Closet & Craft Room Organization

It was still light out when I left work today, y'all! That means it's almost Spring, right? Right?

In that vein, I did some spring cleaning/organizing this weekend. It involved some swapping out between the bedroom and the craft room. Sometimes you buy furniture for a specific purpose and then find out it works much better somewhere else.

This is where I store some of my shoes. Maybe half of them. And in the little drawers are my socks - work socks, trouser socks, running socks.

This storage unit came from Ikea a few years ago. I found it in the As-Is section because it's missing one drawer. Or maybe five - I never did see the original. But it worked for me because I only intended to use it for shoes. I especially loved the larger cubbies for my boots and taller shoes.

Then there is the wicker dresser in the craft room. Bought specifically for craft supplies. You might remember it from when I gave it a paint makeover. And boy, was it packed - though not very organized. At first it was, but then I just started shoving things in here and there, whenever I didn't know what else to do with them.

So this weekend I decided to switch them up. You're thinking, "But wait a minute, you aren't going to put your shoes in drawers are you?" No, of course I'm not. There is a shelf that runs all along the three sides of the closet up above the racks. A shelf that is practically empty. And the shoes in the cabinet are mostly for dress or for summer, so I figured it would be no problem to have them up high out of the way.

Instead, I'm using the dresser for the aforementioned socks, underwear, skirts, and workout clothes. All of the things that were sharing space in our main dresser.

At first I tried the big dresser in the closet and the small wicker one in the bedroom, thinking the paint colour would be a nice complement and the reduced height would give the room more balance. But the big dresser just looked crowded and the small dresser looked lost. So back they went.

Now I don't have to have bins on top of the cabinet for my undies and workout tops, and the space in the closet is being used much more efficiently. By no means is this my dream closet. We're still working with the wire shelving that the previous owners left behind. Sometime this year we're going to sit down with paper and pencil and figure out exactly what we want to do in there. I'm thinking floor to ceiling built-in shelving and fewer hanging racks.

Back in the craft room, the previous shoe cabinet was becoming a new craft/sewing supply area. All of my craft paint and spray adhesive went into the smaller cubbies, while my fabric is now easier to see in the larger spots.

Before this, my fabric was folded up and stored anywhere I could find a space - in the trunk, the storage bench, the closet. Absolutely everywhere. I went through it and culled the fabric that I probably wasn't going to use - I had at least 4 blankets set aside for "dog toys" - how many toys do they need? There is still some overflow into the closet, but this gives me a good idea of what I have at a glance.

In the drawers are my artist's brushes, sponge brushes, and glues. The unit also came with dozens of different-sized dividers so that you can partition the drawers, or even make the cubbies smaller if you need more sections.

I put it against the wall under the wrapping centre, and I love how much colour there is when you look in that direction. I have a bad habit of buying neutrals when it comes to clothes and decorations - but not so with my paint and ribbon!

On the other side of the room I had Tom hang two prints that had originally been destined for the TV room in the basement. The prints came from Michael's and the frames were a $5 find (for both!) from a yard sale. I may still spray paint the frames some day, but I can live with them for now. The pier reminds me of Kemah, Texas, and the boat and poles reminds me of Samana, in the Dominican Republic. This wall was very big and empty before - I'm glad I finally found something to hang there.

The closet is still packed full - but it's fairly organized. Nothing I'm going to be showing off; short of knocking out a wall or putting on an addition, my craft room is never going to be big enough. But the paint and the fabric are things I turn to all the time, so it made sense to have them out where it was easy to access them.

I keep looking over at that colourful little corner and smiling. Sometimes little changes make the biggest impact.