lazy gal's guide : the family closet | the handmade home

Hello lovely friends! We?re?back again!

Once upon a time, I had these two closets in our home, that were crammed with stuff, and absolutely worthless in terms of storage {even through we?d already purged and rearranged fifty bazillion times.} Sometimes, insufficient things call for a change.

When I tried to clean it out, it looked like this. And it gave me a headache.

A big one.

First world. Problems.

The other closet backed up to the first, in the playroom. With all of the boys? clothes crammed into it. Yes, it was reversed ? the boys liked keeping toys in ?their? closet. Their mother was always searching for missing clothing, because of said cramming, and knew there had to be a better way than searching for that missing shoe for the love of sanity and all things procrastination. Her youngest even missed an entire section of hand-me-downs from the older brother because they were misplaced, and he outgrew them. Any mother knows that?s a true, very sad, frustratingly tragic story.

Oh, and the icing on the cake? These closets were totally our original, delightful hue of builder?s beige.?So, while Jamin was out of town one day? I decided to take a hammer to that wall.

And by me, I mean I was balancing three kids and I wasn?t sure how to handle the rando box of closet wires, so I called a friend.

And now, we will be calling in an electrician. Because sometimes, there?s nonsense things with lots of wires stuffed in your closet, and you need to do things finished to-code with a pro.

And we want to punch the dude who built our house in the throat.

Obviously, we are not electricians, which is why we?re calling one.

But it looks a little sketch to me.

There was a dead mouse. There was squealing.

Maybe some of it came from me.

Sometimes, I?m a total girl.

This is only 1/20th of the drywall that came down. I was too busy squealing over the mouse, to take a good photo of said drywall.

And now we?re just waiting to take care of this. Our closet is all, Final Destination part 56 and I?ll be the death by DIY special edition. From rabies to electrical shock, we?ll keep ya posted. I?m convinced something else may slither out of those open walls in the meantime. {Hibby. Jibbies.}

You guys wouldn?t believe the difference knocking out a small wall in a closet will make in the way two entire rooms feel. No. Really.

In the meantime, what did I do with all that stuff?

We?re still in the process of changing things over, so I just haven?t updated you guys in a while. In the midst of the chaos that is a youth minister?s summer, and changing over an entire room (You guys should see our garage = Scary stuff.)?this process is slow? and sometimes tedious and excruciating.

In the process of change, you do what you do when you can to keep it manageable. But it feels like I?ve lost about two tons worth of junk in our lives. It feels so good, just to breathe. It?s a process. As any lifestyle change is. We don?t just wake up and change in a day. We reinvent ourselves. We purge, refine and reboot our systems again. We find ways to make it work.

As I?ve mentioned before, part of that is making this house work for us. We?re to the point where we?ve purged the bulk of it, and we?re staying with that process, but now we?re changing over a few things to make the things we kept more manageable.

People ask us when we plan to move, and I tell them we?re content to stay where we are right now, even though we?re running tight on space. And then I catch myself mid-thought, again: Space, as it pertains to what? Whose standard of space? As I?ve mentioned here before, square footage is all relative, and it?s been quite the enlightening process.

So, making a lifestyle change includes the whole family if we want to make it permanent and successful.?I?m on my second pass of the toy closet, but particularly with our just-turned-four-year old,?I usually feel like this.?I?ve realized we have lots of large toys that are bulky and for toddlers. It?s time to donate and move on.

So remember?Emerson?s closet we changed into storage for all of her toys? We decided to move her clothes, as well.

What I?m about to show you is in no way easy on the eyes. It is what it is for now. I guess a real example that you don?t have to be HGTV for a legit, functioning closet. And you guys wouldn?t believe the ease of getting ready for church on Sunday mornings. I was all, SCORE! My life just got easier. I can?t wait to try it out for school. When I mentioned this in her room reveal, you guys wanted to know more, so? rather than waiting to redo this a-la California dream Closet, I thought I would share what we have now. I purged a little more, and reorganized all of our clothes.

Here?s our closet once upon a time in this post.?Note that compared to the second photo, I couldn?t even back all the way up to take said shot?{PS. I just checked the archives and realized I?ve been on this mission for nearly a YEAR? I?m kind of excited!}

This is a little embarrassing?. like showing someone your dirty laundry? {At least this is clean?}

Yes, the florescent light gives me hives, and I want to get rid of that final bout of beige {We will have a party when we paint the final one} but for now, we?re keepin? it real:

I realize that our closet is probably a bit larger than most. It?s a real asset to our home, ?and it needs a LOT of work. But the important part? I know where everything is. Color coded and categorized, with my own system, from linens to school uniforms? we are ready. It probably looks a little crowded right now, but its honestly the most spacious it?s felt in years.

All of their shoes, all of their hanging clothes {Play clothes are staying in their rooms} Are here. Jamin?s are on the left, mine on top, Emerson?s on the right, and the boys? on the bottom. My clothes once dominated that entire end, and now I share it with the boys.?I even placed the boys? matching clothes in the middle of their two sections, so that I can easily dress them alike for church, though I?m pretty sure my time for that with my borderline eight-year-old is coming to an all-too-soon-close. {Riding the cash cow to the bank while I can}?It?s easier for me to keep tabs on what they?ve grown out of, and what needs to be switched out. The key to keeping this space organized will eventually be well-planned shelving. But in the meantime, we?re loving the change.

You want to know the weird part? I?d been digging through my closet, pitching a fit about not having anything to wear for months. I got rid of more, and now I can actually see what I own. I?m slowly sifting through it, in stages. No, I will probably never get those jeans re-fitted = Donate. No, I will probably never wear that shirt again, because it makes me look preggers = Goodbye. Parting is such sweet sorrow.

I can put outfits together that I never thought of before. I know this looks like a lot, and I guess it is compared to some. The thing is, I?m actually not a total clothes horse. Paint covered yoga pants are my thing in nearly-eleven years of marriage until this past fall/winter. From maternity, to clothes that don?t fit me anymore, and everything in between? I was a bit of a hoarder.

It?s not perfect, but it works for now. It?s function. Without the form. ;}

And I may still have a little bit of a tank top problem.

So what about you guys? Do you have a family closet? Have you called in the pros for something seemingly small that can be a little scary? Any questions for my super ugly yet fully functional space that I?m oh so super excited about? Spill it! We?d love to hear!

Have an inspired day, y?all!

Source: http://www.thehandmadehome.net/2013/07/lazy-gals-guide-the-family-closet-keepin-it-real/

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