Wednesday, March 7, 2012

37 Reader Space: A Crazy Cool Craft Closet

Anyone looking for motivation to clean out a closet?  Any closet? 

Well, look no further, today's reader really did a smashing job cleaning out and organizing her closet, and I know I was left feeling over the top inspired so hopefully you will feel some of that too!


Lindsi wrote:

Hi Jen,
My name is Lindsi, I am a mom of 4 kids {including a set of twins}, a former nurse turned stay-at-home mom and love my job! I have been loving your site for quite some time now and I wanted to share my recent organization project with you. We have a closet in our front room that slowly became our "crap closet" much like a junk drawer except with a lot more room to hide things. My craft and sewing supplies had been stored in several boxes in my basement since we moved to our new home {December 2010} and I decided that it was high time I revived them. I am so excited to share the before and after photos with you and hope you will enjoy them as well! My total cost for this whole thing was $3.19!!! The only thing I purchased for the entire closet was three pink bins in the dollar area at Target.  With 4 kids I had loads of boxes from diapers, wipes, and other baby supplies. I borrowed my husband's box cutter and started cutting the boxes into rectangle shapes so that I could bolt my fabrics to it. I placed them in the middle shelf because I am an avid sewer and wanted easy access to my pretty fabric. I used clear plastic tubs {that I already} had on hand and got to work organizing them and using my label makers to keep things clean, neat and pretty. I used two glass cookie jars that I had on hand to store my thread and rick rack. I took two soup cans from last nights dinner and wrapped them in paper and cut the top off of a Goldfish Cracker carton and covered that as well for my paints. Lastly, I used two plastic bins from my college dorm days for yarn storage and pattern storage.

Thanks so much Jen for your inspiration and work! I truly hope you like what YOU have inspired me to do!

Let's take a look at the before picture first:


I giggled out loud when she said, "Crap closet, much like a junk drawer except with a lot more room to hide things".  Because it's SO true.  I have had those and I bet we are not the only ones!

But it's all about finding that bit of motivation inside of us and doing something about it.  Ready to see what that motivation got Lindsi?






Giving her a before and after story truly worth smiling about!


  • The closet actually holds a solid {positive} purpose now.  Before, it was just a catch all, that was the purpose.  And when you have a closet that doesn't have a purpose, that is what happens.
  • By making these changes, she is going to be much more apt to actually craft and sew!  How easy is it to go downstairs and dig in boxes and bins when you want to work on a project?  I would think that it is much easier to go into this nice and tidy closet!
  • She brought in pink.  I know I know, I am a nerd, but I LOVE pink and I never get to use it with all these boys running around.  So I really get excited over it!  The point is the closet is colorful and happy and PRETTY!
  • She only spent $3 on bins!  WHAT?!  Isn't it amazing how resourceful she was?  It looks like a million organizing dollars.  And I get that she had invested in those pieces over time so she had them on hand for this project... but the point is, she used what she had, bought a couple extra inexpensive bins and then DIY'd the rest!  Covering soup cans and boxes and using cardboard to wrap fabric.  GENIUS!
  • Labels labels labels.  That will ensure that everything finds its way back to the correct bin so it can stay nice and organized for years to come.  And if any happy little hands find their way into the closet, they should know right where everything belongs as well!
Thank you Lindsi for writing and sharing your success story and providing us with some fabulous closet organizing inspiration!

I would love to hear more stories like Lindsi's!  Who else out there has a "crap" closet that is going to get some love after seeing today's post?  Or how about a great organizing success story that came in under $3?


ATTENTION!!  Want to be featured in a Reader Space edition?  Have an awesome organizing story to share?  I am looking for projects that have made a positive impact to your life.  Please send your story and photos to iheartorganizing@gmail.com and I would heart to feature them right here, on the blog!!  Photos should be high resolution and unedited.  Please include a description of the project, including any costs, inspiration, and how it has changed your life and routine for the better!  Oh, and no worries my friends, we will NEVER judge "before" pictures because that just wouldn't be nice!  Only love goes on at this blog!  More info HERE.

37 comments:

  1. That is IMPRESSIVE! What a transformation.

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  2. It looks awesome! What a difference!

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  3. I just redid my linen closet. I now have 2 almost empty shelves! I'd love it if you would pop over and check it out. :) http://accidentalhousewife10.blogspot.com/2012/03/march-before-and-after-how-i-organize.html

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  4. That looks awesome, I just did the cabinets above my laundry room. I forgot to take a before picture, but it looks so nice now.
    Just an FYI! I saw you have affiliate links. Did you know that if people come to your website through pinterest, pinterest changes the affiliate link so pinterest makes the money instead of you. I read about that on their wiki, and a few other articles. I started looking into it when my husband said his company was going to start advertizing with them. I didn't know pinterest did advertising, but stealing people's affiliate links is how they make most of their income.

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  5. VERY impressed! Love this!

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  6. bahahaha all my closets could be called a crap closet right now! I wanted a clean house so I stashed all the clutter in the closets a-la monica =) Time to tackle it! Great reader space makeover!!! <3

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  7. That is the best way to store fabric I have ever seen. I mean ... DUH! That's why the stores do it that way, huh? Most of us just have it folded somewhere either waiting to fall over or crammed in a box/ bag, etc.

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  8. So lovely!!! I'm about to tackle a huge office closet re-do--half will be dedicated to my crafty stuff, and half to my husband's electronics. Hopefully the result will be just as lovely!

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  9. I need to do this with my office closet.

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  10. Wow!! Love this transformation.

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  11. Amazing! Love the resourcefulness she used with organizing materials.

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  12. OMG it turned out awesome!!! Very nice! Thanks for sharing Jen. :)

    Oh I have a "crap" closet similar to this. Boxes of stuff that I'm really not sure what is in them anymore. We moved into our home almost 5 years ago and I still haven't done anything. This is very inspiring, so it will go on my list of things to do. ;)

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  13. I have a crap closet too!! I decluttered it last weekend, but it's still a long way from "picture perfect". When i get there, I'll submit for a reader space ;)

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  14. I love a good before and after project! Great job on organizing all those goodies :)

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  15. Whoa! That is fantastic! I love that she used so many things she already had, and only spent $3.19 on the whole project! My house is beginning to feel like a "crap closet" to me lately. Need to find some time to fix that, so I can send you an email with an impressive Before & After! :)

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  16. This is fabulous - I'm more and more determined to re-do the entryway closet. It's a nasty mess!

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  17. shirley@sguzzi.comMarch 7, 2012 at 3:29 PM

    Very nice! I'm starting to experience that thrill of knowing EXACTLY where something is in the house, instead of saying "I think it's in that closet? Or maybe in the drawer? Or????" Loving getting organized - I have a LONG way to go but tons of ideas and encouragement here - THANK YOU!!

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  19. love it! very easy to replicate.. now it's a matter of actually doing it...

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  20. Love it!! Im new to your blog and you are so inspiring!!! I just actually organized my hall closet after reading your blog! I will post soon on mine!

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  21. This is brilliant! I love that she didn't go out and drop a wad of cash to do this. Very inspiring. Using cardboard from diaper boxes to wrap her fabric is just brilliant! As a fellow lone-female in a house of males, I also love the pink baskets.

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  22. What perfect timing! I was going to attack my newly spare closet this weekend and try to make it work for us as a craft closet!! I'm so inspired!!

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  23. 1. Glad to see something for the budget-conscious

    2. Crap Closet has a ring to it. I think I'll make a snazzy chalkboard label mounted on burlap and attach it to my closet with a clothespin...I'll just label the whole thing "Crap Closet." A label means I'm organized. lol (don't burst my bubble!)

    3. The checkerboard-ish pattern on the paints and paintbrushes storage....is that just scrapbook paper? I love it!

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  24. I have yet to tackle my one year old daughter's room and closet which needs to become a his and her room. I have 5 weeks before our bundle of joy #4 comes and I was dreading the thought, but now I'm inspired. I think I'm going to tackle the closet first thing tomorrow. Thanks for the motivation :)

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  25. I love the before and after photos. Great job to your reader! If you can't have a room designed to your hobbies, you can at least have a closet. =) Nicely done. Thanks for sharing.

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  26. Great job on the closet transformation, Lindsi! I love how pretty it all looks.

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  27. What a great idea. I've been working on transforming a closet in our home into storage for all of my craft stuff.

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  28. My craft room could use a similar makeover. Thanks for the post!

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  29. We turned our mess of a closet into a 'cloffice'.
    Before:
    http://the6wolfeden.blogspot.com/2012/01/this-week-i-am-working-on-building.html
    After:
    http://the6wolfeden.blogspot.com/2012/02/building-cloffice.html

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  30. wow just awesome! I've a couple closets that need a clean out. This will definitely motive me.

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  31. Oh, my heavens!!! You have inspired me to use our hall closet as a craft closet. The linens are getting a new home with the towels. I have a 30gal. bag FULL of fabric and a huge box that is going to meet a box cutter tomorrow. Genius!! The biggest draw? You used colors that a girly and feminine. I have been dying to use light yellow somewhere, but it doesn't go with anything. Voila!!! Can't wait!!

    forloveofhomeandcountry.blogspot.com

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  32. Love the pattern on the bins on the top shelf!


    www.ashleysdesignstudio.com

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  33. Soooo envious! Lol. My excuse is we are moving house in 3 weeks, but I check your blog each day to keep me motivated towards starting as I mean to go on in our new house.
    The first goal in hand is to keep decluttering in the run up to this move. Second is to thank you for your inspiration!

    http://followingourrainbow.blogspot.com/

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  34. I can certainly appreciate the transformation. Over the years (decades!), my closets have bounced back and forth between those two images. Seems to be a way of life.

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  35. Huge difference indeed. Congrats.

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  36. i live in nz and have the same kresta adds only a diffferent number

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