So Slug (the husband), George (the dog) and I recently moved into a tiny beach cottage a stone's throw from the beach. And I have to admit that while moving is NOT fun, I do love a fresh start, a new set of spaces to conquer, and the opportunity for a fresh color palette - watch for purple and gray living room/studio space to come!
The challenge this week... how to make a 44" x 62" closet function for a 28 yr. old man and a 29 yr. old woman with busy careers and not a lot of time for house-keeping.
Step 1: PURGE and EMPTY the closet so work could begin. I am proud to say that I ridded myself of 2 full boxes of clothing that I had not worn in at least 1 year.
Step 2: Work with Craig the carpenter, to build floor to ceiling cubbies, and create adequate hanging space for clothing. He was able to give us an additional 6' of hanging space by adding double hanging bars in addition to the shelf space!
If you do not have access to a great carpenter, who can help you build in organization, Saara blogged about some great free standing closet organization solutions from Ikea, The Container Store, etc.
Step 4: Well Step 4 would really be to sand, prime and paint the MDF partitions... However, until that day comes, Step 4 was putting the closet back together again.
Professional organizers say the best strategy for effective organization is putting like things together. For example, I have all pants hanging together in one of the partitions, all skirts in another, etc.
The cubbies were a great place to keep purses, belts, shoes, sweaters, etc. organized and accessible. I was even able to get a space for my husband's shirts that need to go to the dry cleaner and a laundry bin.
The space is still small and has to stay organized to work efficiently, but we are really happy to discover that we could make the space work for the both of us without sacrificing our wardrobes or our sanity! Is your closet working for you??
