simply organized hall closet {plus tips}

Our hall closet has gotten out of hand lately. Our home doesn't have a mudroom so this little closet really has to pull its weight. With the cold winter weather, the kids have been rummaging around looking for hats and gloves and leaving a mess in their wake.
I honestly hadn't re-organized this closet since we moved in and that was back when we were only a family of three! Needless to say, our needs for this space have changed over the years. 

What we need is a functional, simply organized closet so that our family of five can find what we need, when we need it.

Before I show you the blah before pics and share a few tips, here is a shot of our newly organized hall closet. 

Everything is neatly organized and tucked away in its own place. 

Now that you have seen the much improved closet space, here is an idea of just how messy it was. 

When we moved into our home about 6 years ago, the small bin for accessories and the hooks on the door were more than enough for our then family of three. But now....

Gloves and hats on the floor along with disheveled coats and a underutilized shelf made this space a mess! 

I started out by completely emptying the closet. I was AMAZED with what I found! A mini vacuum that I had completely forgotten about, parts to another vacuum that we don't even have anymore, a broken umbrella, tons of dust bunnies, and waaaayyy more "stuff" than we really need. 

So what are some simple steps to achieve an organized closet? 

First up, purge! 

The purge process is crucial whenever you are organizing a space. Most of the things that are cluttering our spaces are things we don't even need. 

After really taking inventory of what we have, several hats, scarves and coats went to the donate pile. Some other things were moved to other areas in the house since they didn't really belong in this closet space. 

 Decide what your needs are for the space. 

This closet needs to house all of our coats and jackets as well as gloves, scarves, hats. Since this is such a small closet, that about all I can ask of it!

I spent about $20 at Target and got a 3-drawer organizer and some of these great huggable hangers. They are awesome! I have been wanting to upgrade to these for a long while and they are so worth it.  Coats are no longer sliding off slippery hangers and ending up in the floor when we reach in for a coat. I bought the drawer organizer for housing all of the winter gear for my little ones. For the other containers I needed, I just went shopping in my stash. 

Here's a little tip, I always buy white containers for various storage needs in my home. That way, they always coordinate and look fresh in a space. Many containers have served multiple applications in my home using this method. The result is always cohesive and tidy.

Group like items together and create a "home" for each category.

Before adding items back into the space, decide how you will group them. I freed up enough space in the closet to add storage for batteries and a small tool box for those frequently used tools. Each got their own container and a nice label. 

 

The 3-drawer organizer was perfect for housing all of the hats, gloves and scarves for our children. Though we purged quite a few of outgrown items, there were still enough to justify a drawer for each category. I like these drawers because they are easier for little ones to use as opposed to containers with lids. Lids just end up tossed aside {as evidenced in the "before" pic!} Since I still have a non-reading toddler in the house, picture and word labels will work best here. I just found some images online and made a few super simple labels. I printed on card stock, laminated for durability and attached them with adhesive velcro. Simple, yet functional.

Use both open and closed containers.

Closed bins are great for items that you don't use daily while open baskets work well for things you need easy access to. My hubby thinned his ball cap collection considerably during this project but he still needed a place for storage. This little wire basket {originally found these in the dollar section at Target} works well since he can reach in and grab what he needs. The other basket was the perfect place for a few tools that would also be in easy reach. {It seems like with little boys we are always needing a screwdriver for openning a toy and changing batteries so this was a handy bin to create.} The closed container holds gloves and hats for the hubby and I. 

Finish up by giving each container a home and adding the coats back to the rack.

Here is another look at the finished project. I am just loving the freshly organized space. It is so much more functional and definitely, a lot nicer to look at.

So, what spaces have you organized lately? Any projects in the works? I'd love to hear from you!

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