I have a little bit of a secret to share with you. In life I tend to be quite organized, very type A and sometimes a bit picky when it comes to how things should be. That is except for the state of my closet. For some reason I always try to keep things nice and organized in there, but before I know it looks and stays like this:

When I had to brainstorm a project for the True Value DIY Squad, I knew that I needed to take control of the closet and get it clean and organized once and for all.

The first step was to remove everything. My initial thought was to repaint the closet, but the idea of having to deal with paint fumes and getting my clothes smelly didn’t really appeal to me. Once everything was out of closet I tested out a magic eraser and was happy to find that it got rid of all of the black scuff marks and made the existing paint job look brand new.

Since the closet is on the small side I knew that my best bet in getting the most storage was using vertical space. There had been 2 shelves on left side of the closet which I knew could be revamped to work better for my needs. Out went the existing 70’s contact paper covered shelves and in went new melamine shelves. I picked up three pieces and cut them to size with a circular saw.

Now you can hang your shelves with brackets, but the closet already had side supports that the shelving could lay on. It’s so easy to recreate yourself. Simply use some spare wood and cut them into pieces 2″ tall by 3/4″ (customize the depth to however deep your shelves are) . Screw them to sides of your wall where your shelf will be and then you can simply lay your shelves on top of them. So easy and you don’t lose any space like you would with brackets.

BEFORE SIDE SHELVING:

AFTER: 3 NEW SHELVES

For the closet rod my first impression was to swap it out with a shiny new one, but it was built into the wall and there was not an easy way to remove it. It stayed in place, but my eclectic collection of hangers went out the window and in went new slim fit hangers to squeeze in a little more space.

The space above the hanger rod has always been a horrible mess. The ceiling curves in that part of my closet so there is not a lot of width and the piles of clothes start falling apart the second I pull a sweater out. Storage bins to the rescue. They added a dose of pretty and helped organize my mess. I filled them with out-of-season clothes and stacked my heavier sweaters in the middle. It was a perfect fix.

On the right side of my closet I used smaller storage baskets to store winter scarves, gloves and belts. I picked up hooks at True Value and was able to hang them on the walls and utilize more vertical space.

I also sprinkled hooks throughout the higher wall space and hung some of my favorite handbags and hats. The rest of my handbags were stored away in a storage container with wheels. Now I can easily wheel it out when I want to switch bags.

My closet door still houses my scarves, but it’s now much more organized. I feel like I have a little boutique in my closet now. I can easily see all of the different scarves now, and it makes picking out one on daily basis so much easier. DIY steps on my hanging system coming up tomorrow.

In order make my closet have more of a boutique feel I also added a small 2’x3′ rug. It adds some texture and pattern to the space and helps make my little walk in closet feel a bit  grander.

It’s so nice now that everything has it’s place and the floor is actually clutter free. You can actually walk into the closet! I spent a lot of time in the closet just admiring how pretty it came out that first weekend and now my closet door can actually stay open and not give me anxiety. Hudson is loving it too. It has become his new favorite hiding spot during  hide and seek.

I was one of the bloggers selected by True Value to work on the DIY Squad. I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program as well as writing about my experience. I have also been compensated for the materials needed for my DIY project. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments.