Skip to main content

The Happy Closet

When I thought of how to organize the closet mess that often ended up in the hall entrance, I started thinking of my grandmother's house.  When our large family gathered for Thanksgiving and Christmas, all the families would pile their jackets and coats on the hall banister.  It was a quick efficient system that got the coats up and out of the way.  That was my inspiration.  I wanted a big way to hold several jackets at a time. 
After shopping for closet organizers which ran between $15 and $60 for a coat tree, I found myself at the Ace Hardware and thought I would look down their aisles for some ideas.  I started out in the bathroom fixtures where they had several types of hanging options, but they seemed a little too small.  The regular hardware had a good selection with all sizes and colors of hooks, but again I wanted something really sturdy.  I saved the best for last - the gardening section!  There I found forged iron hooks meant for hanging baskets, but wouldn't they work perfectly for schoolbags AND jackets AND whatever else my kids could load onto them?  They are each about 6 inches deep, nicely rounded, and sturdy enough to hold just about anything!  I bought four and one larger wall hook I thought I could use for my handbags.  It was perfect!  So these were the items I would use to transform the closet:
A few baskets, a boot tray, some hooks, and an old metal trashcan my husband made in woodshop in high school!  It's perfect for umbrellas and yoga mats.


I hadn't planned to paint, but I found a can of Mystic non-toxic paint that was a mistint.  After coming up with a cool harlequin design to add some life to the closet, I measured taped and painted.  I loved the look it was creating, but there was a secret in this closet that I neglected to acknowledge - the previous owners had painted over wallpaper! 
So, we nixed that plan and painted a solid color with black trim.  







The closet has a whole new appearance that sort of reminds me of the coat room I used to work in at Charlie Browns.  I was hoping for a cabinet-y look, kind of pottery-barn-ish, but it's not really that either.  The black might be a bit much, but it goes with the hooks, which are working out perfectly. 

The baskets lighten everything up and the tags add a personal touch.  My plan is not to leave the house without my green grocery bags, but that never happens!  

My pocket organizer with four-letter words!  (Thanks, Joanne!)  The words read "love, grow, know, hope, live, pray."   I was going to make it rhyme because my kids would be all over that, but I messed up the K and the L...  I tied black ribbons at the top to hide the nails.  Everyone loves them, even my husband!
No more mess on the hall floor... couldn't ask for more!
Joannie
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What Is Grief?

 What is grief? It is standing in the shower and  you are suddenly crying and then you are sobbing. And you barely thought about it in the two days since you heard  your Uncle Rich passed. You thought about your dad and your cousins and your aunt and how sad they must be and you checked in on your dad. "I'm so so sorry." And you went to work and you did what you had to do. And now you are ready for another day and you are thinking of all the things and then you are crying and you are little again and vulnerable  and your heart hurts. And you remember everyone. Medford Lakes and a swimming pool and laughing so hard  and dancing around a Christmas tree and fireworks by the lake at night. And you can see his face and all their faces smiling Aunts and uncles and cousins and brothers who aren't here. And you remember his voice, deep and laughing, and you remember his kindness and his advice. "Are you taking vitamin C, Joannie?" You see all their faces and you mis
6 comments
Read more

Home for Christmas

  Dear College Kid and Post-Grads,  Welcome Home! You are finally here! And we are so happy to welcome you. It's been a long semester. You've faced trials and tribulations. You still need to meet your own benchmarks and others you've exceeded. But it's over now. For now, you must rest. For now, you are released from your duties and obligations for studying and group projects. You don't have to worry about homework and practice and when to wake up and when to eat. You are home. You can sleep until noon. We are here to love you back to health and wellness and give you that unmistakable feeling of home.  Some things haven't changed here at home. There will be bacon and eggs for breakfast and we will get cream donuts from McMillan's tomorrow. We will have bagels and cream cheese one morning. Some things are new to us. We will order the meat lover's pizza. We will make room on the shelf for your protein powder. Some things have changed. We painted the front d
Post a Comment
Read more

Tomorrow We Will Make Coffee

We are all searching for guarantees.  The guarantee on shipping from our website order, the guarantee on the newly-purchased mattress, the guarantee that when we wake up the electricity will still be on, the guarantee that the weather will get nicer soon, the guarantee that my car will still be parked where I left when I get back, the guarantee of a healthy pregnancy, the guarantee of an easy child.  All the things we expect at the beginning of the day to go our way, the meeting, the conference call, the sales pitch, the ruling, the game, the score.  I see people searching for schools, looking for a guarantee that the choices they make, the selection of this school over that school, will guarantee that their child will thrive, be successful, and maybe happy.  They want the guarantee.  They expect it when they walk in, as if they were going to a car wash, that the car will be perfectly cleaned when it comes out the other end.  As if kicking the tires will guarantee the purchase they mak
7 comments
Read more