I started by deciding my needs and wants:
Needs
- coats
- shoe rack
- cleaning supplies
- essentials like light bulbs and batteries
- vacuums and brooms
Wants
- a space for my kids’ bookbags
- a better spot for our family games
What did I need to tackle to free up space?
1. A Wall of Coats
I don’t have a before picture of them, but our entire closet was full of (mostly unused) coats. Imagine the items in my “before” picture covered by a wall of coats. The first change I decided to make was to only keep coats we are currently wearing in our closet. The other coats now live upstairs in our spare room closet until they are needed, then I’ll switch them out.
2. Games, Games, Everywhere!
I love all of our family games, but there are so many and the storage rack that I built simply took up too much space. I ended up finding the perfect solution! The shelf that I got is almost identical to this one I found on Amazon: https://amzn.to/46xAffJ. It is narrow and fits perfectly back in the corner. It takes up almost no room because it doesn’t even pass the closet door opening!
Here is the storage rack since you can’t really see it in my pictures. Nothing fancy, but oh so useful and convenient!
Once I solved the space issue, I was able to start thinking of a spot for my kids’ backpacks and school supplies. My kids are young, but it’s time to start giving them small doses of independence and encourage them to take ownership of their belongings. I found this perfect cubby: https://amzn.to/3QX1Z7U. Now as soon as my kids walk in from school, they have the perfect spot (instead of the kitchen floor) for their coats, backpacks, folders, lunch boxes, and school ipads.
The rest of the items are pretty much essentials. I went to Target (love, love, love) and got some new bins for my cleaning supplies, light bulbs, batteries, our dog’s bag, etc., and I created a little corner for our vacuums and brooms. Sometimes space on the floor is limited. 3M hooks can be used for umbrellas, dustpans, brooms, ect. Our smaller vacuum also has a wall attachment which is very convenient.
I have bifold doors so this isn’t an option for me, but if you have closet doors that open, don’t forget to utilize that space, as well. There are countless door hanging organizers that would be great for shoes, gloves, hats, soaps, cleaning supplies, etc! Depending on your needs, you can find a variety of different hanging organizers in different sizes and material (metal, plastic, cloth).
I love this door organizer. You can choose to hang it over the door or permanently install it on the back of the door. (I would personally choose to permanently install it because I don’t love being able to see the hanger from the outside of the door.) There are also stabilizers so that the unit doesn’t bounce around every time you open and close the door.
Good luck with whatever you want to declutter and reorganize in your house. Man does it feel great!
