Most of the closets in my home are slowly evolving into something other than a typical closet with a hanging bar and shelf at the top. My home is not very large so organized closet solutions play a big part in making a smaller space work for us. A closet might have a bar across it and a shelf on top but that doesn’t mean you can’t find a solution to make it work better for you! Over the course of five years I have turned some into a storage closet, others a better organized clothes storage closet or still others a cloffice. Empty closets translate to dumping grounds! It works better for me and in the end becomes more useful. Here is what I’ve worked on so far.

boy’s bedroom closet

My two son’s share a bedroom. I needed more floor space in that room and less closet space. I removed the sliding doors and inserted an IKEA Expedit. The closet in that room is so large that I’m able to hang clothes on either side of the IKEA Expedit. The bins act as drawers and hold clothes and toys. As they get older they only get bigger and so do their clothes. Two boys in one room means I need lots of drawers. This system works out great for this shared space. Filling up a closet in a child’s room has also worked for me in that they can’t create a mess in there!

former closet now a cloffice

My daughter had a large closet with sliding doors in her room as well. I removed the doors and gutted the closet and created a workspace for her with storage and a desk. Her cloffice is the perfect spot for everything from homework to manicures. This also freed up floor space in her room, which is about 10 feet by 10 feet.

broom closet converted to a pantry

When we moved in there was no pantry in the kitchen. There was a broom closet though. With the addition of some shelving I converted it into a mini pantry.

the wrapping paper closet

The guest room in our home has a funny little closet in it. It is about 3 or 4 feet tall so it is not even a legitimate closet. I could never figure out what to do with it until I realized it would make the perfect place to stash all my wrapping paper needs. And the wrapping paper closet was born.

front hall closet

The closet in our front hall was another domain of chaos before one simple purchase calmed it all down. I purged and put things in their place of course and then added a cubby unit and some bins. Weeks later and my closet still looks like the picture above. I swear!

toy closet

The toy closet in our basement was the latest to undergo a makeover. It helped that we had a flood and the toys were 100% purged on their own. Don’t tell my kids I said that.  A simple paint job and some “white, neutral and natural” containers of all materials and sizes brought this closet together.

So that is six closets in my home. I have six left to work on; the linen closet, the kid’s bathroom closet, the large pantry in the basement, the storage closet in the basement, the large walk in closet in the guest room and the master bedroom walk in closet. I have actually begun work on the master bedroom closet and I’m teaming up with Closet Maid to create a new space! Yesterday was demo day. Paint day is next!