It's a disaster. The once organized shelves are now in disarray. Not only was it driving me nuts to look at it, but it was causing me to overbuy. I would think we needed more toothpaste when in reality there was a tiny basket in the way back that had an abundant supply. I just had no clue it was there. Finally I could stand it no more, I decided to load up on caffeine and tackle it.
First step, unloading what was in the closet and categorizing:
This is the moment when anxiety can kick in during an organizing project...for a few reasons. 1. You ask yourself- How the hell am I going to fit ALL of that stuff back into that small closet? 2. Regret. I should have never done this. I could be relaxing on the patio with a glass of wine and the new Domino right now...yet I chose to do THIS. In this moment the best thing to do is begin to go pile by pile and purge as much as possible. After you've purged enough the project becomes much more manageable. Then you are ready to assess the new mess and begin to think about how you want to organize.
I looked back at the now empty closet and started to measure. This way I could really maximize the space. By the way, I knew I already wanted to use these baskets:
A while back I bought them for our fridge but we never liked them. In fact we loathed them. They took up way too much space and were not functional. I decided to use them as under bed storage for small items that we had no place to store. Now I love them. They are easy to pull in and out their transparency allows you to see what you have stored in them. After a quick trip to the Container Store to pick up a few more- I was all set. I started grouping the items into the baskets (I used the small and medium sizes).
Here is the after!
It's incredible how much space we gained back by using the same type of storage bins instead of a mix of baskets, bins, etc. We've been using this space now for a few weeks and it has stayed exactly like this! Everything has it's place now. AND, the shoe storage on the door is empty! I can't believe we gained space!
After this overhaul I realized I have too much product. I always knew I had an excess, but this is borderline hoarding status. I get the ipsy bags, samples when I order my go to makeup items, etc. and they just have added up. I dedicated two full baskets to mostly samples. Labeled one "eye makeup" and the other "lips/face" (there is also one extra basket dedicated to hair samples- nuts). Now if I want to mix up my daily beauty routine I pull one of these baskets out to try something new. I'm so glad I actually followed through with this project. Now it's time to tackle another disaster zone....
+ for most of my favorite products seen in this post you can follow this beauty link
great idea for all those samples!!
ReplyDeleteThe after is amazing! I definitely need to do this with my bathroom closet!
ReplyDeleteJust amazing. Hard to believe it is the same closet~ You have the magical gift to transform and organize~
ReplyDeletepve
I think it's crazy how happy this post makes me!!! Love a good organization post. Cleaned out my freezer a week ago, mostly because a soda exploded in it but every time that day I felt overwhelmed I'd open that freezer, get a good look at that beautiful organization and breath a deep sigh of relief!!
ReplyDeleteHow clever, love the idea of labelling the baskets too.....Guess what I may do today!! P.s. would love you to check out my blog sometime xx
ReplyDeleteVery impressive! I love the tags!
ReplyDeleteLooks fabulous! I adore those chalkboard gift tags! Great job.
ReplyDelete-Sayeh, The Office Stylist
http://theofficestylist.com/
Love this! Where did you get your nail polish holder?
ReplyDelete