Hall Closet

There was a one week span last month where I had to organize EVERYTHING. (see here and here and here for examples). However, this time instead of Pinterest pressuring me into it, it was my husband.  Of course, my initial response was that if it was bothering him so much, he could fix it. About a month later and several complaints later, I decided that I would just do it myself because that would be easiest.

Before:

So this doesn't look soo bad, but it really is. The coats are just crammed in there and we had to access the bag at the top every week for grocery shopping. Erik would complain that he couldn't fit his coat in and that he hated getting the bags from the top. Not to mention the fact that if we ever had guests, there would be no room for their coats!

Here's the really bad part. Because Erik hated getting the bags from the top, we would end up just throwing them in at the bottom. The cats would get into the closet and it would be a disaster trying to get them out. We also had snowboard boots in there. It was no a functional space AT ALL.

After:

I removed all the heavy winter coats and put them in underbed storage bins in our guest bedroom. Who was I kidding? I am not going to need "thinsulate" here in San Jose. So problem 1 solved. Second, I removed all non-essential items from the closet (snowboard boots).  I kept the rain boots because, well, there isn't another place for them.  What I like most is we can put the vacuum in the hall closet where it belongs and I don't have to hear E complain that he can't fit his coat.

I kept the basket and put totes and other things we rarely use in it. Because the closet is so narrow, it is not easy to get the bin in and out (again, I hate bi-fold doors with a passion). I moved all our shopping bags to a clear bin that I had (it used to store clean cat litter --- don't worry, I cleaned it!). This way, we can just pull the bin out (it has a convenient handle), get our bags, and go. We've also been really good about putting the bags back in the bin when we are done so it still looks this nice. I think that's a sign of a functionally organized space.

In summary,
Cost: Free
Time: 20 minutes
Verdict: No more complaining husband.