Closets

I have a love/hate relationship with closets. I love them because you can fit so much in them and they keep clutter out of sight. Yet I hate them because we cram them with stuff we really don't need/want, but either don't want to part with or don't know what to do with.

My husband is the worst offender with this. Example: It took me over 6 years of nagging until he finally got rid of his FLOPPY DISCS!! hahah! We don't have a computer with a floppy drive, nor have we ever had one, but he was saving them for a rainy day I guess. He was so sure that he would need them someday that he was reluctant to part with them. What were on these all-important discs? I think they were filled with car photos and old programs. Do you see what I'm up against here? :)

So while husband was off fishing all weekend, I decided to tackle our office closet. We store a random assortment of junk in there: mailing supplies, wrapping paper, CDs, wires & cords, books, etc. Basically a lot of stuff that we could get rid of, but we're not at that point yet. So at least I can organize our junk and make it look a little nicer, right? :)

Behold the before photo:

Classy, right? A big problem is the ridiculous shelving in the closet. It was there when we moved in over 3 years ago and we never replaced it. It is awkward, doesn't hold much and is crooked! Yes, the genius that put it up couldn't (or didn't) measure and the shelves slant to one side. One of the shelves is off by a whole inch. (That seems to be a reoccurring theme in our house. We've noticed several things are crooked or were half-assed.)

I took everything out of the closet, got rid of a few things and put all the junk back in. The after photo is as dramatic as I hoped (I did spend most of the day on this project after all), but at least it looks a bit better:

We will be getting rid of the stuff on the middle shelf, so that will further clean it up a bit. Don't you love how I put most things back in the exact same spot? lol. I have the worst habit of doing that. I don't deal well with change. At least I can find things now and have a better idea of what to get rid of next when I build up the courage to purge.

So what are my plans for this little closet? First and foremost, that awful shelving has to come down pronto! It's a total waste of space and doesn't utilize the closet the way it should. I want to paint the closet walls a light grey to give it some interest and character. Then I want to put a new shelving system (from Closet Maid) that will better hold our stuff and will have potential to hold clothes in the future if our office ever becomes a bedroom. (Or for when we sell the house) I want it clean, gorgeous and fun.

Amazing, no? Closets are meant for storage, but I also think they should be beautiful and well organized and filled with great stuff. Are my closets any of those things? Not yet, but they will be. I'm working on it :)