My Newly Organized Gift and Craft Closet

I have this little closet under the stairs in my basement.  It's plain and awkwardly shaped but it's one of my favorite places in the house.  The moment we moved in I declared it my gift and craft closet but for months it's been filled with boxes and random items.  Until now.  I finally had enough with the mess and took a couple hours to organize the closet.  It only took a little time and less than $20.

Whether it be a closet, a drawer in a dresser or a box in the attack having an organized space for tissue paper and craft items will save a lot of time, money and frustration over time.

Storage Items:

• Over-the-door Shoe Organizer for bows and ribbon
• Rolling Laundry Cart for wrapping paper, gift bags and boxes
• Old Wicker Shelves for tissue paper
• Rolling Plastic Cart for craft supplies

A shoe organizer works great for storing ribbons and bows.  It's an inexpensive solution (less than $5) and uses door space that would otherwise sit empty. 

This old wicker shelf sat on a dresser in my childhood bedroom ages ago and I've never found a good use for it.  I'm so glad I kept it because it's perfect for this closet.  A large roll of craft paper that I use for everything sits on top.  Tissue paper organized by color lines the shelves.

An inexpensive ($12) three-bin laundry cart organizes the rest of the gift wrap.  Wrapping paper is in one bin, gift bags in another, and boxes in a the third. The cart is on wheels so I can easily take it to a large table in the living room when I have lots of wrapping to do, like at Christmas.

A rolling plastic storage unit I've had for years houses all my nic-nac craft supplies from glue to stencils.  The clear drawers let me see what's inside and labels make sure I put everything back where it belongs.

It's Time to Flip Your Closet

It's been consistently cool for enough days I decided it was time to flip the closets. Twice a year, once at the beginning of spring and then again at the beginning of fall, I take out last season's clothes and replace them with the new season's clothes.  This always makes me feel fresh and ready for the excitement the change of weather brings.  Here's how I do it:

Go through all your clothes currently in the closet and armoires and make two piles:
1. Stuff to Go
2. Stuff to Store

Stuff to Go:  If you didn't wear it in the last 6 months, you won't wear it next spring or summer.  Get rid of it! Purge! It'll make you feel good, I promise.  Sell it, donate it or trash it.

Stuff to Store: Fold clothes you want to keep and put them aside.

Bring your fall/winter clothes out of storage and have fun reconnecting with all those cute sweaters.  But if you pull something out of storage and think to yourself, "what was I thinking?!" put it in the Stuff to Go pile. This is your second change to clean out the clutter of your wardrobe.

Once the fall/winter clothes are put away in the closet, refill those storage bins with the summer/spring clothes you'll want for next year.

Then, do what ever it is you want to do with the Stuff to Go pile.  My older sister sells a lot of her's on Ebay and uses the money to buy new in-season clothes.  I'm a bit less motivated and usually give mine to my little sister or donate it to Good Will.

Now you have an organized wardrobe, filled with the beautiful clothes you haven't see in six months.  I've usually forgotten about half of them and so it's like I've just been on a great shopping spree, but didn't spend any money.  And now I'm excited to get dressed in the morning!

Now...I think I need to find a some high black riding boots to go with those wool skirts I totally forgot I had.

The Family Calendar

I am always in search of ways to keep me and my family organized, without compromising my home's decor.  This antiqued calendar is a perfect alternative to the more traditional wood-bordered calendars that usually come in just black or white.  And it's magnetic as an added bonus.

Buy at www.NellHills.com