Organizing & Storage Before & Afters

Anyone else have a garage, basement, or storage space that looks like this? There’s hope: Marji was fed up with the clutter in her tool shed, and she decided to first purge and then create a clever system that works for her.From Marji: As you can see, our tool shed was an unbelievable, disorganized mess.

The beauty of thrift store finds is in many cases their affordable price and less than ideal condition frees their owners from preconceived notions of how and where to use furniture within the home.

I think many of us can relate to those catch-all corners of our rooms that we know can be improved in both form and function. Melissa from 5 foot 12 Creations had a vision for her catch-all basement corner: a special space where her children could access art and craft supplies, a charming space where the markers are many and the paper is plentiful. The perfect pint-sized craft corner! I can only imagine the hours of creating that are now spent here.

Almost every kitchen’s got one. They go by different names: my old flatmate and I called ours the Drawer of Doom, and with my current one, The Sad Drawer. It’s that one place in a kitchen, be it drawer, pantry shelf, or simply an unfortunate corner, that attracts random debris like nobody’s business. From the actually useful (tupperware, kitchen foil) to the barely-used (madeleine pan, anyone?), the Sad Drawer is where things that don’t go anywhere else find themselves.

Closet size: 24 square feet How many people use this closet? Two. My partner Todd and I share the closet. How long have you lived in your home? Five years Your closet in 5 words or less: Small, narrow, chaotic, cluttered, disorderly. My partner Todd and I challenged ourselves to clean out our closet from head to toe, then reorganize it in a way that made more sense. We did a massive purge session, shopped for smart storage solutions, and are now ready to share our new space.

Aimée and Jonny just gave their shared closet a major makeover from head to toe, breaking it down and building it back up to be better than before. Their main take away? Don’t be afraid to purge! It makes all the difference. See what changed, and how they tamed their trouble spots. Aimée and Jonny’s linens refused to stay stacked neatly on their shelving, preferring instead to fall over, flop around, and unfold themselves.

Closet size: 4.125 ft² plus a garment rack How many people use this closet? 2 How long have you lived in your home? We moved into this apartment about 8 months ago. It’s gone smoothly for the most part, but I’m definitely messier than Steven. Your closet in 5 words or less: Cramped and cluttered Melanie and Steven had their work cut out for them. Their teeny tiny closet was small for even New York standards, and the added garment rack overflowed with clothing and shoes.

Katy’s walk-in closet had plenty of space. It was just poorly thought out and lacked the proper organizers for the job of keeping all their clothes, shoes and accessories in place. Katy moved a bunch of stuff around, and added in more variety to meet their different storage needs. Katy wasn’t making the best use of her upper shelves – when she stored shoes up there, the heels fell through the slots. Bags were hard to organized and flopped over on their sides.

If your home doesn’t contain at least one disastrous closet, I salute you. (And if you only have one closet, it’s even more likely to be overstuffed and overwhelmed!) This doorless closet, which was a catchall for everything from cakestands to lampshades, got a full makeover for less than $100 and is now totally display-worthy.

If you’re excited about getting a glimpse into strangers’ closets, you’re only going to get half the thrill you’re hoping for, because one of these closets has been converted into something a little unexpected. Here’s how the homeowner describes that closets before their makeover: The before photos were from the day we bought the house.