The Problem with Our Closet

Do you have an area of your home that is a constant source of frustration because of the disorganization that lurks there?

I have organized and re-organized our front hall coat closet more times than I can count!  It seemed to be stuck in an everlasting state of disorder.  “Clean the front hall coat closet” is a regular on the kids’ chore list.  No matter how many times I have “solved” the problem, it was never really solved.

Here is what it normally looks like:

Last Friday night, as I was walking past it lamenting the mess {again!}, an idea struck me.  This time, I knew I was on to something!

All I had to do was convince my hubs to build it for me…

Now, if you knew my hubby, you would know that starting a new project is NOT one of his favorite pastimes.  Unfortunately for him, being married to me means starting new projects is his lot in life!

I decided to run my idea past him.  Was I smart about the timing when I dropped the news on him?  Uh, no.  Not smart at all.  Try waking up on a Saturday morning to: “Honey…can you do something for me?  Why, yes, it is a new project, dear.  Why do you ask?”

I must tell you, I almost fell over when he agreed to it!  And not only agreed to it – he thought it was a great idea, too!

Part of the reason that the closet could never remain organized {aside from the fact that four children have constant access to it} was that we were storing a lot of stuff in it.  Was the stuff necessary?  Yes.  That was the problem.  Since we don’t have a lot of closets in our house, the front hall closet is the only place to store:

Coats

Shoes

Backpacks

Lunch Bags

Umbrellas

Camera Bags

Tripod

Travel DVD Player

Travel Games

Sunblock and Insect Repellent

Purses

My “Don’t Forget Me Bin“

Hats, Gloves, Scarves, etc.

Snowpants

Kid’s Bibles

Sunglasses

As you can see, there was a lot of stuff in that closet!  However, all of those things were necessary.  We do not have another ‘place’ for those things to belong, so I needed to find a solution for how to organize it all!

And find a solution I did!

This is SO out of the ordinary for my hubby, but after explaining my idea and taking some measurements, we hopped in the car and were off to Lowe’s!

We purchased a single board for $18, brackets, and some paint.

Today I’m just going to show you “the problem” with the closet.  In a few days, I’ll share the finished product, so be sure to check back to see our super organized closet!  I can tell you this – I LOVE IT!

Here is a sneak peak at some of the construction.  Don’t hold my bad hair against me – I was focused on the project! 😉

See you in a few days!