Tara’s Closet Cleanout
Before:
Once the closet/space is empty I can get a better feel of the amount of storage I have to work with. Then I move on to going through the items that I just removed. I create 3 piles; Keep(put back into the closet), Toss/donate, store(if its seasonal).
With three of us in my house there was a ton of seasonal items in this closet that I was able to store away for next winter! We made a donation box that will go to family and friends first and then good will after that.
I had a few bins laying around that I was able to use in this space, I also had a shelf in my bathroom that was not being utilized so I brought that into the closet to help with storage.
After:
Then I start to place items back into the closet! Adult shoes in the shelves, kid shoes went into a bin, reusable grocery bags into a bin, hung up spring coats and purses and voila. A whole new closet, for free!
Let me know how your own closet cleanout goes in the comments below!
Amy’s Entry Drop Zone Spruce Up!
Before:
With all of the in and out we’ve been having while Staying Home, especially with this very welcomed transition to spring, our shoe/boot/coat/hat situation has gotten a bit out of control. Giving this area a little once over really makes our house feel bigger and more comfortable, when it otherwise seems to be shrinking by the day. (You can check out how I made this area HERE!)
Junk everywhere, shoes just tossed, miscellaneous stuff just piled where it landed. It’s a mess, even if it’s a ‘normal’ mess.
I pulled everything down and wiped up each shelf. They were full of sand and crystalized salt from winter. Huck was an excellent supervisor.
I sorted everything into piles: winter stuff is getting put away. I washed all of the coats, snow pants, shoes, boots, hats and mittens that will go into storage until next winter. Some of the kids winter stuff won’t fit them next year so it’s going in the donate pile. It was actually surprising how much junk was in this small area!
Since I had everything down and out of the way, I decided to take a few minutes and touch up the trim! I painted the walls here last winter (they need to be painted again already!) but never got to the trim.
This added an extra 30 mins or so to my project, but I had everything on hand, and not really anything better to be doing. It looks much better!
After!
Once I the paint dried, I put back only about 60% of what was there. Since the kids are out of school for the foreseeable future, I even packed up the backpacks and lunch boxes.
At this point, I’ve only gotten to three of the projects on our Spring Spruce up list, but just spending an hour or so digging deeper into a litte project has really helped to soothe my anxiety about this uncontrollable time we are in. The house looks fresher and feels better to be stuck in. PS quick shoutout to Latzke Iron Works for our amazing railing!
I hope you’re all doing well and keeping yourself healthy and productive at home!
XOXO,
Amy Ranae