Updating a 1980’s Reach-In hall closet Part 3 – the organization & reveal
Ikea has your decluttering back with tons of options for organization.
Part of the reason I am such a fan of the Ikea Pax system (check out how it went together in part 2) is how much you can customize it to meet your needs. I picked five drawers; I went with the solid fronts because mostly they store shoes. They have glass shelves that are wonderful for keeping them feeling airy (I had already purchased the solid shelves or I would have switched having seen them in the store). Organization is a piece of cake with a good framework.
One of my wish list items was a mirror by the front door. I installed a pull out mirror that has jewelry storage behind it that works perfectly for overflow keys. I also installed a hook bar that slides out so you can easily get to keys in the back.
Think about HOW you want to use the space when you plan your organization
We could predict some of what we needed by how we used the old space. There were those items we knew needed their own home (coats, seasonal items – I’ll get to that, shoes, toddler items, keys, packing and mail, reusable shopping bags, a lost and found bin, and a needs returning bin).
Toddler cubbies and drawers
Our front entry was drowning in a sea of shoes, jackets, bags, and toddler sundries. I piled them all up so I had a good idea that I would need two drawers. I also wanted cubby space because they twins have gotten used to a routine of putting their stuff in cubbies at school.
Because of twins and winter weather I wanted more than a few so I decided to use Ikea’s Vajert rail and hooks that I could add to and change seasonally. I measured them in the store and knew that my cabinets were 29 inches wide, so they would fit. But when I got home I could see that hooks along the back of the cabinet would be unreachable by the boys at their current height.
So, easy fix, I thought. I’ll just install them on each side.. whomp whomp. I had a vision at this point and wasn’t going to let a petty thing like being too long stop me. I pried the stopper out, got out my angle grinder and let sparks fly.
Drop zone
My kitchen island took up the roll of catch-all for the flotsam and jetsam of life. Car key hooks, trays, and open space, along with some bins that I had around the house finished out the space above the cubbies.
I installed a short shelf directly above the drop zone to make room for tall items and so we could easily get to things in the back. Organization is at the root of keeping things decluttered.
We often have ‘forgotten’ items so I made a Lost-and-Found bin for my friends (well, mostly their kids) who leave things behind. I also needed a bin for random Target and Lowes items that I need to return.
Seasonal items
Winter means a winter coat, a raincoat, a fleece jacket, a snowsuit, hats, mittens, and boots (and that’s just for the toddlers.) So making sure that seasonal items didn’t just get stuffed in because it’s just for a few months was important.
The space that these things take up now, will be replaced with pool bags, picnic blankets, sunblock and sun hats when the spring shows up in earnest. Because there aren’t going to be more toddlers in my house most of the winter items will be swapped away because they won’t fit next winter. I can keep my organization options open.
Use what you have, upgrade with details
All of the bins and boxes I used in this project were already in my house. Some of them got emptied when we cleaned out the closet. Some of them repurposed. Sure, having all one color scheme would be more aesthetically pleasing for organization. But you know what’s aesthetically pleasing? Not spending money on more storage.
For the top shelf bins I installed some super cheap drawer pulls at the bottom of the bins with a piece of lath inside to hold the screws. This makes them easily reachable without getting a step stool.
Finishing touches to make a polished look
Lights make the look complete. I selected these Ecolight motion detector battery powered lights because the closet didn’t have an easy access to power. They take batteries and are easy to install with 3M command strips.
The lights turn off pretty quickly. But the boys like opening the doors a crack and saying, “Lights, turn off.”
Ultimately, one of the things that separates the custom closet from the Ikea one is the holes (Rows and rows of holes) and shelf gaps. I easily covered these with some polystyrene lath from Lowes. I could cut it with a utility knife and used double stick tape to hold it in place.
Labels are to come later. I love these large Metal Label holders and think they make a gorgeous finished look with some chalkboard finish card stock.
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