Thinning the hoard: Let's paint some closets!

I recently read somewhere (not sure where) that latex paint only lasts about three years in the can. I don't believe this 100%, as I've used paint older than that without any issues. But it did remind me that paint isn't going to stay fresh forever, and maybe I shouldn't be hoarding quite so much of it. So I decided to make an effort to start to liquidate (no pun intended) my hefty paint stash.

It's kind of backwards having the paint, then looking for a place to use it, but let's just go with it.

This was a brand new, never opened gallon of paint that I originally bought for the bathroom when we moved into this house four years ago. But I changed my mind about the color. The bathroom didn't get painted. And then we later renovated the entire bathroom anyway.

It looks white here, but it's actually a very faint aquamarine (Olympic's Free Spirit).

First up in my "use up the paint" assignment: Elise's bedroom closets. I never got around to painting them after we moved in, and they were looking dingy and worn.

The paint was chipping, there were cracks that need fixing and the baseboards were seriously banged up.

I promised Elise she could help paint, and then spent the next two hours clearing out the closet and prepping the walls (caulking gaps and cracks and cleaning up). Some kind of promise that was. I'm teaching patience, right?

I primed unassisted, and the next day, we painted. As you can see, she takes her painting very seriously. She stayed interested longer than I anticipated -- upwards of 15 minutes!

A few coats later (by me)...

The color change is subtle, but it's clean clean clean now.

My new choice for trim paint around here is this latex enamel. I've kind of fallen in love with this stuff. It dries so smooth and glassy! Looks like oil paint. I don't think it's labeled as low VOC, but the white has no smell to speak of.

Nearly all of the trim throughout our house was painted when we moved in, but for whatever reason, many of the door frames themselves weren't. The trim around the doors facing into the room was painted, but the jambs were not. (Door jambs are those parts of the door frame that face inward toward the door where the hinges are attached.)

It looks crazy. I've challenged myself to slowly fix them one by one. Two down... a lot more to go.

I left the shelves unpainted because they were in decent condition. I don't have plans to paint the doors anytime soon, so at least they have each other to talk to.

For completeness sake, I also painted this closet's twin on the other side of the room. Done and done!

Now to get with the rest of the painting!

Spring cleaning: Organizing closets

We have a pair of walk-in closets flanking our upstairs bedroom (a.k.a. the playroom). Even with sloped ceilings, for an old house, they are enormous. Seriously, you could fit a twin size mattress in each of them and call them bedrooms.

These closets are where we store all of our out-of-season/special occasion clothing, coats, outgrown baby clothes, baby gear, blankets, etc. We are lucky to have them.

But lately, the closets had begun to look like this:

and this:

Not so pretty or functional, obviously. The closets are wider than I can fit within the photo frame, but you get the idea. Dumping ground. (Or grounds, I suppose.)

I've been meaning to tackle this for a while, but the smell of spring in the air is motivating me to purge and organize like never before. (This is just one area in the house I've been working on. Stay tuned for later developments.)

Before stuff was strewn about with no real organization, so I decided that one of the closets would be dedicated to baby/kid clothing and gear and the other would be clothing, blankets and extras.

My initial plan was to empty both closets at once, but emptying the first one pretty much filled all the free space I had to work with. It's amazing how much stuff you can cram into a tiny space.

The shelving systems currently in the closets were not installed particularly well. They don't make the best use of space either. Someday, when this is someone's bedroom, I will paint over that ugly beige (looks better in photos than in person) and install better shelving in a smarter configuration. My someday list is certainly growing.

Truthfully, there wasn't a whole lot that didn't belong in these closets; it was just not organized well. But I did find a lot of empty cardboard boxes. Apparently, I had been hoarding every giant stroller and car seat box that ever came into the house. Why? Better things to do than organize, I suppose. Those went easily and cleared up quite a bit of space.

Check out the before and afters! Closet #1, you're up!

I was even able to move some larger baby items and toys up from the basement. My goal was to have everything in one location: a one-stop shop for all your baby-related needs. 

And now closet #2, it's your turn!

These closets don't look like pages from the Container Store catalog, but everything is organized. I know where to find things. And I can actually walk into the closets. (A crazy thought.) Considering I didn't spend anything on organizing them, I'm pretty happy with the results.

Check back later this week for part two the closet organizing saga where I'm tackling the baby clothes.

No cost closet organization

Elise's closet had devolved into a giant heaping mess. Stuffed with diapers, outgrown clothes and unneeded newborn supplies. I can't believe I'm going to show you this "before" picture. It was really that bad.

Before

There was no structure in the bottom of the closet and things were just falling all over.

Before

The shelves above the rod were not much better.

I relocated the diaper stockpile under the crib and decluttered. A lot. Gone are the too-small clothes and receiving blankets. I repurposed a metal shelving unit from the basement and it fit perfectly. I also used a couple of bins that were previously in our bathroom closet before I organized it.

This is nothing revolutionary, but it's definitely my favorite part of the re-organization. I didn't have a home for Elise's shoes before and they were always in our living room, on our console table, on the dining room table and occasionally ended up in the toy bin. Now they have a place of their own!

There's almost too much space! Well, not really. But look at how much room there is. Room for toys!

Bathroom renovation addendum: The Closet

Excuse me while I show my nerdiness for a moment. Our renovation wouldn't be complete without making the closet just as pretty as the rest of the bathroom.

The bins and containers used in the previous incarnation of this closet just weren't cutting it. This is a small closet in a small bathroom in a small house, and I wanted to maximize every inch.

I needed bins that fit the shelves appropriately, so I went a little crazy at The Container Store. (And by "went a little crazy," I mean "spent $60.") I wanted to use plastic bins, not baskets or fabric containers that could be ruined by oozing shampoo or lotion bottles.

I labeled bins for our everyday personal items with these little frames from the dollar bin at Michael's. I think they add a little character to what are otherwise boring shelves.

I used clear plastic shoeboxes for our giant stockpile of toiletries. This way, Dan can find what he's looking for easily without having to sift through a jumbled mess like before.

The black drawer unit at the bottom is an alley find from several years ago. Really, it's a piece of junk. But it looks cute and it's suitable for the light duty of holding the toilet paper.

Before you get the crazy idea that every closet in our house looks like this, think again. I've always wanted a magazine-perfect organized space and this is close enough for me!