Have you ever re-organized a closet and after a few months you still feel like it's not good enough? You continue to fumble around with your current system and try to believe that it's good enough but it's just not. That's how I started to feel and I shook it off and tried to deal but month after month I just couldn't deal. I didn't have enough room for all of my shoes, folded pants were getting crowded, and my handbags were falling over and not fitting perfectly into the top shelf. So I decided to do something about it and I'm so stoked to show you how it turned out!
So this is how my closet has been for the last year. I loved the shoe holders I had my casual shoes and flats in but I felt like I wasn't taking advantage of all that extra space above them.
See how cramped my shoes are in the bottom? Nothing really made sense and I ended up storing one single shoe per cube in the shelf on the bottom of my closet.
The shoes were taking up too much space on the shelves and the jeans and pants I had piled up were constantly toppling onto the pile next to them.
I couldn't stand the cramped hangers that basically overlapped each other.
I also couldn't stand that the black and brown booties had to be on the floor. Yes, I know it's not a big deal to most but to me it is.
And my poor handbags were squashed up top lacking structure to stand up straight. Not to mention, the shoes in boxes took up precious real estate.
My boots were basically hidden because the way I had my longer clothing arranged I couldn't nicely move the hangers from side to side without practically knocking my boots over.
Before I reveal my newly organized closet I wanted to share the other parts of my room.
Then there's my jewelry box which was just a hot mess no matter how you looked at it. My rings were all over the place and I had unnecessary packaging and "things".
My earrings were in hard to reach compartments in a makeup organizer and my hoops and string earrings were a tangled mess.
More earrings mismatched along with earring backs.
This drawer wasn't too bad.
My delicate chains hung all unkempt.
Then there was my hanging necklaces which were tangled and making it hard for me to see my entire selection each time I got ready.
And now the reveal of my newly organized jewelry box...
I purged anything I don't wear and decided to use the top part for stud earrings. I also put some of my most prized and delicate necklaces in the compartments and my rings in the rest of the spots. I even designed a compartment for pendants that I took of the chains so when I want to wear a specific pendant I can just grab a chain for it.
I took some of my wrap bracelets and put them in one of the drawers along with a box of my hoop earrings.
My dangling earrings were grouped by style in the next drawer.
The watches don't change much but I did want to include a photo.
I double looped my chains so they don't drag on the bottom.
Then I grouped my necklaces by type, metal, and style. It's so much easier to see them now and search by the color I need based on the outfit I'm wearing that day.
My bracelets get stored on my deer head, my everyday bracelets go in the turtle dish, and my everyday rings (wedding, engagement, and promise ring) go in the little ring dish.
Now my vanity....
My vanity has a single drawer system divided into 3 parts. Each drawer was sort of stuffed and everything moved around when I shut it.
I then used the 3x3 clear acrylic containers from The Container Store for my hair ties, pins, and clips.
Everything is already folded per the KonMari Method of tidying my home, so it fits nicely for the most part. The problem is the crappy cardboard pieces I used as dividers.
I ended up shoving things in my drawers and it was harder to find what I wanted. That totally goes against the KonMari Method of tidying so I knew that while the folding worked, the way I was dividing my drawers could be improved.
So here's my new and improved dresser drawers....
I used these Clear Expandable Drawer Dividers from The Container Store to separate everything. They lock into place after you adjust them and they actually stay put so it works much better than the cardboard. I also purged the stuff I don't wear to free up more space.
And now.... the moment I've been waiting to show you - my newly organized closet!
I took the shoes in bins from the top shelf and placed them in cubbies.
I also purged a lot of items (2 bags worth) so I freed up space so I could move my hangers more freely and moved my boots out a bit so they couldn't get knocked over anymore.
And I rearranged my shirts by color and then type.
I used Lynk Tall Wire Shelf Dividers from The Container Store to separate my handbags. This allows them to stand up tall now and it made room for two more handbags that I couldn't fit up there before.
I also put my 2 pairs of booties up with my combat boots.
I used Clear Shelf Dividers from The Container Store to separate my jeans. The left pile is stuff without holes (work appropriate on Fridays) and the right pile is stuff that's torn and has holes in it. The dividers come with a little knob for hanging stuff as you try to put an outfit together which is really cool.
And my favorite makeover was the shoes. I used these Clear Stacking Shoe Bins from The Container Store to double up my storage space. They stack on each other and can fit one pair of flats or casual shoes each. It freed up SO MUCH space.
Look how neat and perfect it looks now!
Now that you've seen my makeover do you feel like you need to make some changes to your closet?
See how cramped my shoes are in the bottom? Nothing really made sense and I ended up storing one single shoe per cube in the shelf on the bottom of my closet.
The shoes were taking up too much space on the shelves and the jeans and pants I had piled up were constantly toppling onto the pile next to them.
I also couldn't stand that the black and brown booties had to be on the floor. Yes, I know it's not a big deal to most but to me it is.
And my poor handbags were squashed up top lacking structure to stand up straight. Not to mention, the shoes in boxes took up precious real estate.
My boots were basically hidden because the way I had my longer clothing arranged I couldn't nicely move the hangers from side to side without practically knocking my boots over.
Before I reveal my newly organized closet I wanted to share the other parts of my room.
Then there's my jewelry box which was just a hot mess no matter how you looked at it. My rings were all over the place and I had unnecessary packaging and "things".
My earrings were in hard to reach compartments in a makeup organizer and my hoops and string earrings were a tangled mess.
More earrings mismatched along with earring backs.
This drawer wasn't too bad.
My delicate chains hung all unkempt.
Then there was my hanging necklaces which were tangled and making it hard for me to see my entire selection each time I got ready.
And now the reveal of my newly organized jewelry box...
I purged anything I don't wear and decided to use the top part for stud earrings. I also put some of my most prized and delicate necklaces in the compartments and my rings in the rest of the spots. I even designed a compartment for pendants that I took of the chains so when I want to wear a specific pendant I can just grab a chain for it.
I took some of my wrap bracelets and put them in one of the drawers along with a box of my hoop earrings.
My dangling earrings were grouped by style in the next drawer.
The watches don't change much but I did want to include a photo.
I double looped my chains so they don't drag on the bottom.
Then I grouped my necklaces by type, metal, and style. It's so much easier to see them now and search by the color I need based on the outfit I'm wearing that day.
My bracelets get stored on my deer head, my everyday bracelets go in the turtle dish, and my everyday rings (wedding, engagement, and promise ring) go in the little ring dish.
Now my vanity....
My vanity has a single drawer system divided into 3 parts. Each drawer was sort of stuffed and everything moved around when I shut it.
And now the reveal of my vanity...
I got rid of some of the brushes I NEVER use and that freed up some space. Then I used plastic clear containers from The Container Store in various sizes. For the brush section I put my headbands in a long bin.
Then I placed my flower crowns and headbands, my extra deoderant, my curling iron, and my tape measure in the last section.
Now let's look at my ugly dresser drawers.
Everything is already folded per the KonMari Method of tidying my home, so it fits nicely for the most part. The problem is the crappy cardboard pieces I used as dividers.
I ended up shoving things in my drawers and it was harder to find what I wanted. That totally goes against the KonMari Method of tidying so I knew that while the folding worked, the way I was dividing my drawers could be improved.
So here's my new and improved dresser drawers....
I used these Clear Expandable Drawer Dividers from The Container Store to separate everything. They lock into place after you adjust them and they actually stay put so it works much better than the cardboard. I also purged the stuff I don't wear to free up more space.
And now.... the moment I've been waiting to show you - my newly organized closet!
I took the shoes in bins from the top shelf and placed them in cubbies.
I also purged a lot of items (2 bags worth) so I freed up space so I could move my hangers more freely and moved my boots out a bit so they couldn't get knocked over anymore.
And I rearranged my shirts by color and then type.
I used Lynk Tall Wire Shelf Dividers from The Container Store to separate my handbags. This allows them to stand up tall now and it made room for two more handbags that I couldn't fit up there before.
I also put my 2 pairs of booties up with my combat boots.
I used Clear Shelf Dividers from The Container Store to separate my jeans. The left pile is stuff without holes (work appropriate on Fridays) and the right pile is stuff that's torn and has holes in it. The dividers come with a little knob for hanging stuff as you try to put an outfit together which is really cool.
And my favorite makeover was the shoes. I used these Clear Stacking Shoe Bins from The Container Store to double up my storage space. They stack on each other and can fit one pair of flats or casual shoes each. It freed up SO MUCH space.
Look how neat and perfect it looks now!
Product Roundup
Clear Stacking Shoe Bins | Clear Shelf Dividers | Lynk Tall Wire Shelf Dividers | Clear Acrylic Containers | Clear Expanding Drawer Dividers
I'm so obsessed with The Container Store products because they fit my budget and they're good quality.
This is a really great post. I had to give a lot of my things to PH a couple of months ago because I dont have a huge closet.
ReplyDeleteThank you!! Yea it's tough when you have a smaller closet. Most ppl nowadays have walkins but i wasnt so lucky so i figured i'd just make do the best i could with this.
DeleteI so need to organize my drawer how you have your.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.amysfashionblog.com/blog-home
It's so nice everytime i open them to grab something in a rush!
DeleteClosets (and pantries, don’t even get me started there) are my nemesis. I am in desperate need of getting mine organized. This is a great post.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! yea, i need to redo my pantry!
DeleteThis is something I really need to do but keep putting it off. I have so many clothes that I haven't worn in a long time. Your closet looks so neat and orderly.
ReplyDeleteOh and by the way your puppies are adorable!
Aw thanks so much they are my world!! My closet is def very tidy and organized but it just took that one major time of working hard to make it like that and now i just have to maintain it. Since winter is here - you should choose a crappy weather weekend to do yours!
Delete