103 Conquering Clothing Clutter: My Closet

Welcome back to "Conquer Your Clothing Clutter week!  How are y'all doing?  Any clothing clutter progress?  So far I have researched and shared some tips and worked on our boy's shared closet.

Today I am sharing a few updates that I made in my personal closet, to make it much more effective and easy to keep organized.

When I last left off, I was REALLY loving our recent addition of the his and hers armoires.  We had done the walk-in closet thing, and it was crowded and a challenge to share.  There was very little space to navigate, no way could we be in there at the same time.  We filled it with too many clothes we hardly wore and could never seem to agree on a consistent organizing system or where the cut-off point was for his clothes and mine.  So when we began to renovate the lower level, I decided enough was enough, a simple wall removal gave us a nice big dressing area.  The new area allowed us to use two cheapo IKEA armoires as his and hers closets.

I have been living with them since November of last year, and taking note of what was working, and more importantly, what was not.

Working:

• The size is perfect.  It really keeps me in check with my wardrobe and clothing purchases.  I only have so much space so I really need to be selective about what I own and keep things nice and pared down.
• The shoe rack we popped in the bottom has been splendid.
• LOVE the huggable hangers!  They give me plenty of hanging room and nothing slips off the hangers.
• Having my own closet space was beyond words fabulous!  
• I love that the doors conceal our storage, providing less visual clutter when everything is all closed up.

Not Working:

• Using baskets on the top shelf for undergarments was a bit of a daily pain.
• Using a box for tanks {on the top shelf}.  I wear tanks under my clothes daily, so another pain to pull down the box and dig through it each day.
• The shelving was spaced far apart, so I wasn't able to maximize how it was used.  Items were all stacked on one another, my sweaters would often topple.  When I wanted to pull a pair of paints out of the stack, I had to re-stack the rest to put back.

To begin with the armoire update, I took those "problems" and started thinking of potential solutions.  Overall, the answer was simple;  I wanted to hang my pants or add extra shelves to reduce how many items needed to be stacked, and put my undergarments and tanks in drawers {vs. boxes and baskets}.

Since I couldn't add additional wooden shelving {it wasn't designed sturdy enough or with enough shelving notches}, I decided some sort of drawer system was the solution.  Who knew it would be SO hard to find anything that could work.  The size of the armoire was proving to be a bit of a challenge.  I searched high and low for solutions that were the correct width and depth.  I finally found an Elfa system at the Container Store that was intended for pantries.  Perfect depth, width and height and it had customizable drawer sizes and mix and match options so we could wave some features and take some pennies off of the final cost.  Surprisingly, this was my first ever Elfa system purchase {it is a bit pricey so I usually find alternate less expensive options}, but we had a 20% off coupon and it was the ideal solution, so we took the plunge.  I have been glowing ever since!

First order of business was labeling the bins.  I went with stick on bookplates:

The bookplates just stuck to the drawer fronts, and I slid in printed labels.

I ended up being able to remove a few items from the hanging side, and categorized the drawers as: Bras, Undies, Workout, Tanks, Long Sleeves and Denim.

Since I just took away the home of my dress pants, I found these pant hangers on sale at Target for just a couple of bucks.  I snagged two.  And because I removed some shirts from the hanging side, I had no trouble making room for the ultra slim pant hangers.

Sweaters, shorts and accessories all made their way to baskets that we already owned:

I don't mind those items remaining in bins/baskets since they are used less frequently and are now corralled {vs. stacked and tipping}.

After Monday's inspiration post, I decided I wanted to add a place to keep outfit ideas.  I have zero style, and although I have been using Pinterest to find great ideas from super fashionable bloggers, I don't check Pinterest in the morning when getting dressed so it hasn't been doing me much good.

A few square cork tiles from Target and some left over project fabric and I had new inspiration boards inside my armoire door:

Then I just browsed Pinterest and printed my favorite clothing combos:

And pinned them onto their new boards:

Throughout the entire process, I made sure to do a quick edit/paring down of items that I haven't worn in the last year.  A reader said it perfectly the other day when she said, "You only wear 20% of your clothes 80% of the time".  I found that to be somewhat true, so hopefully the new idea board will change that!

Now my armoire is much more organized and functional!  Everything is simple to find and simple to put away.

How about one of those super fun before and afters?

Is it weird that I actually love putting laundry away now? 

And yes, we are still super smitten with our dresser update as well!  The room is progressing nicely!

Next up.  My ten year old's dresser.  Please send me strength and well wishes as this one won't be easy, he didn't get any of his mama's organizing genes....

19 Reader Space: A Conquered Clothing Closet!

Since I have officially labeled this week, "Conquer Your Clothing Clutter" week on the blog....

I thought it would be fun to share an incredible reader space transformation that shows the importance of good space planning and design!

Lisa wrote:

Our master closet was installed by the flippers we bought our house from.  While it looked good, it didn't function.  If we hung clothes on all the rods, there would have been a 6 inch walkway!

We needed easier access, more shelves, and deeper hanging space, while being affordable, and looking good. 

We bought 2 shallow Pax (Ikea) wardrobes, a Closetmaid {Home Depot} system, and off the shelf rods, brackets, and shelving.  We installed the wardrobes and closet system as directed, and installed an extra deep double rod to hold suit jackets, and polos for my husband.

We bought Pax interior fittings to organize clothes, shoes, handbags, and towels, Ikea magazine holders to keep handbags orderly, and Ikea boxes to hold bedding, clothes, and accessories.  Some previously owned Target totes hold winter blankets. 

We now have a closet where we can store everything and find anything.  It holds what we currently have, and room for even more.  I love a reason to shop!

Lisa

Zoo View Home

Let's take a peek at what Lisa started with {Hey!  It looks exactly like our old walk in closet!}

They removed all of the wire shelving, patched and painted:

And as she mentioned in her note, installed systems that were mixed and matched from different big box stores:

So much better already right?  Then came the fun part!  Filling it all back up!

Taking what was previous lacking in effective storage and space....

And making it a super fantastic place to store all of their clothing, accessories, linens and more {which room to spare!}

I asked Lisa some questions about her space:

What is the main function of the space?

The closet functions to hold clothing, shoes, accessories, bedding and towels for my husband and I.

Any superstar tips for keeping it organized?

I used magazine holders to keep handbags neat, and a drawer to store flip flops, which always look cluttered on a shelf.

What items did you find essential when organizing this space and why?

I found that the Skubb boxes fro IKEA are a dream come true.  They come in various sizes and colors, and they have handles, which makes them easy to get a hold of, especially on the top shelf.  I used the medium cube boxes to store bedding and clothes, and the small boxes to store hats, scarves and belts.

What did you do to go the extra mile and "make it pretty"?

We patched holes and painted the walls to give the closet a clean slate.  We chose white closet systems {Pax from IKEA and Closetmaid Selectives from Home Depot} and all birch hangers for a cohesive look.

Where did you find your inspiration?

I had spent months looking at photos on Pinterest, Decor Pad, IHeart Organizing, Made By Girl and dozens of other blogs.

What items did you DIY to stay on a budget?

My husband is broad and so are his clothes, so I needed depth to hang his items, especially his polos and suit jackets.  I doubled up a 1x2 to create a 2x2 and attached it to a stud, and attached a rod support bracket to the 2x2.  This gave us an extra two inches of depth for his clothes.  This would have been impossible with the standard closet systems available and would have required a custom closet build, which we couldn't afford.

How has this update impacted your life for the better?

I no longer put clothes on the floor {teenage habit}, which drove my husband crazy.  Plus, I have an excuse to shop!  I have twice as much space to hang clothes, and a couple for shelves for shoes!

• The system looks like thousands of dollars worth of custom closets, however, it is really just a well thought out mix of big box store items which the homeowners installed on their own.
• Magazine holders for handbags?  Smart!  I love when y'all find new uses for common items!
• The closet feels twice as big!  They can now easily walk through it to quickly find anything they may be in search of.
• I adore that they took into consideration the size of the mister's clothing and DIY'd their closet to make it fit nice and flush with the system.  It is so important to really assess all needs when working on any project.
• Using bins as drawers/storage saves oodles of cash over having custom drawers installed.
• Keeping all of the hangers the same style really brings a cohesive and clean look to the closet.
• They didn't settle for the standard closet system.  They knew it wasn't an effective use of space and they problem solved a better solution.  Never settle my friends!
• They installed double rods to maximize hanging space.

A special thanks to Lisa for submitting her inspiring closet makeover which was perfect timing for this week's challenge.  If you want to see more pictures and learn more about their process, you can find all of the details on her blog here, here, here and here.

ATTENTION!!  Want to be featured in a Reader Space edition?  Have an awesome organizing story to share?  I am looking for projects that have made a positive impact to your life.  Please submit your story and photos here and I would heart to feature them right here, on the blog!!  Photos should be high resolution and unedited.  Please include a description of the project, including any costs, inspiration, and how it has changed your life and routine for the better!  Oh, and no worries my friends, we will NEVER judge "before" pictures because that just wouldn't be nice!  Only love goes on at this blog!

277 IHeart: Yube Cube & a GIVEAWAY!

Modular storage creates such versatility with it's mix and match options, so imagine how delighted I was when Yube Cube offered up a giveaway to you organizing crazed peeps!

Yube Cube is an eco friendly, modular furniture system for any of your organizing needs.  Modern, stylish and eco-friendly, Yube Cube eco-furniture is made out of panels that are practically edible!  They are made from sugarcane after the juice has been extracted.  The frames are made of woodlite, a moldable thermoplastic mixed with fiber made from bamboo, the renowned renewable wood resource.  Yube Cubes are biodegradable and compostable which means it is storage that you'll feel good about displaying in your home.  This isn't any ordinary material!  Yube Cubes are sturdy and easy to build.  Just snap together the four sides with a slide-in black, steel frame lock and corner clips that simply push into place.  Yube simplicity is easy and quick.  They are deep and a number of pre-packaged kits can be purchased right online here.  They provide storage all over the home, from the living room to the kitchen to the bathroom and the bedroom.  Or, you can build your own personalized structure using the Yube customizer, where you can even upload your own image for the doors!

Today the fine friends over at Yube Cube are offering IHeart Organizing readers the chance to win one of their nightstand kits!  That's a $100 value!

{enter using the giveaway management tool below, just follow the simple steps}

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You can enter code "iheartorganizing" to receive 10% off your entire order from the Yube Cube website!

117 Conquering Clothing Clutter: Kid's Closet

This week I am digging in and organizing all of our closets and drawers.  And blogging about it real time for you!  Did anyone begin yesterday after I provided some lovely photos of inspiration?

I decided to start with the boys shared closet since I thought that would be one of the easier tasks.  The closet was not necessarily unorganized, it just needed a little paring down and some minor upgrades from their previous setup.

I thought I would apply a few of the concepts I shared yesterday, based on the inspiration photos. 

• I took everything out of the closet and evaluated the size.  If something was questionable {as some things run big and small}, I had the kids try on their clothing to see how well it still fit.
• We checked over items for tears, rips, stains, etc...
• Items that no longer fit were tossed into a donate bin. 

• Everything was hung back up on hugable hangers to maximize the itty bitty closet space and the reduce the number of falling shirts {"Really mom!  They fell!  I did hang up my clothes, I promise!"}
• We created clothing tag labels, not to divide clothing types {our system is simple, shirts on top rod, pants on lower}, but to give the kids a place to plan our their clothes for the entire week.  We currently plan the night before, but planning on Sunday for the entire week will give us one less thing to do each night.  And although summer is just around the corner, the kids will still need to be able to pop out of bed and get dressed for summer activities and programs.  Not to mention, it will help them get into a good routine for our next school year.

Making the clothing tags took a little longer than I anticipated, and at moments, I questioned if it would have been easier to spend the ten smackaroos on these ones from The Container Store.  But, on the positive I was able to catch up on a few DVR'd shows while I crafted away and I am totally in love with the final outcome!

To make the tags, I just used some leftover cardboard from cereal boxes, which I cut using my Silhouette to ensure all were the same size:

Because I wanted both the fronts and backs to be pretty I also cut decorative paper to glue to the back:

And printed out the fronts onto some old CD labels we had.  Here you can see the front and back:

Though the laminator they went to ensure a nice and happy long life!  Once out of the laminator, another cut around all the edges with the scissors.  The entire process was easy enough, just time consuming with all the cutting and creating printable labels.

Onto the rod they went!  I was instantly smitten!

I was also excited to pick out outfits for the week!

Since we just keep their shorts folded in a bin on the shelf, I used some clothespins to clip them to the shirt hanger to create their outfits.

Now their closet looks like this:

And what didn't make the cut {mainly because it was too small}, made it's way into a donate bin.

Saying goodbye to the super cute clothes and pj's that are worn by my youngest is always the hardest part of the entire process... if only they could stay itty bitty forever {tear}.

I have to say!  It feels amazing to have one of the three rooms knocked off the list {my oldest son's dresser and my armoire are still waiting to be tackled}.  Off to work on the next!

Who else manages outfits for the kidlets a week at a time, and how has it been working for you?  Any other tips for maintaining a tidy tiny kid's closet?

Pssst!  You may have noticed that we have since upgraded the bins to the Target ITSO bins, since they are much sturdier and gave much more room for the kid's clothing.  The previous bins ended up working out well for a gal pal's child, so it was a win win!