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Inside of our master bath, we have a small little linen closet which has become the second catch all in our home (first catch all is/was our master closet – stay tuned for this organization make over because I’m really hoping to finish it sometime in 2021, haha). Anyway, I’ve kind of been stumped on what to do with it because we have another linen closet right off of our loft that homes a lot of our extra linens and bathroom overflow. I just started piling some of the kids extra medical stuff in there (bandaids, thermometers, etc) and a few of our beach towels and one thing lead to another and it just became kind of a dumping ground for whatever didn’t have a home at the time.
It’s been on my to do’s LONG before Colly was born, but it just kept getting put on the back burner until July! *Yay*. I know C has been a little bit bothered with the state of it too, as he sometimes needs things in there for the kids (said bandaids and beach towels) and it’s just been a mess. Here’s a little before pic for ya.
The first TIP I want to share for any organizing project – GO! DO IT! Stop putting it off. Obviously, time/money can be restrictions and things that legitimately hold us back, which I totally understand. I have been in both boats over the years. But you don’t need to spend a lot in order to get organized. The dollar stores/spots always have things you can utilize, and Target is a store I can always grab the $2 drawer organizers that come in 2 + 3 packs. Time might be tight too, but look at your schedule and see if you can carve out a day or even 2 hours over a week (or two, if its a big project) to just dedicate to that space. Getting motivated to start any organizing project is key in seeing your space finished! Envision it, and then set the time aside to make it happen! Slowly but surely, it will get done if you just S T A R T!
So once you’ve done that, take my next TIP to heart, as I feel it really hones in on how successful you can be with your organizing goal. Take a look at the space as a whole and ask yourself what you want with it. What kind of purpose can it serve you/your family? What’s the main function it can help you with in your home?
Back to the closet at hand – for our family, I wanted to focus on the healthcare + bath time stuff in there (I also kept essential oils and other wellness things shoved in as well) so I knew I needed a few organizing products to home those in. I also thought about the towels and linens and didn’t want them all to be showing so I invested in some neutral bins/baskets to hold them.
I grabbed what I needed to at Target (…last year…. I know, I just preached about getting started but we had a bunch of curveballs, as did most, in 2020) so I had everything I needed when I started this project a few weeks ago.
Another HUGE tip of mine would grab your ear buds, portable speaker, Alexa, Google Home…whatever!…and listen to something that inspires you. Music, a podcast, an audible book, anything! I always get in the groove to get working and the time goes by so fast when I put on my fave 90’s alternative station on Amazon music.
TIP: I always take everything out of the space (closet, drawer, cabinet, room) and give it a good wipe down. Magic erasers, all purpose spray (Thieves!), and some rags or paper towels. When you start with a clean slate, you’re on the right track to your project already.
After everything is cleaned out and wiped down properly, here comes the next TIP: start grouping. I always have one pile for donation/trash and then the other piles are what I plan to use in the space. For example, when I cleaned out my mom’s desk drawers recently I had a pile for: tools, pens, glue sticks, reading glasses, scissors, etc. It is so much easier to put away once you’ve done this.
TIP: In addition to functionality (easy to access/find) and purpose (being able to help our family), another perk of being organized is (YES) the aesthetic. We all love a clean, pretty to look at space, right? To achieve this, I’ll also use a scaling system. I try to do this in every space I fix up if possible. So what do I mean by this? Creating some dimension across the shelves. I do this with incorporating different heights and textures with the baskets/containers and adding a pop of color and decor with a small plant (did this in my mom’s linen closet refresh too!). If you’re reorganizing a surface space, think about adding photo frames of different heights and throwing in a textured or glass piece of decor to offset it. There are tons of ways to do this, but these are my most simplified/cost effective ways.
TIP: Mixing and matching is great, but when it comes to actually hanging up clothing or organizing all of the same items in a row, I really like uniformity. For my mom’s linen closet (see below), she also had a side with a clothing rod that was holding up jackets and winter wear. It didn’t take much to make it look a LOT better, by just adding some hangers I had at our house that were all the same style and color.
You may need to rearrange as you go and start filling in your containers, baskets, etc. with your “piles”.
Last tip: once you have everything organized how you want – remember arrange + maintain.
Everything I used in our linen closet is linked HERE.
Everything I used in my mom’s linen closet is linked HERE.
I hope this helps! Go tackle that project!!!!
