Brought to you by Your Life Revamped, by Emily.
One of my New Year’s resolutions this year was to live more authentically. A horrible goal because it’s so abstract and totally unmeasurable, but I know exactly what that means to me. I had read the Happiness Project and although a lot of it I sort of read and discarded, the underlying essence stuck with me and I was determined. To only hold onto things that make me happy and that represent a life I am proud of. To create spaces that bring my family joy and harmony. To open a drawer and know exactly what I’ll find there. A place for everything and everything in its place. So I went through room by room, re-thinking anything that didn’t work for me. Re-evualuating systems that couldn’t be maintained, chucked a ton of stuff and felt so great. I had success in every room and was all but finished, except for this darn closet. You can see the before on this post, but the tricky part about this closet is that it’s dual purpose. It is not only clothes, but toys and books, too. Even though I consider myself a super organized person, I was truly stumped on how to make the space work. This is where Kelsey came in. Fresh eyes with a ton of experience. I think most people hire Kelsey and then go do something else while she works it out, but I was so fascinated with it I stayed and was probably super annoying and we tossed around ideas like giddy idiots who love to organize. Here’s what I learned from Kelsey:
1. Take EVERYTHING out. A clean slate will help you utilize what you have so much. It might look like a tornado hit, but you’ll be glad as you start filling it back up that everything is out of the way.
2. Plastic Bins over Fabric. I had a lot of those canvas bins for toys and they are crap. They don’t hold their shape so it never really looks super clean. Lids are everything and so far the space has stayed much cleaner. With lids they don’t spill or dump out when my kids are pulling them down.
3. Label it. That is one thing that was missing from our systems that we needed. Baby-sitters, play date friends, even daddio, didn’t know where anything went so they put it back wherever they wanted. I have since gone on a labeling spree, even into my fridge and I don’t care who knows it.
One awesome piece Kelsey brought in for me was this stackable tupperware. She put all our art supplies in several and stacked them up nice and neat. I love that I can easily grab the whole stack for an art project, or separate them and take just what I need as well.
Find even more before and after of the space as well as several more tips from Kelsey on her blog right here.
3 Comments
pantry organization | Small Fry
March 10, 2015 at 6:01 am[…] a little help with, we were all nodding vigorously. Emily did her boys toy (and clothes!) closet here, and Jenna took on her pantry, check it out below! Also head to our Instagram to enter to win a […]
Melissa
March 10, 2015 at 10:57 amIs there a dresser in the room? How would we hang little pants? I can hand shirts and jackets and sweatshirts, but not sure the best way to store pants. We have a dresser I want to get rid of and we can make the closet space but toddler pants are not easy to hang!
E
March 10, 2015 at 4:19 pmI would switch the shoes and the books! They prob. don’t wear all those shoes all the time and kids need access to books if you want them to read!