Do you ever sit in the same place every day & stare at an area that is completely uninspiring? Not that every area of my house needs to be inspiring, but it does help if I like to walk into a room. Or in this case, sit in a room. And let's be honest... the sight of my teenage daughter's room drives me nuts, but I've learned to just close the door and ignore it.
Maybe college will make her a bit more tidy?
When I moved here 3 years ago, I went from a very large 565 sq.ft. craft room, to one the size of a very small bedroom, and a wardrobe closet that went from an entire converted bedroom to 2 small walk-ins.
I'm not complaining. I know I was fortunate to have that & that I'm blessed beyond measure with what I have now.
But suffice it to say, I had to get rid of a few things & decide what I was really using & what I was just holding onto for no good reason. And let's face it, it was less to move if I just threw it away or gave it away.
Trust me, I know how to organize &/or purge. I've been Marie Kondo-ing things before Marie Kondo was even born. Minus the "thank you" part.
I also tried to do this move as inexpensively as possible... repainting or repurposing furniture I already had, using things in different ways, and basically seeing how things ended up with my personal life before making any crazy changes or big purchases.
To make a long story short here, I got tired of looking at the closet in my craft room & decided to reorganize it with some shelves. Once again though, I didn't get St Louis Closet Company on the phone like I did in my old house, I did this on the cheap. Man would I love to have them come do all my closets though. And I'd be lying if I didn't say I'd like to someday have another bedroom converted into my closet again. It's on my vision board though.
I had 2 goals in redoing this closet... get the scrapbooks off the floor & into a more organized space, and find a place to put the vision board I made a few months ago during Book Club at Bloom Fitness Studio. Technically when you make a vision board, you're then supposed to hang it somewhere you'll see every day... and well... mine's just been sitting on the closet floor inspiring no one.
I'm not sure how long I'll be in this house, so for now I'm creating spaces to work for how I want to live in it, but I don't want to do anything too crazy that may not give me any return on my investment if I move.
I started out with 2 shelf units. And then once I got started & realized it wasn't working out like it did in my head, I ended up buying a 3rd set.
Sterilite Heavy-Duty 5-Shelf Ventilated Shelving Unit, Gray (2 Pack) | 0155V01
I realized while going through everything that I've still got a lot of stuff in this closet that I haven't used in the last 3 years. So technically speaking, if I haven't used it in that long, I probably don't really need it. However, in addition to pitching stuff, I kept a lot too. Don't ask me why because I guess the honest answer is, I like to look at it, since clearly I don't seem to use it!
I could say the same for a lot of stuff in my wardrobe closet too. I just like to look at it. Like some kind of wanne-be fashion collector.
And then I'm reaching for a hat & workout clothes... and I'm out the door in that boring get-up once again. Insert big sigh...
I digress. Back to the closet... it may not look totally different, but it FEELS different to me. And as for my soon-to-be-interior design major daughter, she walked in midway & said... "I really don't think those poles look good like that."
Really? You really think I was going to leave it like this? I'm space planning right now. There will be another shelf on top, but I had to order it. LOL
Literally still laughing out loud even typing this. SMH. She clearly doesn't have much faith in me, but trust me... I've taught her everything she knows. And man am I envious of what she's about to learn!! So wish I could see all her projects & sit in on her classes!!
Here's some non-recent BEFORE pics though. There was quite a bit more clutter & boxes of stuff that were in the closet prior to these old pics that were taken, which ultimately lead to me doing something about it...
And AFTER...
Here's an inexpensive over-the-door shoe organizer I used for all my paper punches.
Everything on the wall is basically just random stuff that inspires me, makes me happy or reminds me of my former paper-crafting days, which by the way, I'd like to return to soon. 3 of the things on the wall are Bryn's art work, which I always love to display...
And yes, I did make all the greeting cards, minus a few that I purchased & just stuck in there...
As I mentioned earlier I had a pretty big craft room. Within that space, I went from an entire gift-wrapping station, featured on Great Day St Louis several years ago, to a couple shelves now. And actually I was featured on Great Day St Louis again with the rest of my craft room a year later. So I'm pretty proud to say that you CAN downsize & still have a space that is organized & functions just as well... even if it's not TV-worthy. LOL
I agree it's probably odd to have your printer in a closet, not to mention a paper cutting board as well, but I like the fact that for aesthetic purposes, these "work" items can be hidden when I close the door to the closet. But for my own purposes they're still at hip level & easily accessible. And as you'll also notice, I left the original closet shelving alone, figuring it was something the next owner wouldn't have to mess with replacing if I ever did move. Annnnd... it allows for additional storage anyway...
The zebra rug makes my heart very happy.
And by the way... just in case you're wondering about the shoes in the first pic, they're also something I just like looking at.. because I mean... calf hair & animal print... are you kidding me? And well, I like wearing them too, but I can't say they're good for anything fitness related.
Steve Madden Women's Cliff Sneaker, Animal, 8 M US
Fashion over function, I say... LOL
XOXO
I have a shelf similar to those in my little closet to hold stuff! LOL!! I hear you though, I have purged, and moved, and rearranged to make it all work!! LOL!! But I am almost POSITIVE that you are just like me when it comes to the paper named after us ... won't use what I have left, and I will keep it forever! :)
Posted by: Julie Tucker-Wolek | July 06, 2019 at 10:23 AM