It was driving me crazy. First of all, there was not a lot of room for storage. Second, with the constant changing of clothing size, there was no place to put the clothes she was outgrowing. And finally, any time she needed the next size I would have to ask Goose to get in the attic to get another box. No more!
Enter the closet organization makeover. To give you an idea of what I was working with here’s what her closet used to look like.
Blankets falling out every time I wanted to get something. Boxes falling off the top shelf. Lots of miscellaneous items tossed half-hazardly about. And to top it off, a lot of wasted space.
Newspaper
I knew I wanted to create a better system for organizing her ever-changing wardrobe so I began with storage. I had several paper boxes of all different colors and brands. Knowing that having boxes of the same color help to create a unified look, I decided to try my hand at creating some type of cover for the boxes…but it had to be cheap…real cheap…because my budget for this redo was only about $20. The conclusion: newspaper.
Homemade Mod Podge
I gathered my homemade mod podge (1/2 school glue + 1/2 water) and went to work. At first I put the newspaper on whole. I didn’t really like that look especially since it was hard to get it to lay just right. Thus, I changed to tearing the newspaper in pieces and creating a collage affect. I think it turned out a lot better. It helped to hide a lot of imperfections that way too.
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| Completed Paper Mache Paper Box |
Cheap 4×6 Photo Album Pages
I added some colored rope (found half off at Hobby Lobby) for a handle and printed off some labels on the computer. Since I wanted to be able to change the labels easily, I cut the pages out of a cheap 4×6 photo album out and trimmed them to size before pasting them on the box. Now if I ever need to change the label, I can just pull the paper out of the top of the photo cover and replace it with another. Easy.
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| Box labels: 18 months Summer, 18 months Winter, Keepsake, 12 months Winter, Attic, Giveaway |
Using an unused utility shelf on the lower shelf in the closet (which just happened to fit perfectly) I now had room in Teacup’s closet for 10 boxes! I was sure to label a couple boxes “Attic” and “Giveaway” for easy storage of the ever growing pile of hand-me-downs as well as one for her Keepsake items, and each stage of clothing for the next 12 months divided by season.
Shipping Boxes
Next came finding a way to organize socks, shoes, and pants. While I had every intention of finding some cute baskets for the bottom of the closet, I could not find any at the stores I went too that were either sturdy enough, large enough, or cheap enough to meet the need so I ended up going to the local UPS store where I purchased 3-10″x12″x6″ boxes.
I again added the labels and cord, but for a cheap alternative. I think they turned out great. Now as Teacup gets older and starts to dress herself, she will easily be able to access and put away all her clothes.
Homemade Labels
With that done, I then tackled her hanging clothes. For labels I create some 3″ circles on my computer, printed them on cardstock, pasted duplicates back-to-back, and then laminated them. So far they’ve worked well and are sturdy enough for what we need. Our labels: Pajamas, Shirts, Onesies, Skirts, Dresses, and Sleep ‘n Plays.
Hanging Shelf Organizers
