Take Back Your Space: Conquering a Monster of a Messy Closet
Kristen had nothing magical living under her stairs (certainly no wizards). While she appreciated having this extra storage space, it had devolved into the dumping-est of dumping grounds. When she contacted us for closet help she described it as “where I store random items I have nowhere else to put”. Watch above as it “magically” transforms from chaos to order.
We asked Kristen why this “Harry Potter” closet has been so hard to keep organized:
It’s not big enough for long term storage and it has a weird shape. The shortest height in there is about 5′ and its highest point. Additionally, the doorway is smaller than the walls inside the closet, including a lip at the bottom. I also have a wide range of items I wanted to store in there (i.e. my calligraphy set, sports gear, shipping boxes, kitchen appliances, tools etc).
Because everything I wanted to keep in there came in different and irregular sizes, I didn’t know what kind of compartments, shelving or containers would be best for the space and provide an organization system that I’d be able to maintain over time, so out of lack of creativity (and laziness), I never had the chance to really successfully address the clutter hiding in there.
Here are the products we used to corral and organize Kristen’s stuff:
- Plastic floor drawers – The Container Store
- Elfa shelving unit – The Container Store (shelf, bracket, mount)
- Canvas storage bins – The Container Store
- Gray & white woven bins – Target
- Door organizer – The Container Store
We followed up with Kristen a few weeks later to ask how it’s been working out: “It’s been fantastic…I’m not scared to open the closet anymore!”