so many linens, so little space...

One of the things we gave up when we moved was a bit of square-footage. In our old house we had room in each bathroom to hold the linens and room in each bedroom closet for the sheets and blankets. In this house, at least for now, we have one closet for all the linens, and all the medicines, and all the other odd bits that end up in a linen closet. So I had to attack this closet with gusto, and I had to do it early on. We needed a place to put those things. So attack I did. And it looks great. Unfortunately, it won't work well long-term. It's too difficult/cumbersome to get the things folded small enough to fit into their boxes and I find things laying neatly folded in clean, teetering piles inside the laundry basket because it takes a bit of effort. And what I'm learning is that if it doesn't work for you, and isn't easy to use, then it won't stick.

However, it's workable-enough until we get a few more things shifted around, and basement rooms finished.

picking up where I left off... in a new place!

The monthly projects lost steam last year for several reasons. I finished up the first draft of a novel and made it over to Ireland for a research/fact-checking trip, which took some time. Then, last summer we moved. Thankfully, just across town, but still the under-taking with a young family and a solid decade of stuff to move from the old house, it took us a while.

So now that we're here and the holidays have passed, the urge to make this space our own has taken over.

Early on, there was one room that I couldn't help getting settled straight away. Our sunroom. In the middle of this very long and cold winter, it's encouraging to look out the windows into life with warmth and green again.

This isn't much on the organizational end. We put the toy cubbies in here making a pseudo-window seat, but it's on the side of the room you can't see here. The coffee table holds blankets and my neglected knitting.

February love... my Laundry Room

I knew early on that my next project would be the laundry room and boy did it need it.  (See picture below)

 It was a wreck. And now that it's done, it is such a cheery place.

And in the middle of the project, I had two mini-projects that were part of it: the laundry box (For the frequently-accessed laundry supplies that honestly, I'd never put back under a cabinet unless we were having people over. The point is to have something that looks nice all the time and that makes sense for us.) and the hide-it curtain (so when company comes they don't have to look at our laundry & cat box & so that most of the time-- all I have to leave 'open' is the cat box area-- the curtain can be pulled in front of the laundry baskets most of the time.) I'm waiting on a printer to be fixed so I can put my botanical prints in my frames & for my shelf to go under the existing shelf.

(The laundry box instructions)

 

(And the curtain instructions- seriously easy for any non-sewers out there)






 I'll report back in a couple weeks and let you see how it really looks. 

It's the end of January, how's my closet?

Still neat and tidy! Woo-hoo! This is a first. I think my mother would faint. My husband might feel faint but he's also pretty happy about it. The biggest change-- having that workable surface for all those weird little things like a place to put jewelry and my bobby pins (I wear a lot of bobby pins). And the rolling! Who knew such a small thing would make such a big difference in my closet? I sure didn't. I didn't want to be all Debbie Downer but I didn't think it'd work. But there's something about being able to grab the thing I want and not have everything topple down or get all tangled. I can see what I've got and that is a big help. Also- those shelf dividers. I've thought about getting those for years but they're kind of pricey (when you figure out how many you need) and I thought- my shelves are fine.... but they really weren't. Now, though-- need a pair of jeans? No problem, right here. Need a bag to carry that stuff? No problem, right here. And again, it doesn't cause an avalanche.

I have to say- this makes me very excited for the next project. THE LAUNDRY ROOM. I have my plan figured out. My containers arrived today and I'm ready to make my curtain (this is really sew-cheating, I'll show you). I'm stoked. February is almost here and I am ready for a pretty, organized laundry room.

So now... the real life photos of my closet at the end of the month. The ONLY thing I picked up were two hangers that had fallen on the floor (when I dropped them there in the morning). That's it. Everything else is real, no tidying.

closet- back

closet-right

closet- left

And... just to show you how catchy this stuff is... my side project #1 (a drawer in our dining room hutch) I think I'm turning this into a veiled "Command Center" (a term I see thrown around on organizing sites)

And... a little homework basket (same hutch)

and what it looks like from the side/not the inside peek

ideas are bubbling

The ideas are starting to bubble. I've decided the next project will be the laundry room. The closet is coming along very nicely (and staying that way!) and while I could do our master bathroom, I'm not as excited about it as I am our laundry room which makes me sad everytime I go in there (it has such potential!). So... February will be my I (will) Love My Laundry Room month. Here's a sneak peek at what I'm thinking about doing. 

 

a day later

There's nothing like inspiration to get me moving, so I went ahead with stage one of the closet update and I am pretty darn pleased. It looks tidier in person (all the uneven rolled edges don't look so hot on camera). And I like this rolled clothes thing- I think it'll work for me. We'll see.

And I have *always* wanted a dresser-like top inside my closet, sort of dressing room style. I'm liking it so far. I'm anxious for my shelf dividers to arrive so I can make some sense of that mess on the shelf up top. I realized though that I have less room for clothes this way- so I'll have to use the side shelf (where the lower rack of clothes hang), but hopefully with the dividers it won't become such a mess. We'll see.

January- the master bedroom closet

The Master Bedroom Closet

Soon after we married, my husband and I started having closet troubles. He is a neat closet keeper. I am not. His things will hang out at the end of the bed or hung on the back of the closet door for a day or two but they always get put back or get put into the wash (right side out, not in a heap). He has some laundry issues but that's for another day. When I pull something out and decide not to wear it, it lays in a heap on the floor (in the closet or near my bed). Shoes pile up, purses pile up, and in general, it's a nightmare.

A few years back, for Christmas, I gave my husband an organized closet. See, in our house, as lovely as it is- has only one closet for us to share in our room. Initially, we were sharing side-by-side and this meant he was always tripping over my things and visually assaulted by my messy habits. So... I divided the closet in half front-to-back and hung up a curtain across the middle. This meant the front half would be tidy and inviting and with the curtain closed, he'd rarely have to see my mess. It mostly works.

The thing is, I don't want a messy closet but I don't know how to make things simple enough to keep it tidy, and I am lazy when it comes to folding and hanging. AND I'm not giving up my clothes (if I only had two of everything it'd be very tidy).

So... I will employ some new tricks... maybe add some along the way this month.

And as promised-- here are the (gulp) real life photos of the closet as it is now. Only edited for lighting since I can only find my cell phone.

 

 

This is how the closet is supposed to function- on the left: dresses/skirts/mirror/scarves, on the right: upper- blouses/blazers, shelf: jeans/pants (that don't need to be hung up), lower- pants that need to be hung up. In the back- each cubby has one kind of item (short sleeve t's/long sleeve t's/sweaters/etc), the shelf above is for purses & bags, top shelf is for suitcases.

 

 

Problems: I'm short, so everything has to be at about 5' or lower, otherwise I can't put things back. My cubbies get all sloppy because I don't like having to refold & put things back every time.

 

Solutions/Tips/Tricks I'll try:

1. Putting a bin at the bottom of the closet for shed clothing (you know, the stuff I decide I'm not wearing)

2. Hooks to hold things like the outfit for the next day (not sure about that yet)

3. Rolling the things in the cubbies so an item can be pulled out w/o disturbing the rest of the items

4. something to organize the purses/bags

 

I'll add more as ideas pop up, and I'll post on January 27 with photos of how it turned out. In the meantime, feel free to add your ideas in the comments spot.