clothes had started to crop up outside the closet! I decided that something had to be done. I resolved to regain floor space in the bedroom and start from scratch in the closet.

Once I dragged everything out of it, including the dust bunny colony, I looked over the empty space. Boy was it ugly. It had never been painted. So, I coated it twice with a high gloss creamy white. Lucky for me, it was a hot day and it dried quick. I set to work putting things back in, but scrutinized it all along the way.

Over half of my husband's hanging clothes are never worn. I carved out a spot for them in the basement next to the winter coats. This eliminated the need for the bottom hanging rod. Oh, joy! I put my dresser in next to the sturdy plastic drawer unit. The shoe organizer, when tipped on its end, still fit inside, just underneath the hanging sweater organizer.



Up top, I hung our clothes in a color coordinated fashion, which not only looks good, but helps me really see what I've got to choose from. (Now I just need a collapsible step stool so I can reach them!)


On top of my dresser, there is a little mirror and a wooden dish for my everyday earrings, next to my larger jewelry box.


I installed a small rack with three hooks for belts and my robe. The single hook that had been there previously, was always falling out of its hole, and I had more belts that it could hold. I also mounted two "moon lights", as previously the closet was not lit, which I think added to the creation of the disturbing abyss of clutter.



It is amazing how spacious the bedroom now feels with one dresser in the closet. With all of our things now organized in a sensible way, the whole room feels more restful. I think I slept better last night, and getting dressed this morning was fun! I even went a few steps further and added a couple of things to the bedroom, which I will show you tomorrow. For now, I do believe that this is more than enough!