Hi peeps. Are y’all done decorating for fall yet? No? Oh wait that's just me. My decor is going up little by little as the hubs grudgingly brings more Fall/Halloween totes down from the attic. heehee.
I do however want to show off (‘cause that’s what happens in blog land) my now neat and tidy linen closet thanks to this pin on my Organization board from Better Homes & Gardens that helped me get'er done. Ta-da!
It is a small closet in my short and narrow hallway so taking full length photos of the before and after was a challenge. But believe me you this thing was way too crowded and stuffing clean towels into each shelf was just plain dumb. There was too much going on in there especially with the ball caps and candles taking up valuable space on one shelf. So just like my utensil drawer, large utensil drawer, and junk drawer I got to work. As I told you in my last post, I got the caps out of there and hung up in the coat closet.
I then emptied out the entire closet and cleaned each shelf with my vinegar/lemon juice combo spray. Just like the ball caps, I went through everything and decided what to keep and donate. I actually found some of old co-sleeper sheets. Wow, talk about once upon a time we had babies. Yes, I even washed everything that I was keeping just to give it a clean, fresh smell. Not that they stunk but you know it made me feel better.
Anywho, since it was pretty hard to take full length views of the closet I will do my best to demonstrate the befores and afters.
Top half of the closet before:
Meh, the closet looked kinda neat but not really. The second shelf from the top had a plastic bin full of candles and other miscellaneous stuff along with all those darn ball caps! The second shelf from the bottom had way too many kitchen towels, hand towels, etc. A jam fest it was! Oh and then at the very bottom I had a couple of kitchen appliances that did not fit in the kitchen (just a few feet away).
So after emptying the entire closet, deciding what I was going to keep, and cleaning the shelves, I gave this lil 'ol closet a nice makeover. Here are my after pics.
Top half of closet after:
And here again:
On the very top shelf I have three shoe-size plastic bins stored with candles. This is really the only place in the house I can store my candles. Obviously the heat will get to them if store in the garage (Texas heat, y'all) and my utility room is also small and the one shelf I have in there is storing bigger/bulky items. Anywho, all my candles for the different season are in there; some are actually lit others are just for decor. Yeah, I'm one of those. :)
I also have one canvas bin of miscellaneous items for house use every now and then; and the extra space is for house decor that is too sensitive to be in the garage. Just like the candles.
The second shelf is for our beach towels. Yep, we have them and we don't just use them for the pool or beach. I actually like to use them when after I shower. They are extra cozy to me. I have two shelf dividers that I purchased at Wal-Mart keeping those bulky towels in place. I also have a few extra bed sheets on that same shelf.
The third shelf has two medium cabinet shelves that I bought at The Container Store (LOVE that place!). Using these two shelves made a huge difference and of course it gave me more space!
These are the cabinet shelves:
Here are after pics of the bottom half:
The bottom shelf has two, small canvas bins. One has kitchen towels and the other has smaller kitchen towels. Basically the beige bin stores the towels we hang from the oven handle and the pink bin stores the kitchen towels we use for cleaning the counters, etc. To the right of the pink bin are a couple of tablecloths and handmade doilies from my maternal grandmother's family in Mexico. More on those on a later post.
The very bottom will now store toilet paper and paper towels. Before they were kept in the utility room but having to grab a step ladder for these items got old real quick.
Now do I feel like a bazillion times better about this little makeover and it was rather inexpensive too. The only things I purchased were the two medium cabinet shelves and the one small, beige bin; both from The Container Store. All were on sale so about $13 total or so. I already had the two shelf dividers (from Wal-Mart) and the pink and blue-striped canvas bins I bought a few years ago on clearance at Bed, Bath and Beyond. If all of my towels were clean then there would not be enough room in this closet, that is for sure. But there are always towels in the hamper so I don't have to worry about needing more room.
My next goal for this closet is to have brand new, matching towels and bed sheets. I'm hoping to score some at a great home sale after the holidays. Until then I'm just going to enjoy the great after because the too-many-stuffed-in-there look was driving me cah-razy!
Again, this was my pinspiration. Until next time, peeps! :)
Anywho, since it was pretty hard to take full length views of the closet I will do my best to demonstrate the befores and afters.
Top half of the closet before:
Bottom half of the closet before:
So after emptying the entire closet, deciding what I was going to keep, and cleaning the shelves, I gave this lil 'ol closet a nice makeover. Here are my after pics.
Top half of closet after:
And here again:
On the very top shelf I have three shoe-size plastic bins stored with candles. This is really the only place in the house I can store my candles. Obviously the heat will get to them if store in the garage (Texas heat, y'all) and my utility room is also small and the one shelf I have in there is storing bigger/bulky items. Anywho, all my candles for the different season are in there; some are actually lit others are just for decor. Yeah, I'm one of those. :)
I also have one canvas bin of miscellaneous items for house use every now and then; and the extra space is for house decor that is too sensitive to be in the garage. Just like the candles.
The second shelf is for our beach towels. Yep, we have them and we don't just use them for the pool or beach. I actually like to use them when after I shower. They are extra cozy to me. I have two shelf dividers that I purchased at Wal-Mart keeping those bulky towels in place. I also have a few extra bed sheets on that same shelf.
The third shelf has two medium cabinet shelves that I bought at The Container Store (LOVE that place!). Using these two shelves made a huge difference and of course it gave me more space!
These are the cabinet shelves:
Here are after pics of the bottom half:
The bottom shelf has two, small canvas bins. One has kitchen towels and the other has smaller kitchen towels. Basically the beige bin stores the towels we hang from the oven handle and the pink bin stores the kitchen towels we use for cleaning the counters, etc. To the right of the pink bin are a couple of tablecloths and handmade doilies from my maternal grandmother's family in Mexico. More on those on a later post.
The very bottom will now store toilet paper and paper towels. Before they were kept in the utility room but having to grab a step ladder for these items got old real quick.
Now do I feel like a bazillion times better about this little makeover and it was rather inexpensive too. The only things I purchased were the two medium cabinet shelves and the one small, beige bin; both from The Container Store. All were on sale so about $13 total or so. I already had the two shelf dividers (from Wal-Mart) and the pink and blue-striped canvas bins I bought a few years ago on clearance at Bed, Bath and Beyond. If all of my towels were clean then there would not be enough room in this closet, that is for sure. But there are always towels in the hamper so I don't have to worry about needing more room.
My next goal for this closet is to have brand new, matching towels and bed sheets. I'm hoping to score some at a great home sale after the holidays. Until then I'm just going to enjoy the great after because the too-many-stuffed-in-there look was driving me cah-razy!
