16 UHeart Organizing: 7 Steps to an Amazing Cleaning Closet

Although most of you are probably more excited about the fact that it is "Shark Week" this week, it has also been a bit of "Closet Week" around here.  I organized my portion of our closet last week (and oddly enough was even able to inspire my husband who has now emptied his side of the closet out), and have been sharing more specifics of the process.  Keeping in theme with closet week, today's super brilliant contributor, Ursula of Home Made by Carmona, is here sharing a closet she recently cleaned out.  But this is not just any closet, she cleaned out her cleaning closet.  And it is beyond lovely.  Cleaning closets and cabinets can be so helpful in terms of keeping a clean home, but if they are messy, then they won't do a good job inspiring you to keep up with daily chores.  She has definitely gone above and beyond to create the most delightful closet imaginable, and I hope you all love it as much as I do!

Hey there awesome organizers! Ursula here, from Home Made by Carmona, back to share another great project with you.

My favorite projects always incorporate a sprinkle of organization, a smidge of decorating, and loads of DIY projects to make it budget friendly. One thing, however, I do not relish is cleaning... isn't that interesting? To love organizing but hate cleaning? It is a bit of a conundrum for me, which is why today I'm taking on my cleaning closet! After all, what better way to motivate you to accomplish your cleaning work than to organize and beautify... Whatever helps get the job done!

My cleaning closet was not functioning well for me. My girls were tossing things in there without having any rhyme or reason to the madness. It was quickly becoming a disaster... When it wasn't "tidy" (like in the picture below), the cleaners would start piling up on the closet floor, with the brooms and mop thrown on top. Bugs were making homes in there and crumbs could collect from dirty rags... Yes, in the CLEANING closet (seriously ironic). It got bad guys. So bad.

After a few basic organizing techniques, and several DIY's, this closet is working much better for us, and no longer causes me to shudder! As a matter of fact, while taking pictures the girls kept coming in to grab the broom, then the vacuum, and finally I gave up waiting for all my tools to stay in place and took photos while the mop was missing. At least I know they return items without prompting, and know where to put them (yay for tags and labels!).

In order to turn this disaster around, I employed 7 simple projects that made all the difference! Now it is beautiful, effective, and even motivational.


7 STEPS TO AN AMAZING CLEANING CLOSET 

1. Turn a door into usable storage space by attaching shelves

Sometimes finding a custom shelf size is hard to come by, so I made these DIY corbel shelves for under $5 per shelf! Gorgeous, and so easy to make! Just in case you'd like to make your own, I'm sharing the entire how-to here so you can create shelves that makes the most of your door width.

 

2. Make it beautiful and add a little bit of personality

I'm all about practicality, it's one of the most important things to help me get and stay organized. But making it beautiful is very important! I don't know about you, but I feel all kinds of unhappy and guilty when I leave a beautiful space trashed. There is just something motivational and inspirational about a beautiful space!

 

3. Add a towel rack (or a few) and then dress it up!

The beauty of installing a towel rack is that you now have a place to hang rags that aren't quite dry. Don't think that is the only use however! You can hang anything from a towel rack when you add the right accessories! So whether you employ a towel rack, or a multi-hanging rack like mine, take the time to "dress" it with a few cheap shower curtain hangers. Just tweak them into a smaller better hanger with pliers. Now you can hang all kinds of miscellaneous items from your rack, items that can't be draped over the bar.

 

4. Add lots of hooks!

I do add tons of hooks for easy hanging, but not in a haphazard way. Take inventory of all the things you need to store in your cleaning closet, then draw a little diagram of where each item can go. Also be sure to measure the height and width of your cleaning implements before installing hooks... You want everything to fit perfectly, and all the space to be used effectively!

 

5. Get gorgeous cleaning tools

I love HomeGoods for amazing cleaning implements! They are typically made from natural earthy materials, and hullo, so cute! Of course, you can always add interest to your existing tools and bottles with a little spray paint and sealer (as with my ombre broom handle, and the spray bottles below).

 

6. Label everything for organization purposes

If you haven't learned by now (because I swear Jen is the queen of gorgeous labeling), you should add tags to anything nondescript, and add labels that tell where everything should go. That way there is no second guessing by other members of the family!

I add a label above each shelf with a general description of item types that may go in that shelf... but then I can narrow it down even further by saying what goes where on the shelf by using chalk board paint on the front! Use a chalkboard wet marker to write, it is eraseable when you want to change it.

 

7. Have a great plan of action to go with your new space

One of the most important items housed in this cleaning closet is the room-by-room cleaning checklists I created. No more "Mooom, am I done cleaning this room yet?". Sigh. These checklists really helped, and I hope they will help you too! You can download them free here and get your home spic and span.

I hope you have gained a few great ideas for how to help put your cleaning closet in order, and with a little bit of effort it can aid our families in "getting their clean on" too! If you would like, here is a full source list for each of the items used in creating my closet. Happy organizing!

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"Hi, I'm Ursula and I blog at Home Made by Carmona where there is always a fun DIY project in play. I've got expensive taste and no money, I'm a neat freak who's house didn't get that memo, and I firmly believe organization has the power to improve our homes, habits, and the members that abide there! I'm so thrilled to be here at IHeart Organizing, the blog that first inspired me to start my own blogging journey."