I sure hope I’m not the only one with an seriously out of control junk closet, or should I say “had”… Yep, after 12 years of total junk closet chaos, I finally bit the bullet and just spent the last week of my life living and breathing my junk/ “catch all” closet. Believe me, it wasn’t by choice as this closet finally reached “Defcon 5” status. We couldn’t close the door and junk would go in and we would never see it again. I dove in and began organizing junk closet with cube storage units
So it hit me last week that I was really missing an opportunity here with this closet. If I approached the reorganization differently and gave it some thought, I may be able to at least triple the amount of available storage in that space. The challenge of clearing out and freeing up and moving additional pockets of storage throughout my home into this closet was all I needed to motivated me to give it my time and to maximize every square inch of this closet.
When all was said and done, I was stunned to see just how much additional storage space that I created by just giving this closet some time and energy:
I had to give myself a little challenge to find the motivation to do this so these were my goals when I started this project:
1) Figure out a way to maximize every square inch of the closet
2) Triple the amount of storage-creating space for me to clear out pockets of storage throughout my home
3) Do the project under $200.00
4) Have fun creating unique and cheap storage solutions
5) Make it look coordinated and beautiful because this closet happens to be in my guest room. I wanted something that I would keep organized and pretty if my guests happen to open the door
I hit everyone of my goals and I actually had fun with this project by getting crafty with some creative {and free} storage solutions revamping these plastic grocery crates:
I posted the tutorial here on Tuesday for revamping and spray painting these crates if you’re interested in learning more about this project.
Back to the closet revamp, let me show you what the closet looked like before I got started:
This closet is in my guest room and the good news is that I have a large antique wardrobe in the room that can be used for my guests to hang clothes, which means I have no need for either hanging rods in my closet.
I knew that I needed storage pieces that were like cubes to keep me organized and I picked up inexpensive Closet Made cube storage pieces and placed them on the shelf in the closet. I placed on a 6 cube unit on the left and a 9 cube unit on the right:
You can buy Closet Made cube storage units anywhere like Target, Walmart and Lowe’s in the closet storage aisle:
Closet Made 9 Cube {$39.00}
Closet Made 6 Cube {$32.00}
I also used 6 Closet Made shoe shelving units {$9.99} for maximizing space on my top and side shelves as well:
I also placed another 6 unit cube unit on it’s side at the bottom of my closet:
Assembling these large cubes takes about 20 minutes and I was surprised how sturdy and well made they are for the price. The cubes are perfect for junk storage because I can maximize my space while separating each type of item:
These cube storage units would be great to organize not only a junk or “catch all” closet but they would work for a craft closet and a pantry (if you’re lucky enough to have one}.
I’m so glad that after 12 years, I finally gave this closet some time and thought. Because I created tons of additional storage space in this closet, I was able to go through my home and free up pockets of little things stored in cabinets in my kitchen, living room and other places.
As far as some of the other storage baskets in the closet, I only purchased 5 new ones. Every other basket I had and simply spray painted them brown to coordinate.
If you want some suggestions on how to begin reorganizing a closet {either junk or clothing}, you may want to check out this tutorial that I posted a few months ago on how Tips and Tricks for Reorganizing a Closet, which includes step by step suggestions and a printable worksheet to help you through the process.
Below are some pictures from my daughter’s clothing closet from that post if you need a little help with a clothing closet. I used the same process and the printable worksheet to help me reorganizing my junk closet:
Here is the Closet Reorganization Printable Worksheet that I created to help with the process. Just click the link below to go to the file to print:
Closet Organization Worksheet-Printable
I feel like a new woman now that all my crap junk is all organized. Yes, I have just shared my junk with the world, someone hold me now please… If it helps or inspires one of you, it is worth it!
I have a really adorable Easter project coming up first thing on Monday morning that you will not want to miss! It’s super easy and so fun. If I can get it together, I may have it up Sunday evening. If you don’t want to miss the post, you can subscribe to my blog via email here, so you will receive notification of new postings in your inbox. You can also keep up on The Creativity Exchange Facebook page here as well and I share a lot of projects I come across on the Facebook page regularly too.
Have a wonderful weekend friends!
Cheers!
Cyndy
Lisa Mende Design says
This is just amazing! Will you come to my house and help me!!! LOL! I am going to print the chart and see if I can get my closet organized!
Cyndy says
Thank you so much Lisa!! I hope the worksheet helps make the process easier. It’s the last thing you want to do with your time but it sure is great when its all done! Good luck!
MAry says
Wow Lisa I love the closet redo!!! Such great use of your space and it looks so pretty displaying all your extra decor items!
Linda says
Oh my Lord if this is your junk closet, well …I am just speechless over here! You’ve certainly inspired me to get to work on mine, which I’ve been putting off because it’s such a huge disaster.
If you’re not doing this for a living already, you should be!
Linda
lindapendantedreams.blogspot.com
Eileen says
What a vision of neatness this closet is! Each cube is its own vignette. I love it and plan to paint a few crates myself. Great job!
Elizabeth@themustardceiling says
Wow Cyndy, great job, will you come help me organize mine? The plastic storage crates were the perfect solution. Happy weekend!
nina says
This is incredible.. I am running out to walmart for those cubes. I can just see my closet now.
Susan @ Oh My! Creative says
Thanks for these great ideas! I try so hard to be organized and after awhile it all starts looking a mess. I like the cube idea to control the space…and I have a few of those old plastic milk crates myself waiting to go out for the garage sale!
I would love if you would post it and share it with my readers! Join the Community and share any of your creative project!
Susan @ Oh My! Creative
Brenda says
Just found you via Pinterest and I love this! I plan on using your worksheet to help me conquer the closet in my home office, thank you!
Faye says
How do you get the grocery crates for free??? I could sure use this idea in several closets in our house!
Roni says
What a beautiful Junk Closet!! Great job!