We all have one…a multi purpose, catch all closet that evolves weekly depending on storage needs. If you remember from last year, I organized this very closet. However, last year it only contained my husband’s overflow from the closet in our bedroom. Now, this closet also contains linens, medications and other home essentials, and it was turning in to a big, disorganized mess. It is possible to store multiple types of items in one space and still keep it organized, but it takes some planning, and labels. 🙂 Let’s take a peek at the before.
Step 1: Take Everything Out
You know the drill…we make you do this for every organizing project. Take everything out so you can see what you have. Let me see that empty space! Rehome any items that you don’t need accessible in that space. In this case, this is main floor closet off the master bedroom, so some of the items stored in here could go into the upstairs linen closets. I also relocated his laundry basket in the bedroom closet.
Step 2: Sort, Discard, Donate
Use this as an opportunity to sort through your belongings. In my case, I asked my husband to go through his 100s of shirts to determine if he actually needed them all in addition to the ones in the dresser AND closet. I also went through our mediations and disposed of expired or unused medications. There were also items in this closet that were taking up space that I found new homes for, to make better use of the space. This is a small closet…and I needed all the space I could get!
Step 3: Contain
I categorized the contents of the closet. I used the Grey and White Oslo Bins to store medications, my kiddo’s nebulizers, and travel items. One of my favorite things about these baskets is that they are flexible and can form to fit the shape and size of my closet, so I could fit three of these across my small shelves.
The Grey Montauk Woven Bins are perfect for keeping my husband’s t-shirts, polos, workout clothes and shorts organized. I brought back an old favorite technique: The file fold! It’s guaranteed to give you more space in each basket than folding and stacking clothing traditionally. I used my favorite bin clips so that there would be no confusion as to where things should be put away on laundry day. 🙂
While this might not be the most glamorous organizing project, it sure does make a difference in terms of efficiency! Linen closets can become such a catch all. But with a few organized, labeled bins, all family members can keep everything in it’s place.
Thank you so much to The Container Store for partnering on this project. As always, all thoughts and opinions are our own.
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