Check one thing off our to-do list. Closets. Organized closets. At least in the master and boys’ bedrooms. I drew up a little sketch of what setup I wanted in each closet and Handy Hubby made it happen. I’ve always admired wooden shelving and solid drawers in walk-in closets, but since our closets’ contents will eventually be hidden behind fabric curtains {we removed the closet doors for good!}, we went with the less attractive but less expensive wire shelving option. Specifically, we used ClosetMaid wire shelving.
I got the kids out of the house for some summer fun while HH tackled the closets. That’s the only way things happen around here anymore. One of us wrangles the kids while the other tackles a project. HH was kind enough to take some in-progress shots for you.
You can read all about ClosetMaid installation here. Basically, HH screwed the top {horizontal} hang track into the wall plate then hung the {vertical} standards from that to get proper spacing before screwing them in as well.
HH found that hanging the standards from the hang track before screwing them into the wall helped him to get the exact spacing needed for the wire drawers and to level the shelves.
That’s the boys’ closet all organized. I didn’t clean up for the pics or style anything. This is what it looks like on a normal day. I’ve mentioned in the past that I am constantly editing our stuff. I probably make two dozen trips to Goodwill every year. Maybe you didn’t think I was serious. But I am. I only keep toys that aren’t broken and that my kids play with on a regular basis. My boys don’t have a lot of clothes either. It keeps me on top of laundry and we save money by not hoarding a bunch of unnecessary clothing. They tend to want to wear the same shirt and shorts over and over and over anyway. Here’s a breakdown on their closet contents…
Honestly, the Legos bin is usually on the floor but I got tired of stepping on random pieces the other day so I threw it up there. Clothing that’s not in season is stored in the attic. Otherwise, I end up with two boys in sweatpants in the middle of August. Yes, those really are all their summer clothes. I wasn’t behind on laundry when I took these pics.
One thing I rarely get rid of are books. I don’t think kids can have too many books. But if they’re missing pages or not age-appropriate then I get rid of them. I also had a firm talk with the boys about the shelves not being ladders.
There’s a little nook within the boys’ closet. It’s perfect for less frequently used items. Although Everett wears a costume just about every day. The kid loves costumes. If he gets grounded from them {which happens more than I care to admit} he will create a costume out of his regular clothes. Undies make a good face mask, you know.
I stashed them in a hanging organizer at a height where they’d be easy for him to get out and put away. So far, so good. Before their closet was organized, Layne and Everett were leaving their clothes and toys strewn about all day and night. I was going bonkers. But it really wasn’t their fault. They had nowhere to put anything. If you give kids an easy system, for the most part, they’ll use it.
I’m thrilled their things have a place now. For the first time in 9 months, we’re finally back to our nightly routine of cleaning up before bed. That makes me happy. I know I’m probably coming across as a bit prude here but I firmly believe in toys not taking over our house just because kids live here. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. My kids focus better and play better when there aren’t a million options to distract them. It works well for us.
Now onto the master closet.
Our closet is shaped a little differently than the boys’ with two nooks on either side. HH and I agreed that they would be great spots for hanging items since we both tend to be ‘folders’ and prefer to have folded items front and center.
HH placed two hanging rods on either side of the master closet with some added shelving above. Here’s our closet now…
Those are all of our clothes. Even out of season items are stored in our closet because {unlike our boys!} we know which clothing is appropriate for which type of weather we’re having. Although, HH has been known to wear shorts in the dead of winter. Weird.
The closet is split in half. Please notice the Steelers garb encroaching onto the top shelf of my side. Ahem. No, really. I can’t reach that shelf without the aid of a chair anyway. I want to get a clothes folding board so our folded things will look nicer. We’re folders but I never said we were good ones. I’d love to have all wooden hangers someday too but the plastic ones work fine.
My favorite part of our closet are the slide-out laundry hampers. HH surprised me with those. I kept saying they’d be nice but HH kept leaning towards floor-to-ceiling shelving and I was okay with that. I about peed my pants when I came home and saw them. They are an organizing girl’s dream!
I’m trying to teach Layne and Everett the difference between lights and darks. Everett’s not quite getting it. But, Mama, those red pants have white polka dots. That means they’re light.
To the left {HH’s}…
HH still needs to find a way to organize his ties and hats. Or maybe I need to find a way for him.
To the right {mine}…
You’ll notice that there aren’t shoes in any of the bedroom closets. That’s because I want to come up with a way to store them elsewhere…somewhere close to the front and garage doors. We follow the ‘no shoes in the house’ rule. Right now, they’re just piled in baskets in the mudroom.
The closet lights pass through the wire shelving better than if they were solid. We like that about the wire.
In case you’re wondering, it cost us ~$500 to add the wire closet organization to the two closets. Money well spent if you ask me. Especially when there’s plenty room-to-grow involved. And the shelves can be re-adjusted as needed when and if our wardrobes change. In a closet, I’m all for function. It doesn’t have to look pretty, just has to work.
Which brings me to another tangent topic. Pretty.
There are so many pretty pictures on other blogs right now. It’s starting to bring me down. Normally, I’m inspired. But today I feel as if our house will never look pretty. I don’t say this to prompt ‘hang in there, girl!’ comments. I say this to let you know that I’m human and that I don’t always like what’s going on in my house. Renovations are taxing. Moving is hard. Unpacking is even harder. Throw in two kids, a newborn and a sleep-deprived Mama and you’ve got the makings of an emotional roller coaster. Please don’t ask me how I do it all. I don’t do it all. I feel like I’m always sacrificing something. Sleep. Time with my boys. Time with my baby. Time with my HH. Time with my blog. Time with the unpacked moving boxes in our garage. Time with my friends. Time with myself. Time with my inbox. Time with projects.
I haven’t been able to find a good rhythm since Mabrey was born. When I’m being a good Mama, I feel like a bad blogger. When I’m being a good blogger, I feel like a bad Mama. I know it will get better. For cryin’ out loud, this is my third time around! You’d think I’d know not to try to do too much too soon. And yet, I still find myself thinking about things I could be doing. Should be doing. I need to let those thoughts go and know my limits. I know where I want to take House*Tweaking and my house, but I also know that it’s going to take time {and sleep!} to get them both where I want them. I also know that there are other people out there with much more serious {health, financial, marital, etc.} problems than my wanna-do-it-all-and-do-it-now-and-do-it-great! mentality.
Sometimes, I need to remind myself of why I started this blog. As much as I enjoy looking at pretty things, I like to see real things. A real house where a real family with real kids lives. Oh, and there’s no real nanny or real cleaning lady. And that real house doesn’t always look pretty.
Okay. Good talk. Thanks for listening.
On a lighter note, we found this fortune in our Chinese takeout three days after we moved in…
It’s hanging on our fridge and it makes me smile.
images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking
DIY, kid-friendly, organization