28 Day Organizing Challenge - The Results!

Earlier this month, I wrote about having accepted the 28 Day Organizing Challenge hosted by I'm an Organizing Junkie.  I'm proud to say that our master closet is now reorganized and I'm posting today to show you the results.

I started out the month with the following overall plan:  make the master closet an organized and attractive place. The closet will house my clothes and there will also be some space for sewing craft supplies to be stored when not in use.

Here are a few before and after pictures:

 

And here are a few extra "after" photos to show some of my favorite new parts:

Shoe Organization (Finally!)

Jewelry Organization

Sewing and craft supply storage area

Coats, Jackets, New Wire Shelf and Ironing Supplies

Belt and Robe Organization

And finally, here are a few challenge questions to highlight my organizining effort:

1. What was the hardest part of the challenge for you and were you able to overcome it?

Aside from a small blood donation while trying to install a new wire shelf, the hardest part of the challenge was deciding how to organize my shoes.  At the beginning of the month, all of my shoes were thrown into three large storage containers, which wasn't good for the shoes, and it wasn't an effective use of time in the morning when I needed to find shoes for work.  As you can see in the after picture, I decided on two 15-cube organizers, which allowed each pair to have a home.  Because I had about 45 pairs of shoes before I started organizing, this was my biggest area to purge.  As a self-proclaimed shoe-lover, I had to focus on which shoes I really loved and said goodbye to the rest.  You may notice that I even have some extra space for new purchases in the future!

2. Tell us what kind of changes/habits you have put into place in order for your area/room to maintain its new order?

By putting my shoes away and hanging up coats and jackets as soon as I take them off, I have found that it keeps the closet neat, and doesn't hurt organization in the rest of the house either.  I am able to use the new space as a small dressing room, which I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!  Now that the space is organized, I have found that I want to keep it looking nice.  I also avoided putting too many items in the closet.  Because there is room to grown (more clothes, more shoes, etc.) the room isn't destined to be a mess later on.

3. What did you do with the “stuff” you were able to purge out of your newly organized space?

Lots of things.  First, my husband used to share the closet, so his things were the first to go.  He is now using our office closet, which was the first mini-organizing project.  Secondly, gently worn shoes and clothes have gone to the Goodwill.  And finally, there were about three large bags of trash and old shoes or clothes that were too rough for a new home.

4. What creative storage solutions were you able to introduce in order to create additional space as well as establish some limits and boundaries?

One of my favorite new places is my jewelry drawer, which uses plastic trays to separate my neckaces and bracelets and avoid tangling.  Adhesive hooks made space for hanging all of my bags and robes, which I used to just stash or throw in random places.  I also purchased a new belt organizer - I'm not sure how I went without one of these before!

5. Why do you think you should win this challenge?

Because I love my new space and it makes me smile whenever I open the door!  I feel like I put a great deal of effort into planning out what items should stay in the closet and which should be purged or moved to a more appropriate place in the house.  All of my clothes, shoes, bags and jewelry now have a place to call home and I am looking forward to keeping it that way.

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Hope that you like the look of my "new" closet!  Drop me a note and let me know what you think.  I am looking forward to seeing my challenge competition and I'm hoping that I win one of the super cool organizing prizes!