Recently, I bared all and showed you the
horribly embarrassing state of my master bedroom closet. I took care of business and organized that thing to pieces. But there were still a few loose ends that I needed to tie up, which, I am happy to report, are now complete!
In my first day of organizing, I took care of the big stuff: I pulled everything out of the closet; I made a few repairs; I sorted and purged my wardrobe; I hung all the dresses and skirts together, all the shirts and blouses together, and all the pants together; I organized my sweaters and brought in a new shelf to hold them; I organized my jeans and shorts; and I moved my shoes from an over-the-door contraption to a more functional shelf. This was huge progress, but not everything. I still had to deal with the top shelves, my belts and scarves, my running gear and sneakers, and all that floor space. I decided to do what I did the first time and empty out those areas so that I could figure out a great solution.
1. The Top Shelves.
I picked up a ton of baskets at Home Goods on a recent shopping excursion there. They had these gorgeous matching white and peach baskets, some with lids and some without, that I thought were too pretty to pass up, along with these vintage-looking wire baskets. The thing about Home Goods, which I am sure you all know, is if you see it and want it you absolutely have to purchase then and there because otherwise it will be gone [I could use one or two more of the peach and white baskets ... I'm hoping there is a Home Goods miracle and a couple remain]. Here is my haul of lovely organizing objects:
I thought the wire baskets would be perfect for purses: I can easily see what is inside, but they can be tucked away until I need them. I don't really change up my purses that often, but I certainly like to have my lovelies around.
I have some extra fancy shoes that I don't wear often but want to keep nonetheless, so I found some great
clear shoe boxes from The Container Store. Now I can see the shoes and they look nice and neat together. I ordered a couple of extras just in case I add to my fancy shoe collection.
On the other side, I have two green bins that store my painting clothes and my larger sized pants. I know when you lose weight you are supposed to ditch all your old clothes, but I just ... I can't get rid of these [I have been at this weight for a year now, and was at this weight before, but I am terrified of tossing all my larger sized pants only to have to replace them eventually ... not the right attitude, I suppose ... but I will give myself a few more years at this smaller size before I do that]. I also have baskets filled with clothes and accessories up here, my sewing kit and some boxes of photos.
2. Belts.
I decided to move my belts to hooks on the back of the closet door. They used to live in the plastic shelving unit, which was fine, but I had to rifle through them to find what I wanted. I bought these hooks at Target (I think they were $9 each) and I liked that I could fit them side-by-side and that the hooks were pretty narrow, so my skinny belts would fit over them.
Now I can see all the beautiful belts all at once.
3. Scarves.
I like my scarves in view because I wear them as often as I can, but I didn't want them taking up a ton of space. I found this tie holder at Target, which has non-stick grips on the sides It is perfect for my scarves. I hung it behind my shirts and blouses - it's out of the way but still in plain view. I love it. I'll probably bring in a second one because this one is full.
4. Running Gear and Sneakers.
I have a lot of running and triathlon gear: hats, glow-in-the-dark vests, ankle bands, etc. I previously had it shoved in a bin in the top of the closet, but that wasn't exactly functional. When I moved my purses and belts out of the plastic storage unit, I moved the
regular running gear,
winter running gear and
triathlon gear into it. The bottom drawer holds all my casual sneakers and sporty shoes (hiking boots, water shoes, non-running sneakers) and the top drawer holds my gear. I store my running sneakers and my winter running sneakers on the top of the shelf for easy access.
5. Floor Space.
Finally, I had all that floor space around the perimeter of the closet. I have a bunch of boots, and I wanted to store them a little neater, so I ordered some of these
nifty boot holders from The Container Store. I like how they keep the boots upright. As with my clear shoe boxes, I ordered a couple more of these than I needed, because I fully intend to add to my boot collection.
I put my casual boots next to the other casual shoes.
And that is all! It feels great to have this project done. I'm thrilled with how neat and organized my clothes are. Makes me want to go out and buy a few more! No. Stop. Enough.
See you swoon,
