3 Things You Need for a Closet Makeover Project

I'm always making over other people's spaces. I provide home organizing services in the Twin Cities and surrounding suburbs, including Blaine, Minnesota where I live. As a busy full time mom, and Professional Organizer and owner of Smiling Spaces, LLC, I rarely take the time to tackle a project I want to do in my own home. My hall coat closet, for instance, has been in need of some attention for a while now. I finally got to it!!

While I could always find things in this closet, and had systems in place for containing items and keeping things organized, it was time for an "upgrade." I made it a goal to improve where I thought I could, and fix a couple of key problems. Here's how I tackled this closet I'd been making do with since we moved in 5 years ago. Read on for 3 things you need for a closet makeover project.

Coat Closet Before & Afters

Closet (Before)

Closet (After)

Have a space in your house that you've been wanting to redo? Below are 3 things you need for a closet makeover project, or really any project you want to tackle. After you're done reading, I'd love for you to leave a comment below. Carry on.

1) Motivation

My Motivation: The time of year, and a changing family-

• January is Get Organized Month- meaning, I just feel more like doing this kind of project at this time of year. The colder weather also reminds me daily how I need my closet to function properly. Also, a favorite organizing store of mine, The Container Store has a fabulous once-a-year 30% off sale on their Elfa Shelving. I knew I wanted to take advantage of that.
  
• Our family is growing and so are our possessions- Since we moved here, we've added a dog and had a baby, adding to what's currently being stored in the closet. Our chocolate lab Savannah has leashes, treats, a couple sweaters, and toys. My son turned one at the end of last year, and now has his own set of coats, little shoes, and a diaper bag.
  
  

2) Timeline

My Timeline: Three weekend days in the month of January-

• One Saturday to plan and purchase/order shelves (babysitter in place)
• One Saturday to pick up shelves (drive down to Container Store)
• One Sunday to put up shelves (4-5 hours to do it ourselves during nap times)
  
  

3) Goals

My Goals: What was on my list-

Goal #1: Make coats more accessible. The previous owners had shelves in place, but they were awkwardly positioned and not easy to readjust to fit our needs. I also didn't like how the shelves lacked rods for coats that you could move hangers back and forth on with ease. We wanted coats to be easier to grab in and out.

Coats in Corner of Closet (Before)

Goal #2: Be better able to see the family's scarves, hats, and mittens. There is no light in this closet which makes seeing anything a challenge. Although we had each family member's outer wear accessories separated and contained already, we wanted to be able to see them better without having to hire an electrician.

Cluttered Closet (Before)

Goal # 3: Have shoes and boots be better organized and upgrade storage solutions in look and style. I'd been reusing shoe shelves from my college days thriftily, and trying to work with the existing closet system. But I wasn't fond of the white shoe shelves making dirt show and we always seemed to be slightly short on space even after removing out-of-season shoes.

How it turned out:

Closet (After)

(Left) Moving the coats to the front and adding coat rods make it easier to see and grab coats. Shoes are now on pull-out shelves that provide enough space and no longer collect dirt.

We moved all of the dog supplies to the laundry room where the food and water bowls are located. The broom and small vacuum, backup kitchen appliances and paper goods got moved there too. This freed up the side wall and upper shelf space.

We also tackled our laundry room space at the same time, so the items we purged from the closet had a place to go. (Normally, I don't recommend doing more than one space at a time)

Closet (After)

(Below) Pull-out baskets for each family member keeps outerwear and accessories contained. Moving the unit close to the front of the closet makes it easier to see things even though there still isn't a light in the closet.

Pull Out Storage Bins for each family member 

Pull Out Storage Bins for hats, scarves, and mittens

(Below) I even found a solution to a problem I didn't expect to get to.  I wanted an easy to reach spot for the diaper bag, recipe books, and reusable shopping bags. Installing four shelves above the basket system did the trick.

A spot for the Diaper Bag, Recipe Books, and Reusable Shopping Bags

This will make meal planning easier!

I'd love to hear what you think about this project, the tips you find helpful, or ask a question. 

Leave a comment below. Thanks!

How to make: Kentucky Derby Themed Party Cupcakes

Last Saturday, May 4th was the 139th Kentucky Derby. My husband and I decided to throw a party because we were inspired by our trip to Louisville, Kentucky last October, 2012 for our 6th anniversary road trip.

My husband and I wearing our derby hats, of course.

My mother-in-law's Pecan Pie Bites were a hit!

The Benedictine Cucumber Sandwiches, Paula Dean

We love a good themed party, and it was fun to come up with a menu fit for the occasion. Needing some inspiration, I went to where many ladies my age go, Pinterest. Although I do have to admit, it can be an overwhelming site that can leave you feeling less than crafty yourself. In moderation, it's a great booster for sparking ideas.


I found lots of southern style comfort foods which helped create our spread of: mac n cheese, fried chicken, biscuits, benedictine (cucumber) sandwiches, and pecan pie bites. I did find a couple of pictures of some cupcakes, some covered in large red roses made from icing and others adorned in cheap plastic cowboy hats and horseshoes. The first, a little too fancy for my hands, and the other, a bit too elementary.






My Creation: "Winner's Circle" Chocolate Cupcakes

On my Grandmother's Silver Platter.

Ingredients
Chocolate Cake/Cupcake Mix (not pictured)
White Frosting
Green Sprinkles -grass
Cracklin' Oat Bran Cereal -horseshoes
Red Icing -roses







I'm not going to tell you how to bake cupcakes. Just follow the box, silly. Then let cool before frosting. I let my cupcakes sit overnight under some plastic wrap and decorated a few hours before guests arrived. 

Note: keep cooling cupcakes away from edge of counter so your puppy won't get one. (I had to pull one out of my Chocolate Lab Savannah's mouth)

Made Savy's outfit from a $1 store kid's apron, and iron on numbers

Sprinkle green sprinkles over freshly frosted cupcake before the frosting hardens. This gives it the grass look.

Cupcake Steps

My own /Idea: Carefully cut the edge off of a piece of Cracklin' Oat Bran cereal to make a mini horseshoe.

It takes a few trys to get the hang of it without breaking.

Place the horse shoe in the center of the cupcake and add five red roses using one of the plastic tips that comes with the cupcake icing. Enjoy!

The finished cupcake!

A Beautiful Engagement Gift: Wedding Workbook Download

Know someone who was recently engaged and starting to plan a wedding?

 

While many engaged couples are excited to get married, planning a wedding can be a really overwhelming task. I created the Organize Your Dream Wedding Workbook to help with the wedding planning process. It makes a beautiful engagement gift any do-it-yourself couple will love.

 

Just download and forward to the engaged couple or print the pages yourself. Three hole punch the pages and put in a binder for further organization.

 

 

Favorite Features:

 

• Practical tips, checklists, and resources for staying on track throughout the planning process

• Creative suggestions for how to personalize your wedding, choose your wedding colors, theme, and manage your guest list

• Budgeting guidance to save you time, money, and stress, and how to copy favorite ideas for less

• Organizing inspired date night ideas to keep the groom involved



Download the Workbook Here

 

 

Secondhand Dress-up Costume Bins

Now's a great time to start planning what you are going to do for all those kids on your Christmas list. It's also a great time to shop for costumes both before and after Halloween.

Last year I decided to do something different for Christmas gifts. I gave my nephew and two nieces dress up bins full of costume pieces. The idea came to me when a neighbor offered me a half dozen, plastic, hanging file totes that she had gotten from work that were no longer wanted. I knew with just a touch of soap and water I could put these bins to work and contain something in them, so I accepted. As I washed them out one at a time in my bath tub, my wheels started to turn as the water rushed down the drain. With Christmas still a couple of months away at the time, the idea to make dress up bins came to mind. I knew I had plenty of time to look around for just the right items to include.

I wanted to keep the project around $20/bin and keep the contents fairly even between the kids. I decided to head to my local dollar and thrift stores to shop. I found great deals and had a lot of fun picking out imaginative play clothing and accessories.

Some things I included:

• Cowgirl and Cowboy hats, bandannas
• Plastic Sword and Shield
• Pom poms and cheer girl outfit
• Princess skirts, high heels, tiaras, necklaces, and wands
• Doctor's tools and a white dress shirt
• An assortment of masks
• Fireman's hats, 2 yellow, 1 red
• 2 Purses and Mailman's hat

  
Other tips: Make sure to wash and dry all items you purchase before you give them as a gift. Use a black sharpie to label the items for each child on the tag or inside to keep them straight. When kids open their bins they'll tend to not know who's things belong to who as they begin to share and try things on.

 


What you'll need to make a Dress Up Costume Bin:

•  Costumes & Accessories like I mentioned above.  No need to spend a lot.

Fire Hat and Ax

• 1 Plastic Hanging File Tote with Lid

 

Other tips: If and when your child outgrows dress up, this file tote bin can transform into a place to keep favorite school projects, mementos and artwork. Just add more hanging file folders.




 

• 1 Hanging File Folder with Plastic Tab labeled with child's name (Great for keeping smaller accessories like Pirate eye patches, Gold Coins, Rings, Pearl Necklaces, Bracelets and Tattoo stickers)

Other tips: Show your child where the smaller items can be put back in the hanging file folder so they are easier to find and not misplace. Teach them how to fit the lid on top of the bin and that all costume pieces go inside the tote when playtime is over.

• 2 Super Sticky Post-It Labels for Sides of Tote (The super sticky post-it labels are great because unlike traditional post-its that are only sticky on one end, this one is sticky the entire length of the paper)

Other tips:
Choose a bright color label that will contrast the outside of your tote and will stand out. If you have more than one child you are making a bin for, use a different color for each. I like a good ol' black sharpie to write.

 

The Cheerleader outfit

Have fun with it. Try on a few things yourself at the next tea party you're invited to!










Stores to shop inexpensively or second hand: 

Costumes: Your own House, Dollar Tree,  Savers, Goodwill, Salvation Army,
Arcs Value Village, Thrift Store and Donation Center

File Tote, Hanging File Folders and Labels: Your own House or office, Office Max, Target

Organizing six years after the wedding

My six year wedding anniversary is coming up in just a couple of weeks. It's funny how some of the wedding gifts we got are still really amazing and have held up, like our china and crystal glasses. However, other things like towels, sheets and our bedspread are starting to show wear, need replacing, or have already been replaced.

I recently gave new life to our six year old white towels by bleaching them. I hope to have them around a bit longer. While I was at it, I organized our linen closet too. Oh how nice it felt to upgrade our storage
containers in there- Happy Anniversary to me! 

I put a tag on the shelf labeled "Bath Towels" and another on the basket labeled " Hand Towels/Wash Cloths" to remind us where everything goes.

 


Besides our white bath towels, another thing that is still around after our wedding is our card box. My sister made it out of a large metal mailbox. She painted and decorated it as well as put a slit in the front for cards to be slipped in. The latch was wired together to prevent anyone from opening up the entire box. I'm now using it for storing my grass cutting and garden shoes in the garage.

Our wedding card box made out of a mailbox.
(October, 2006)

Re-purposed as a place to store our grass and garden shoes in the garage. (October, 2012)

Duct Tape 3-ring Binder Makeovers

I love using three-ring binders to keep papers pertaining to different things organized. I have a variety of binders I keep for my organizing business in my home office. There's one for my Smiling Spaces business plan, Organize Your Dream Wedding information, and various courses I've taken on public peaking, paper, and clutter management.

With all the back-to-school excitement going on I thought I might like to go buy some fun new matching binders. But once I started looking around, I just couldn't justify buying all new binders just so they would coordinate. I came across a display with an assortment of duct tape in various colors and was inspired.

I gave my three-ring binders a duct tape makeover. It's so simple, and is a great way to re-use binders, give them a new look, and save money!

(Binders Before) mix-matched colors

(Binders After) colors that make me smile

How to make a Mini Terrarium Garden

Making a mini terrarium garden, also called a fairy garden by some, is really quite simple and super fun! Based on how I did it, I've come up with six steps to help you make one too.

1) Pick a location in your home for your container to "live." It should be a spot with indirect, filtered light. So, not a spot that gets a lot of direct sunlight. This will also help determine how big of a container you should get based on how much space you have.

2) Find a glass container around your house or shop for your terrarium. I used an old fish bowl my mom gave me that we had as kids.


 3) Shop for mini plants. Pick an odd number. I picked three for my medium sized bowl.

4) Pick up contents.
-river rocks to line the bottom
-a bag of black charcoal to help with drainage that will go on top of the layer of rocks
-potting soil that goes on top of the charcoal
-mini garden accessories (consider a little bench or chair, tools, a path or bridge) Have fun with it!

5) Put it together. Clean your container out and add the three layers (rocks, charcoal, soil). Arrange your plants first to make sure you give each enough room. If you have a bigger accessory, like a path or bridge, place that in next. Then add your smaller accessories to fill in the space. Once you've got everything spaced out, plant your mini plants and press your accessories in so they stay in place.

6) Enjoy & maintain. If you ever want to rearrange your garden, you can. To maintain it, a little mister works great for ferns. Otherwise, carefully water around your plants at the base and avoid getting the leaves wet. Keep it moist to the touch, and don't over water.

What I put in my Mini Terrarium:
-a bench, path, red lantern on hook, watering can, raking tools and shovel, wheel barrel, two medium rocks, turquoise pebbles and broken seashells to look like water. All of my plants and most of my accessories were found at Bachman's.

 

How to make your own Box Valence

Step One: Measure
Measure your window, twice to make sure. You need about two inches past your window molding to make sure the valence will be able to clear the wood frame and be able to line up properly with the wall.

Dimensions that work well:  Between 6-8 inches wide looks nice on most windows. Plan for it to come out about two to three inches from the wall.

Step Two: Pick Fabric
If your wall isn't painted yet, make sure to pick your fabric first and then your paint color. It's much harder to match fabric to paint than paint to fabric. Take a swatch of your fabric to the paint place and they can help you get the perfect match.


Step Three: Gather Materials
Get Ply Board, Light-Weight Quilting Batting, Fabric (enough extra just in case), Staple Gun and extra Staples, Scissors, L-Brackets or Nails to attach corner pieces of wood together, Picture Hanging Loops with Screws, & Hammer and Nails. *We borrowed the table saw to cut the wood.

Step Four: Assemble
Cut the board to the length you need, adding top and side pieces to make it a box. Attach the pieces using L-brackets or nails. Cut foam batting and cover the valence, using a staple gun to attach it. Do the same with your fabric making sure you pull it fairly tight so it doesn't look loose and wrinkled. Make sure you cover enough of the back of the valence so that if your outside looking into the window you don't see any messy cut edges or bare wood. Trim any extra fabric. 

Tip: Use a light iron to get any creases out.


Step Five: Hang
Make sure you don't cover too much of your window so the nice light can come through. Use Picture Hanging metal loops that you can screw right into the valence. This allows you to take it down easily if you want to clean it, adjust the height, or change the fabric down the road.

Enjoy!

How to Tie a Basic Bow

Have a gift to wrap? 
Want to learn how to tie a basic bow?

Click the link to watch a short minute video to learn how:
The Container Store Video Viewing Room How to Tie a Basic Bow