Maximize Closet Space

 Hello Readers. There is never enough closet space, or at least it seems like that to me. I really wanted to make the most of my little closet. I think we all want to get the most from our space so let me show you how I organized to get the most out of my closet space. 

 I couldn't make the closet larger so I had to maximize the space I did have. 

 

 

When the seasons change and you need to wear different (Heavier or lighter.) clothes, it's a great time to clean up the closet. My closet is not that big so I really need to keep it neat and I wanted to try to make the most of the space I had. I also couldn't afford an expensive closet makeover so I tried to be as cheap as I could. 

The first thing I did was bring my jackets to the front. In summer I put the jackets in the back of my closet but it is colder now. I am going to need them easy to access so they went in front.  

 

I want more room available so I decided to put some summer stuff away. I got a plastic tub/tote and labeled it so I would know what was in there. Keeping my summer items in the tote will protect them and keep them dust free all winter.

 

 I gathered the summer items that I knew I wouldn't need. I wouldn't need any swimsuits, or summer shoes and bags. They can go up on a high shelf out of the way. 

 

I put the tote up on my highest shelf but I can always get something out if I need to. Sometimes the shelves can be too high to reach easily. So...

 

I keep a step-stool in my closet at all times to help me reach the high shelves. It helps when I change over season to season but also helps me reach things without having to go down to the storage room to find a stool. I like this one because it has a handle to hold on to when I use it. It keeps me from falling off the stool and breaking my neck. 

 

I also put my warm sweaters in front and used this plastic tote on it's side to keep them neat. The pile of sweaters would fall over if the tote didn't keep the piled upright. I wanted to stack them up high to use that space as much as possible. 

 

Next to the sweaters is an old shoe box where I could put extra hangers. I wanted a place to put them to keep them all together in one place when they were not in use. When I do laundry and need to hang up clothes the hangers will be ready to grab. 

 

My next step was to create a place to hang my scarves. It's cold in the morning, I am going to want to grab a scarf. This is designed to go on the back of a door but I had another idea. 

 

 I hung this from the front of the upper shelf. It stays on securely and I can use it to hang scarves above my sweaters. Its a great use of that open space.

 

I put the scarves on the rack and it's great to be able to see them all and grab them easily.

 

I turned to focus on the other side of the closet. There is a set of shelves that I like to use for shoes and belts. The belts hang on the tips of the vertical poles of the shelves them selves. I didn't need to do anything, just use the architecture of the shelves themselves. I also wanted to fit in as many shoes as possible on these shelves and use all the space. I came up with another shoe box idea. 

 

The shelves are taller than they need to be for shoes. There is more space in there that can be used.

 

I cut one of the long sides off a shoe box to open it up. 

 

I used the shoe box like a little shelf. 

 

One pair of shoes can go under the box and one pair of shoes can go on top of the box. It is a much better use of the space. 

 

I hope that you can use some of these ideas to get and stay organized and maximize your space. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 
 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

Be Sustainable & Organized by Reusing Containers

 Hello Readers. I am always trying to get organized, and stay organized. It isn't always easy but I try. I also don't want to spend money on the latest and greatest organizing bin or container system. Do I really need to buy more stuff to organize my current stuff? Is there another way I could get my stuff together? I think so.

 We all want to be neat and organized. Let's do it! 

I want to be organized and I want my house to be nice and neat but do I have to buy more containers for my stuff? Do I really have to spend more money to hold all the stuff I spent money on? I say no. I decided to use this tea container for something besides holding the tea that came in it.

 

I checked to see if the container could hold water and it could. Grabbed some potting soil and filled the container about 2/3 full with loose, not packed soil.
 

I put a small plant in the tea container. It became a cute planter. I put the tea bags into a tea cup. It looked pretty and was perfect next to my water kettle. But...

 

This water kettle shorted out. I was going to throw it away but it also held water so it became a great pot for my spring onions. It is cute and unexpected. And free! I just added some potting soil and then my plant.

 

 

 This little gravy boat was perfect for this small parsley plant. I didn't need to buy pots for these plants, I could use what I had at home.

 

The same kind of metal tea container could also make a great pencil cup that could attach with magnets to my refrigerator. It would keep the pens next to the calendar.

 

I used some small magnets to hold the container to the side of the refrigerator. I didn't need any tools, just the magnets between the container and the refrigerator.

 

I had this cute little lamp in the corner of my kitchen. It lit up the corner well but hiding the cords behind the cutting boards did not always work. I needed to use the boards for cutting at times. 

 

I placed it on this little candle holder/stand to hide that cord. 

 

The extra length of cord fit into the back of the stand so well. 

 

The candle stand is actually meant to hold this soup tureen. I can place a tea candle in the stand to keep the dish warm at the table. But for now it is holding my little lamp's cord. 

 

Another example is this small milk glass collection that I use to hold jewelry. The bud vase hold bracelets, the ash tray holds earrings and the small plate holds a couple necklaces and a tiny bowl of rings. I didn't need to but a jewelry box, I could use these dishes that I already had. 

 

I have another group of milk glass dishes that hold my sewing tools. I could have bought some kind of desk organizer or a sewing box but this works great and it is a way to enjoy the dishes in a different way. And sometimes buying a new organizer bin just isn't feasible. Let's use what we have.

 

I use this candy dish for cosmetics in my bathroom. There are so many cosmetic bags and holders that you can buy to put your bathroom products in but this was free and prettier. Thanks for reading along, now go organize your home and enjoy what you have on hand.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Make Shelves From Drawers

 Hello Readers. I am always trying to make more storage in the space that I live in. In addition to myself I live with my husband and my kids and we all have "stuff".  Where can we put the stuff? I am pretty much out of floor space so we have to go up and use some of the vertical space. I am talking about shelves today. You can of course buy bookcases and cabinets. But let's do something more creative and free! Let's make some shelves from old dresser drawers.

 Drawers to Shelves!

I found these drawers on the side of the road when I was driving home from the library. There were 5 dusty drawers that a man was putting at the end of his driveway. I stopped and asked if I could have them. He looked at me like I was crazy, but he said yes.

I came home and used a vacuum to get some of the dust off the drawers.

 

I sanded the drawers because I wanted to paint them. The paint will stick better if the finish is sanded.

 

I dusted the drawers to get rid of all the dust I had made when I sanded them. 

 

I removed some of the knobs with a screwdriver. I knew how I wanted to stack my drawers and the knobs would be in my way.

 

I used some white acrylic paint to paint the drawers I was going to use as my shelves.
 

I started painting my shelves. I let the first coat of paint dry over night and I added a second coat of paint the next day.  

 

I wanted my drawers stacked like this so each of the lower drawers needed 1 knob taken off. That way I could stack a drawer on top of the 2 lower drawers. We tested and shook the shelves to make sure they were very balanced and stable. (If you have kids that might climb on shelves, you should to anchor them to the wall. )

 

Kids are wild and they will climb on anything when they are young. When my youngest was a toddler, he would climb things that I never even thought he would try to climb. He is older now but when he was young we anchored all our furniture to the wall. Better safe than sorry. 

 

I used the new shelves to display some of my child's artwork. 

These can be swapped out whenever we want. Displaying them this way won't leave holes in the wall.

 

You can put the drawers into any order and arrangement that works for you and your space.

 

Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 

***Year End Update***- These shelves are still full of kid projects and artwork. They are very handy.

 

Behind the Door Storage From a Pallet

 Hello Readers. We all seem to need more organization and storage options. I made some extra storage behind the door using a small wooden pallet. It is now a handy and adjustable hanging rack. Let me show you. 

This was easy to make and the hooks can be changed as needed. 

 

Thee space behind the door is perfect for hanging items. Let's utilize it.
 

I got this little pallet from a neighbor. It looks like a small shipping pallet. (Similar here.) I cleaned it off because I wanted to paint it. 

I used some flat white spray paint that I had on hand. It was a spray on enamel that said it was good for wood projects. 

I worked outside for plenty of fresh air. I made sure I was not near any cars, children, pets, homes or anything else so the over spray would not bother anyone. I let this dry over night. 

We hung this behind the door like this. But we couldn't hang the pallet directly to the wall. We came up with a solution. I am showing you the after picture because it will make the process easier to understand. 

 

To begin, we found the stud in the wall. We want the weight of this to be hung on the stud and not the drywall, for strength.We needed to find the stud in the wall

 

We got longest screws we could find (About 3-4 inches.) and used a drill bit that was slightly smaller that the screws for this project. 

 

We used a piece of wood to hold the pallet. This piece of wood was about 10 inches long, not as wide as the pallet itself. We made sure it was level and drilled 2 holes into the piece, one hole above the other.

We drilled 2 screws through the piece of wood and into the stud in the wall. We made sure to keep it level.

 

The piece of wood was cut so that it had a place to hang the pallet.

 

We used a router to make that cut in the wood. That little cut-out will keep the pallet in place securely. 

 

You can see the cross beam of the pallet fits down into the groove we cut in the wood. This could be painted to match the wall or the pallet but it will kind of disappear behind the pallet when we are done. 

I used some simple S-hooks because I want to be able to change the location of the hooks whenever I want. 

This is great storage in a kids room or a mud room. It's perfect for hats, jackets, sunglasses or keys. And you can change the hook placement in just seconds when you need to hang something else. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun and organized for yourself.

***Year End Update***- This shelf is still on the wall and it holds so much stuff. It's almost like a small closet.