bovagoods top ten: #3

{i am taking the remainder of 2011 to count down the all-time top ten posts here on bovagoods}

 

Third Place:  "organized goods: storage closet makeover"

the play room is coming along really well. it's almost ready to share. i need to hang the chandelier and do a modge podge project with my kiddos and then i will take pictures.

in the meantime i thought i would share this little closet re-do that i did a while back.

i think off season clothes storage for children is about one of the most daunting things to tackle. when the season's change and it's time to pull out those boxes of clothes, it takes me a whole day to rotate, switch out, try on, put away, sort and organize all the clothes. anyone with me here?

i already had a semi-organized system but i needed it to be better.

here is what i was working with- mismatched boxes, not very well labeled with all kinds of things thrown in together.

here is the closet that i decided to use. this closet is in our guest room. i moved all of the stuff you see into the closet in my sewing room. it made more sense to have the office supplies and artwork in my room.

enter the label making machine!  thanks mom, i love it! 

i already had a bunch of plastic bins. i rounded them up and started labeling.

each bin got an age; newborn, 3-6 months, 6-12 months, 12-24 months, 2T, 3T, etc....

there are also special bins for  "shoes", "keepsake clothes", "family clothes/knit sweaters", etc.  (my grandma- was an amazing knitter and we are very blessed to have dozens of sweaters that she made for my brothers and me, and for all of our children.

here are some of the boxes with labels:

now the long daunting task.

sort, fold, and place.

once everything was sorted and in the appropriate bins, i stacked them in the closet.

this closet also houses coats, extra hangers and the occasional halloween costume.

i am happy to report that after 9 months, the system is still in place and is working beautifully!

i have added an empty plastic bin on the top that i throw clothes in that are outgrown between seasons, or holiday clothes that need to be put away. i  am not dragging out that box on the bottom just to put away one halloween shirt. so, i throw it in the empty bin and when spring comes and i'm "rotating" clothes, i'll put away whatever is in the empty bin at that time. this saves me from having random piles in the laundry room of "i don't know what to do with these clothes right now" clothes.

so, here was our closet before:

and the closet after!

i just love it when things are nicely organized like this. i wish my whole house looked like this closet. i think it saves so much time and effort when you have a good system in place. if you are inspired by this project and want some more organizing projects to explore you need to visit i heart organizing. jen has TONS of great systems in place in her house. her three year old even folds his own clothes! check her out.

i hope your weekend is full of goods!

~elisabeth