Closets - entryway, mudroom, laundry room, flex room; that one sneaky kitchen cupboard that has become a catchall. You name it! They always develop a mind of their own! Especially if your space is lacking structure and a system.
This project was a breath of fresh air for many spaces on the main level of this client’s home. The entryway closet, mudroom, pantry, and that cheeky kitchen cabinet all needed a little bit of purging, a little bit of sorting, and some creative product reassignment. When you’re affected by clutter and it greets you at both the front and back door, it can feel suffocating. These spaces are a great place to start!
Some of these coats had migrated to this closet due to a flood. They were ready to move back to their rightful home and clear up some space.
This had become a drop zone and no man's land.
Bins without labels can sometimes turn into placeholders for items that don't belong.
This wall is begging to be utilized!
These wall hooks needed a little bit of purging and a twin below for kids jacket/hat/backpack storage. And peep the afters to see the genius mop/vacuum relocation idea my client had.
As seasons of life have come and gone, this sliding drawer storage was no longer working for this family.
Instead, they needed a space to store their shoes! Their space and the way it was organized was not matching the way the family was using it.
The pantry had some product in place, but it needed a little refresh.
Step 1 in these projects is ALWAYS - take everything out.
The pantry was not in bad shape. But the first thing I noticed - product had started to become part of the clutter problem. When you have super specific labels (chia seeds, pretzels, etc), your product may be left empty and taking up space.
Party supplies are notorious for multiplying and taking up more space than they need. Consolidate, throw away that one pink "happy birthday" napkin left over from 5 years ago, and keep in stock what you need regularly.
As most of us do, my client has a rotating inventory of items on their way to be returned. We definitely needed to upgrade her makeshift cardboard return station.
This kitchen cabinet catchall space needed to unloaded, decluttered, and lovingly restored.
It's always amazing how much fits in one small space!
The entryway was home to a lot of gift wrapping materials. This Container Store door mounted system was the perfect solution to getting it all off the closet floor.
Adding a second shelf up top eliminated the need to stack things on the floor. And opened up space for the relocated mop and vacuum.
The client was thrilled to have these out of the mudroom and they fit perfectly tucked away in the entryway closet.
We added a few bins and gave them specific enough labels that they won't be overrun, but general enough labels that they can flex as the needs of the family changes.
Relocating the cleaning equipment allowed us to add an additional row of hooks on the mudroom wall which provided much need space at kid height.
These fun pegboards provide both additional hanging space and a fun design element.
This item was a leftover element from their closet organization and was a perfect addition to the space.
Adding matching shelving at the bottom of the closet and an additional shelf up top made this closet work for the current needs of the family in a way it was not able to before.
Now each family member has a row for shoes (the kids can share because baby Natives are tiny!). We made sure to measure their winter boots to allow plenty of room for those in the snowy months.
The pantry feels lighter and brighter! Kids snacks are easily accessible and the empty storage containers were reallocated to other high use items.
We consolidated the party supplies to fit the space allowed.
The upper snack cabinets also got a glow up!
We used this lovely woven basket from Container Store to replace the cardboard "returns" box.
The aesthetic blends with the office, and it can be closed to hide away the items.
The kitchen catchall cabinet was emptied, purged, and reordered to create a new system that works for the family's habits and needs right now.
And we couldn't help ourselves, so we migrated down to the drawer underneath as well.