Operation End This Insanity: Closet Organization pt.2

How are you all surviving Snowmageddon 2014?

We got so much snow today that I didn't even end up going anywhere which kinda blew my big idea for our closet makeover out the window. That is okay because I was perfectly content with laying around with the furbabes. We even went out to play with them in the snow for a little bit after cabin fever started kicking in.

It was nice to go out and get some fresh air but I cannot stand the cold so it didn't last long.

Anyways back to the closet makeover.

If you missed part one last Saturday you will see how much better it looks now!

 Here is a little before and after

 We cannot believe how much better it looks now.

The major difference is the new paint.

I ended up using a gallon of paint I bought a couple months back at Habitat For Humanity for $8. Unfortunately the color was not on the can but I have ended up using it for the kitchen and now our closet. Definitely the best $8 I have ever spent.

Now how about a break down of what is actually going on in here now:

 I was going to use shower rings on a hanger for scarf organization but then I found these hangers from some blankets we bought at TJ Maxx and they are working perfect for all my scarfs.

This is Anthony's side (he has about 3 loads of laundry that need done) and in the back are my summer dresses. I ended up pulling all of our camo, hoodies, and coats out and putting them in the laundry room closet. 

 Over here we are hanging all of our pants and above are belts and camis on a circle hanger.

We are a little behind on laundry too because the rest of our pants are in there right now too.

Below on the other side are all of my clothes.

Can you tell I purged out a full laundry basket of clothes to get rid of?

I was easily filling up a whole bar and a half in here before.

It is so much easier to get ready now.

 Some more of the organization is just putting stuff in baskets.

Above is all my swimwear (left) and lingerie (right) and below is a long basket I got at Hobby Lobby for our wedding programs to go in and it is now the home of all my workout shorts.

My favorite part is the mini gallery wall I did on the back wall.

The heart was a wedding gift my cousin Missy made me and the other picture frames are all from TJ Maxx.

The chalkboard I made for our wedding as a menu on the bar and I am still trying to decide what I am going to put on it now. I figure some quote since this would be one of the first things I read in the morning while getting ready for work.

Some stuff I did to end the insanity we had going on were

• Pull out all the clothes we no longer fit into or just do not wear.
• From now on we are doing the little trick of flipping hangers to decide what needs to go at the end of the season. My method is going to be backwards from how it is done normally. When I put clothes back I am going to put them back in backwards then in the six months I will pullout what is still facing in. I am doing this because I am more likely to pull something out to wear that is easier to take out and then I will most likely wear something more than once unless it is a favorite.
• I moved all our hunting gear to the laundry room closet since they are so bulky
• I also moved all our hoodies and coats to the laundry room closet because usually when we get home from work we take off those clothes and put on comfy clothes (sweat pants and hoodie) and by having these items in there we can take off our dirty clothes and put them in the right basket to be washed.
• Socks and underwear were moved to on top of the dryer in little canvas tote baskets so they can just be pulled out of the dryer and thrown in the correct basket without spending the time to actually sort them. We all know there is always a match missing anyways.
• I was originally going to put a tall skinny dresser at the end of the closet against the wall where we would store socks and other under garments along with running shorts and whatever else couldn't be hung up. I had the dresser painted already at my Mom and Dad's and was going to go get it today but then it ended up snowing like 7 plus inches and even the interstate here was closed because the County and State are running out of salt. Needless to say the dresser idea was nixed and in exchange I put up the awesome gallery wall, so it all played out for the better anyways.

I am planning on checking back in here in a month on the result of if this was a successful change for the better. I am hoping it will prevent us having clothes building up on the floor and laundry getting so backed up because it never makes it to out of the bedroom. Tomorrow I am going to be revealing the next project we are going to be working on to be more organized in 2014 and hopefully for years to come if we can make it a habit and stick to it.

I hope you all are having a great weekend!

My urge to remodel rooms in the house has biting me more here lately. Mainly because I really should be studying for finals but I have recently developed this habit that when I should be studying I start cleaning. I really don't think anyone in this house is complaining other than my inner-self and maybe my GPA (oops) I really need to work on busting this habit, not real sure how to do so yet.

But Anyways I decided as soon as these finals are over I am going to start the projects of the summer. Most people probably plan extravagant fun activities to do in the summer (ie. going to the pool every day, slip-n-sliding, hiking trips etc.) and think I am crazy for doing such things but I think I am really going to enjoy these projects and the house will appreciate it along with Mom and Dad (*fingers crossed). Here are some pictures of the things I am going to start off tackling:

The hideous black shelf in our kitchen! Don't get me wrong I love the shelfs and they are actually mine and I will be taking atleast one of them when I move out but the color has just got to go! I thinking about painting them white/creamy or going bold and painting them red!! 

 This is not a repeat of the previous I actually have 2 of these shelves. My Grandpa scored them at the auction they go to every week and when I was house/dog sitting for them I asked them how much they would sell them to me for and he just gave them to me! WOOT WOOT! thanks again Grandpa :) 

This little area in our house is right off of the back deck and it doesn't really serve as a good purpose. When I got the shelves I put this one in there and it has obviously became the place to store all of our cooking things that we don't use other than on holidays or when Mom decides to make a yummy batch of her famous chili (saving that for another post) The area also serves as our wanna be recycling area and the cat's bathroom (aka liter box) Ideas:: Paint shelf if it ends up staying and have it match the other. If shelf goes down stairs it will most likely become our mudroom. I am thinking one of those bench stations with hooks above for winter coats and cubbys for gloves and tabogens (We do live in Ohio and it is cold outside 70% of the year)

And now for the room everyone in this house hates! The laundry room...this is the room we always stuff last minute things in and all the dirty laundry we have and shut the door right before company comes over for the holidays or the unexpected visits we sometimes get. A year ago we had a leaky roof and the ceiling came in and Dad never finished the ceiling hence the roof needed fixed at the time and it just was a bigger priority. Well I have big plans for this room! Filing cabinet is going to go along with the industrial sized paper shredded my Dad got from work (Dad is the one that doesn't let anything get thrown away, I received this wonderful habit from him so I cannot complain) But the hideous thing has got to go. At least out to the garage!

 Sunday night I got that curtain rod from the clearance rack at wal-mart for $5 and decided to rig it up for a clothes drying rack until I could get something prettier. When I do it is going up on the window :) The shelf is pretty much a collect-all for anything and everything in the laundry room but it has a lot of potential so it is staying.

 My Dad made this massive shelf years ago to accommodated all of the clothes our family has! It is wonderful and will be staying but I am most likely going to paint it to match the room. Since I started down-sizing my wardrobe my shelf became the shelf for beach towels, the top holds more seasonal items and the others are Dad's t-shirts and Mom's clothes. I imagine one day when my brother and I move out clothes will no longer be kept here because they will have more rooms in the house but until then it serves a perfect purpose!!!

 I love the folding table. I actually just sat it up on Sunday but it prevents clothes from getting folded in the living room or kitchen and then sitting there for days until the right person claims them or Mom puts them away for that person (mmhmm Dad and JK?!!)

 More drying station.

 Who wouldn't want to fold clothes with this lovely view!

 SO the overall idea for the this room::

the wall with the window is going to be apple red, two end walls will be light yellow and the wall with the washer and dryer are going have large stripes (24 inches) colors..light yellow, apple red and a light blue and separated by thin white stripes. The shelf above washer and dryer is up for debate for being painted to white or a cobalt blue. Any suggestions? I am pretty excited to see how this room looks when I am done!!!

So last night I decided to venture down stairs to my scrapbook room. I knew going down there would be slightly disastrous to the eyes. For some reason and I hope its not just me but every time I get crafty and decide to create something I make a huge mess! The good thing with my scrapbook room being in our basement is that I can just turn the lights off and leave and not have to move around it on a daily basis and my Mom doesn't ever go downstairs so she doesn't tell me when it needs cleaned. Tonight I was extremely angry with how I had left the room last time I was down there creating stuff so I decided to do some major cleaning.  I took some pictures of the before then of the after. So here it is::

 WOW! so embarassing!!!

 MUCH better
I decided to hang some Christmas lights around the ceiling and I love the new touch!!!

 Page making/assembling desk

 Shelf that holds my Cricut Carts and some of my own stamps.

 I decided to create a scrap paper box. That thing is going to save me some money. The stack in front of it is just half of my scrapbook paper. It needs organized into categories but I didn't feel like messing with that tonight so this is where it ended up.

 Cricut Center. I am thinking about decorating that wall differently but I am just not sure what I am going to do yet. 

Shelf that holds sewing machine, little totes (blue- adhesives, green-random, purple-cards and card making supplies.)

Here is a little tour of the stuff in my room::

A- totes mentioned above

B-Scrap paper and filing cabinet of memories and important info

C-Jugs of beads

D-Paper organizer I made but don't use at the moment

E-Sewing basket

F-Cricut Center.

There is a good bit of finishing that needs to be done but this room serves its purpose and I don't want to put too much money into it when in a couple years or sooner I will be moving out and who knows what Mom and Dad will turn this room into. I dread the day I have to pack all of this stuff up for moving, it is going to have to be very organized. I can just imagine all the boxes that will be hauled out of this room! I will just worry about that when the day comes. 

Here is my 50 Q&A::

4.When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?
I hope that when its all said and done I will have done more than what I have said. I try to not just talk about doing things and I am trying to live in the moment more here lately. Anthony once told me that he didn't think about stuff far into the future because he might miss something important in the moment. If we all live for the future or the "what could be" we can't make the impossible possible or accomplish things and thoroughly enjoy enjoy every moment of our lives!!!