Coat closet organization hacks
April 11, 2016
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I've been decluttering...and decided to tackle the coat closet next. I've shared this little space a few times over the years -- it's one of my hardest working spots in the house. It's funny because we have a lot of storage in this house, but not a lot of closet storage -- at least those that hold things other than clothes. :)
I used one of our linen closets to create my son's book nook years ago so we now have one linen closet, a coat closet and a little space in the utility closet to store the day to day necessities.
Like I said, this one works hard for us. I started by clearing everything out of it:
This photo makes me laugh -- I still can't believe all of this fits in there. I'll show you how in a minute. :)
The issue we've had is on the floor -- the winter boots usually get tossed down there and get jumbled into a big mess. Because I'm a bagger, the floor is my spot for those bags (notice only one that was down there this time! I'm getting better!)
I have always kept the vacuum in this closet so that takes up floors space as well. So I put together a quick fix for the boots that helped tremendously:
I grabbed two pieces of scrap wood (together the shelf is about 11 inches deep) and installed it with scraps of wood as brackets underneath. I attached those to studs where available (this is only holding shoes so it doesn't need to be crazy strong) and then placed the boards on top.
HUGE help people! Usually the simplest solution is best:
Because I had some extra space down there I brought up the carpet cleaner from the basement so it's easily accessible. I was able to move a few things around in our utility closet and place the vacuum in there -- I'm so stinking excited to have that thing out of here! Only took me 12 years to figure out a better spot for it. :)
I went through all of the items in the closet -- we got rid of four coats/jackets and numerous hats, scarves and pairs of gloves. This cubby is one of my favorite organizational tools:
This is the one I use. It allows me to store so much little stuff in this closet and they are easily accessible -- it's so nice in the winter to just grab a pair of gloves for the Bub when he's running out to the bus. I have each section labeled -- there's a row for each of us, one for winter stuff in general and then one for summer items. I keep extra sunscreen and bug spray in those.
I have always kept small umbrellas and ponchos in here too, but I dawned on me that we only use those when traveling. I put larger umbrellas in the back of the closet and in our cars, but the smaller ones we only use when we travel to NYC. The ponchos are only used on Disney trips, so both of those items went up to the guest room dresser with the rest of our travel gear. It makes so much more sense to store them there.
In the winter our scarves hang on the top two hooks, but now the beach/pool bag takes their place for easy access:
My son's bookbag hangs on the lower hook every day. Those are actually drapery hooks and they work great to hold tons of stuff! (See more about that here.) While I was at it, I washed all of our coats and winter gear too.
Oh and yeah…I ran out of time when I painted that door forever ago and never did the inside. Ha! It's been like that for a long time now, who knows when I'll get to the inside:
If you'd like to know how to make a similar mossy letter, check out this post. I found that cutie when cleaning out the basement a couple weeks ago and it's still in great shape!
It's so nice to have this spot organized and cleaned up. I've come a long way in a couple years -- this closet used to be my dumping ground and it's not been nearly as bad lately. I pack a lot of storage into this little space! I'm just happy we won't need those coats again for a very long time! :)
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Sarah - So funny - I just cleaned out our coat closet as well this weekend! What a difference! I truly enjoy reading your blog. Thanks for sharing all of your great decorating ideas & DIY tips!
ReplyDeleteLooks great! I didn't even notice the door until you mentioned it! I cleaned out mine a few weeks ago, but a bit early as winter has hung on here in Western Wisconsin!
ReplyDeleteWhy are houses even built these days without closets/pantries? My house, built 2007, in a state which does have winter weather has NO coat closet, NO mud room, and NO pantry in the kitchen. I did get a small "linen" closet inside the master bathroom, nothing at all near to the guest bathroom.
ReplyDeleteI will NEVER buy another house with this complete and utter lack of storage!!!
/rant
:-)
This is great! Thanks for the tip about that cubby. Thanks to a big addition/renovation I'll finally have a proper coat closet and can't wait to organize it so that it will function well for our family (two little kids included). I'll have to show my hubby how you made that little shoe shelf - it looks perfect.
ReplyDeleteLove it! More motivation to redo our coat closet so stuff is not stored in the back hall!
ReplyDeleteLove it!! And I still use your drapery hook idea for several closets in my home. Life changer.:)
ReplyDeleteRecent kitchem remodel with new bigger pantry allowed me to use the old one for the vacuum cleaner. Was so excited to get that out of the coat closet as well. Never thought about doing a shoe shelf in coat closet or using a shoe organizer for gloves and such. Love it. There you go, having me thinking outside the box again. :-) BTW, I sent you a pic via Instagram.
ReplyDeleteLooks great! I'm going to be unpacking and organizing a new coat closet once we move and these are good tips!
ReplyDeleteI know I need to do this, but just the thought of it brings me out in a rash! Yours looks fab though. xx
ReplyDeleteNicely organized clothings! Neat, tidy and also easy to access the coats. Love it ! :)
ReplyDeleteGreat tips!! Thank you!! I live is a very small NYC apartment and this is super helpful!!
ReplyDeleteMel | www.thegossipdarling.com