Creative Closet Remodel

I am so excited today to share a closet remodel!

This is in fact MY closet, and I am so excited to walk you through my process of how it got to this amazing end result!

That first picture is from when we toured our house 10 years ago this May.

I had three objectives (Using the Resolute Organizing Process - Identify Need):

1. See clothes better

2. See shoes better

3. Add in a vanity area (less bathroom clutter!)

I built a plan - I started with Planner 5D to map out the closet with a lot of shelves. After pricing it out to use IKEA shelves or build them from Home Depot I realized that was way outside my budget (i.e. as minimal as possible!) due to the cost of wood and the number of shelves I wanted for shoes.

So I got creative and played around with it. The process was over a bit of time with some trial and error. I am a big fan or "try it before you buy it" with bins and furniture. Trying out a general alternative that you already have, like a shoe box for storing something, before you buy a full priced bin to see if you really want to use the space that way.

First I took off the door. I realized one additional issue I had with the closet was navigating around the door to the jewelry box that was hung on the right wall.

These were our shoe racks that had been a little beat up by the boys so one was broken. I stacked them up on the right wall to try out the use of space and loved the idea so I purchased a fully functional shoe rack (link).

Shoes - CHECK!

Now clothes. Two main items - we were not using the bottom rack at all and

I felt my view was impeded by the double dresser and cabinet stack on the left.

In the end we decided to keep only the dresser and moved the cabinet that was on top to a basement closet (more never ending toy storage). Once we cleared out the left side Dylan FINALLY realized how many clothes he had that he was not wearing so we had a decent stack for donation.

Even after hanging the jewelry box on the left side, I had a clear view of all our clothes!

Finally I added in a vanity area. Always a wish list item but also practical to get less items on my bathroom counter. Everything is concise and right at my fingertips! Using the top of the dresser I added:

• Battery powered LED light (here)

• Mirror (Target - did not want to ship a mirror!)

• Make up holder (here)

I now feel like the whole space is more accessible and aesthetically pleasing! It is a great improvement on the space and I am still excited about it every day, even a couple weeks later.

How have you gotten creative with a wish list project?