Closet Organization | Before And After

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I love an organized space (probably more than most people), but that doesn’t mean my house is perfect. There’s almost always one area that needs attention due to the simple fact that organization requires maintenance, but also because I am not a minimalist and I have lazy, messy tendencies! Don’t believe me?

The closet in my home office houses extra non-holiday decor, crafting items and gifting supplies. My office is always the messiest room in the house because it’s a work space – but the closet had gotten really out of hand. Here’s the proof.

Isn’t that a mess?! I couldn’t close the door, I couldn’t find anything and there was no room to put anything away.

That’s the signal that you need to re-organize – when you have no desire to access a space or to put things away in that space because you know it’s going to be frustrating.

Here’s how I tackled this monster:

1. I took a “before” picture.
2. I set up 3 baskets: one for trash, one for donations, and one for things that belonged in another room of the house.
3. I took everything out of the closet, starting with the top shelf, and sorted everything. Anything that I wanted to keep was placed on the floor and grouped together with like items: candles, trays, office supplies, accent decor, etc.
4. I put everything back in the closet with like items together, utilizing vertical space and leaving room to grow.
5. I boxed up the leftover items and got them out of the house! Trash went into the dumpster and donations went into my car.

As with any large organization project, there was a moment when I had everything on the floor that I got overwhelmed. It was SUCH a mess! But I pushed through and kept working. Two hours later, I was done!

Here’s a warning – it’s easy to get overwhelmed when everything is out on the floor and you’re trying to figure out how to make it all fit back in the space. You might be tempted to just box up most of your stuff and donate it. I’ve done that before and regretted it!

That doesn’t mean I didn’t get rid of anything – I made myself really evaluate which pieces truly fit my decorating style and which ones needed to go. I still ended up with a trunk full of things to donate, but I made room for the things I really love.

Before and after pictures are one of the best parts of organizing! It’s so much fun to look back and see how far you’ve come in a short amount of time. Most of the items ended up back on the same shelf, but with much more order!

Here are a few tricks I used in this closet:

• I used bubble wrap that I’ve saved from online purchases to pad in between decorative plates and bowls.
• Wreath hangers from Dollar Tree hang on the inside of the closet door to store small wreaths, signs and banners when not in use. The berry garland you see on the left side is draped over a wire hanger that hangs on the other side of the metal shelf.
• The green oval basket on the floor (left side) has tissue paper, a few gift bags and paper shred that I use for birthday gifts. It’s like a smaller version of my Christmas gift wrap box!
• I maximized the vertical space with wire shelves from Dollar Tree! They aren’t sturdy enough for heavy items, but they work well where I have them.
• Everything is surely housed on the metal shelving unit that fits perfectly in this closet! Mine is from Bed, Bath and Beyond (I bought it 8 1/2 years ago with wedding gift cards!) but Walmart also has some comparable cheaper options. I lined some of the shelves with place mats to make it easier to slide things in and out.
• I didn’t spend a dime on this project! I used baskets and organizers I had on hand – granted, I occasionally pick up a basket or wire shelf at Dollar Tree knowing I’ll eventually use it for a project like this. 🙂

Do you have a space that’s gotten out of hand? I hope this motivates you to tackle it and push through the mess – don’t forget to take before and after pictures!

If you need inspiration for a specific room or area of your home, check out my organization index page. I have over 50 posts from the projects I’ve organized in my home over the years!