Cleaning Closets

At the start of February I mentioned that I would be going on maternity leave and couldn’t wait to clean out the closets (and finally get to my scrapbooking!).  Well the time finally came, and I had a few days free to tackle this project, so let’s check out my progress!

The closet in the Pink Room had been designated as my crafting/scrapbooking/junk pile for the last few years.

I did have a filing cabinet in there, but when I streamlined the “office” organization part of this office, I moved it out (which left more room for stuff on the floor apparently).

I can happily say though that since implementing a proper filing system for the office and my paperwork, I have not had to do any large overhauls since!  Every now and then I have to clear up some space on my desk, but the task is much quicker now that everything has its place :)

I also wanted to take everything out of the Blue Room closet since that will be the nursery room, and I’m sure baby won’t need any winter coats or summer shoes right?

Most of the stuff in the Pink Room closet was designated as my “to-be-scrapbooked” stash.

I took everything out one by one and organized it into piles (can you tell that those are organized piles haha!?).  I managed to even recycle a few empty boxes and random papers… a couple of boxes worth!

Anyways, all my art supplies then got separated into two clear under bed bins and I tucked them under the guest bed for now.

All my “to-be-scrapbooked” supplies were placed on and around the dining room table.  I slowly picked away at it over a few days.  (I hadn’t done any scrapbooking since around 2012 apparently, so there was a LOT of stuff that had to be organized!).

Once I finished my “University” book, I was left with a clearer table!  Then I moved on to the “Husband” book and that took me almost another day to complete.

Finally, I have just the last bits of stuff left, which is all about me.  I was running out of double-sided tape and needed a new scrapbook book, so this is still what our table looks like as of right now (and there’s another full recycling bin of paper to be thrown out!).

But first, back to the closets!

The closet from the basement that originally just had our Christmas decor will now be called the “seasonal” closet and this one will hold our overflow coats, seasonal decor and Halloween costumes (which is that box on the top).  I do tend to re-wear costumes every few years… but I could probably purge this box a little bit better in the future.

Well, the Blue Room closet isn’t completely empty BUT it is filled with stuff I plan on selling/donating.  I’m hoping to start unloading some of these no longer wanted/needed items, and will have everything gone by the time the baby is here :)

I moved the A/C unit to the Pink Room, along with the summer shoes.  I didn’t really want to put them in the basement closet, and am hoping that we will eventually get rid of all these extra shoes by the time baby #2 comes along and they need this closet.   The ironing board is also in this closet, and eventually that will probably be stored in the laundry room once it gets remodeled.

Funny story, you’re supposed to remove the A/C tube thing when you store it.  But I have such a difficult time re-attaching it without it flying off, that I taped it on last summer and that’s how it’s staying!  When you’re hot and trying to sleep… you don’t put up with any A/C unit sass!

This may not have been the most informative DIY type of post, but cleaning closets and creating clutter free spaces is something that NEEDED to happen around here.  Not just because we are planning for a baby to move in, but to keep my sanity too :)

Here are my take-away tips for you to tackle cleaning closets at your house!

1. Designate a space for everything in your home and don’t have a “junk” closet or you’ll end up with a big mess like me (no junk drawers either!)
2. It really helps to name your closets/spaces.  “Seasonal closet” gives a good idea of what’s inside right?  We also have a “vacuum closet” and of course the “Pink Room” and “Blue Room”!
3. Don’t close the doors on a messy closet!  I kept the Pink Room closet doors open ALL the time so I was literally staring at a big mess that was begging me to clean it.  You know the saying “out of sight out of mind?”, well that won’t help you get your spaces cleaned!  Now that it’s organized, I feel confident closing the doors :)
4. If you clean/organize everything right the first time, you shouldn’t have to ever worry about it again… it’s just maintenance from now on (which is how the office organization is)
5. Try and do everything in one fell swoop.  It’s a lot easier to tackle one thing completely than drag it out over weeks/months.  Basically, if you’re going to do it – do it right!

Do you have any other tips to add on cleaning closets and keeping them organized!? 

Next week I’ll be sharing some photos of our Master Bedroom progress (spoiler: the scrapbook boxes are getting stored in that closet… and we have fewer dressers!).  And this Saturday I’ll be discussing my plans for the month of March, so see you then :)