It's an Organized Closet!

In just a couple weeks my hall closet went from this:

To this!

I’m so happy with the way it turned out. First of all I decided what I wanted to do with the space. Then I cleared out all the tools and building supplies and organized them into boxes according to the following categories: things that needed to be returned, painting supplies, hardware, and tools. All of it went down to the basement except for the return box which went out to the garage.

Finally it was time to get to the fun part! I had a pile of wood scraps and I rounded up all my tools when I was working on this project so I had everything I needed to get started. I measured and drew lines where I wanted the boards to go. Then I cut them and screwed them to the walls. After the boards were up I filled all the holes, caulked, put on two coats of paint and installed the hooks. It sounds easy doesn’t it? It was but of course it took longer than I thought it was going to take. Things like this always do, especially with so many helpers!

Everyone begged to get in on the action. Stranger spent an hour in the ceiling/attic finding one of the flooring boards I needed for the bench. I really wanted to do it myself but he kept begging and begging so I gave in and let him do it. He also screwed down the boards on the bench because I didn’t make the braces wide enough and he thought I would mess it up. I pretty much agreed with him there! The kids helped by fending for themselves for two days while I worked and they posed long enough for me to take their picture during the painting process. Lovely helped by being in the way, walking off with the tools and losing screws but she got to be the first one to climb up on the bench and hang up her sweater!

One blue container holds swimming towels and the other holds all our pool toys; floaters, balls, diving equipment, bags full of shampoo, sunscreen, combs, etc. The bench is extra deep so we can keep our swimming bag on the back of it and still have room to sit on the front of it. It’s extra sturdy, allowing me to stand on it to reach things on the top shelf. I discovered that top shelf was a great place to store a sleeping bag and a roll of quilt batting.

The bottom row of hooks is right where the kids can reach them and the top row is for Stranger and I to use. A hanging rod might have been efficient for storing more jackets but who wants to take the time to hang their jacket on a hanger? Not this lazy family! I am in love with hooks and I use them everywhere I can.

This brings us to how much I spent on the hooks. I bought 18 hooks at $2 a piece, $36 total. That was all I spent on the entire closet. All the wood I used was from the scrap pile. Pretty cheap re-do don’t you think? I love saving money!

It feels so good to have one more project crossed off my list. I can’t wait to get started on the next one! What should it be?