Operation Closet: Closed

Over my recent spring break, I performed what I can only describe as (in my skewed little world) a miracle.

It all started with a closet that was brimming with, well, crap. Coats, scarves, gloves, hats...and the occasional piece of randomness (on the bright side: Now we don't have to decide which towel hooks to buy for the bathroom! How long ago did I BUY those??). Let's just say that, like many doors in our home, we couldn't close it. And being in the middle of our most-used living space, it was downright embarrassing.

The goal for this closet was to 1) purge our winter coats and maybe even make some room for *gasp* visitors to hang their jackets, 2) organize the top shelf area, 3) make some room for my everyday use bags, and 4) be able to see the floor.

While pulling out all the items in the closet, I found some wooden hangers that we got for Christmas (luckily it was this past Christmas, not last year or any other embarrassing year) to add some consistency and get rid of the ol' plastic ones. Isn't it strange how the worst part of organization is the fact that you have to completely destroy an area first? You can't really clean a closet (or pantry or cabinet or...) without pulling everything out. So, long story short - that's what I did.

Here's a fun little "before and after" for you.

So, what's the miracle? Not only can I see the floor AND close the door, but we can now toss our unsightly shoes there before company comes. They'll never know! Tricky, tricky! (All the rest of our shoes go into the nearby ottoman...which makes me sick to think about because one of our naughty scratching boys who shall remain nameless has created his own artwork of pinhole scratches upon said faux leather ottoman. *sigh* It still fits its purpose and folks wouldn't know unless I made them run their hand across it, but it's the principle of the thing!) So, now our guests not only have space for their shoes to go near the door, but there's room in the closet for their bits 'n pieces. In other words, we can have folks over! Seriously. Who's coming? (Too bad we're booked solid the next several weeks, LOL.)

It's closed!!!

One other tidbit of trickiness to share: my favorite "work bag slash purse" (see in the last picture above; I retired the green for the mustard a little while ago) can now be treated with some respect when I get home, thanks to am M3 plastic hook or two. Although, admittedly, it still gets tossed near the ottoman 50% of the time. Ya win some, ya lose some. Either way, this is definitely a "Dude, Get On That Already" that's been awaiting my attention for years. *bows* Finally!

Oh, and while I was at it, I replaced an outdoorsy wreath (featuring those fake red "buds" that I used to like so much) with a bit of summery freshness. This is our "dump everything" spot, so it doesn't always look so tidy, but the ceremonious, aggressive deletion of red from the living room is definitely happening! You can also see my attempt at daily organization with our "mail basket" and ottoman.