Week 12 Project - The Dreaded Storage Closet

These are the before shots. It is a walk in, but you couldn't. I kept tossing things that belonged in there in there, figuring I'd get to it eventually. It's a mix of our fancy dinner stuff - china, crystal, etc.  Holiday crafts that the kids have made and I plan on using to decorate over the years, suitcases, bags, games, computer and electronic accessories, and a lot of other "junk"

I finally tackled it this week and it's amazing. I didn't get rid of that much, just got a bunch of bins and boxes at the Container Store and took out some things that we rarely use like tons of duffle bags.  And then things I will never use again but feel like I can't throw out either - like my wedding dress. I didn't toss them, just put them in the bigger storage room under our basement where they aren't in the way of stuff we need more regularly.

And now for the after...

We had a ton of hats and while my husband wears them occasionally in the summer, over half were never worn.  I used an old shoe rack that fit perfectly on the shelf and makes them much easier to find.  I even sorted them, so the hats from golf venues are on top since he usually wears a hat when he golfs, and the other more sentimental hats underneath (like his high school baseball hat - which he will never part with even though he'll never wear it)
The white plastic bins each have a purpose - one for lightbulbs, one for grooming supplies - lint brushes/shoe polish stuff, one for poisons - pesticides/WD40 that kind of stuff, and one for things used to connect things - glues/tapes/string/twisties, and one for electronic wires etc

The back wall now has bins for each holiday (labeled using Avery labels - I'd love a label maker, but can't justify it).  The suitcases are easy to get to and not nested inside each other like they used to be.  I always hated having to get the smallest one as it was inside 2 others.

Look at all that floor space now.

And finally this side has a bin each for gift bags (arranged by occasion), leftover fabric, sewing notions.  Then games are neatly arranged (and were weeded out).  The Pampers box admittedly should be replaced with something nicer, but right now contains my glass vases.
Right now the china is all on the top shelf in the boxes that they came in  While they are nice and protected, it's a pain to just get out plates when serving a meal for 6 or 8 as I have to go into each box.  Next time I have a good coupon for the Container Store or Bed & Bath I'll get some of the padded zip containers.

It feels so good to finally have this done.  I'm not into feng shui at all, but I do feel like a weight has been lifted now that I finally took care of it.  Like I said I still have a few things to do to make it even better, but at least now it's organized so any adjustments/beautifications will be so much easier.

Next weeks project - organizing our file cabinet, which should be much easier as I already did some when we applied for the refi.