Hi friends! That little intro line still makes me giggle because it reads like I've never attempted anything like this before. What I really mean is, in our NEW place. ? Quick share with you today about a project I've been itching to dive into. I'm a little quirky — I get genuine joy out of decluttering and arranging spaces. Clearing out belongings from our house gives me this airy, weightless sensation (literally!) and putting everything in its proper place is incredibly calming for me. Both deliver a wonderful sense of achievement.
I'm not obsessive about keeping things spotless — clutter happens and perfection isn't always realistic. Still, having a clear mental map of where every item belongs is incredibly valuable. We've been settled in roughly twelve weeks and I've been counting down until I could genuinely begin sorting things out. That moment is finally here!!
My initial objective when we relocated was simply to make the place livable. Next on the list was clearing out as many cardboard boxes as I could — I knocked those out during the first month. Then the festive season rolled around so I gave myself permission to soak it all in without stressing about tidying anything.
However, the chaos was starting to wear all of us down — locating basic items became a guessing game and nobody knew where to stash new things. So now that (most of) the holiday decorations are packed away and I'm gradually bouncing back from my back troubles…the moment has finally arrived!
We're fortunate enough to have an abundance of closets throughout this house — figuring out the purpose of each one has just been a matter of planning. We've got a linen closet close to our bedroom that turned into my everything-goes zone, particularly over the holidays. When we first moved in I'd just toss random belongings in there and that pattern continued through Christmas. Gift wrap, presents, toilet tissue, photo albums, scented candles, painting gear, decorative pieces. You think of it, we had it crammed in here:
So this snapshot was taken just a few hours before a holiday gathering we threw. My partner scrubbed the entire house top to bottom (I was practically useless with my back injury) and at some point he asked, "What if someone decides to peek inside a closet?" My panicked response was, "There's zero chance they'd want to snoop through closets…right?!" So roughly two hours before our company showed up I made a desperate last-ditch effort to at least make this one presentable. This shot was taken after I'd already hauled out half the junk.
Here it is post-cleanup — honestly, it was a dramatic transformation:
This, my dear readers, has officially been designated my Monica closet. (For those unfamiliar with the reference, check out that classic Friends episode.) 😉
But now it's simply gorgeous, and I'll walk you through how I tackled it. Step one, I drafted a list of things we wanted within arm's reach. They looked like this:
- light bulbs
- paper towels
- tissue boxes
- candles
- extension cords
- wrapping paper (and all of the stuff that goes with it)
- photos
- cleaning supplies
- batteries
- toilet paper
I jotted down a few additional items too, though those were the headline ones. (Towels and sheets are tucked away in our bathroom and closets.) I mulled over the best layout and concluded I wanted our mud room closet to handle the more functional stuff — bulbs, cleaning agents, batteries, that sort of thing. This particular closet, I envisioned being the grab-and-go spot for things we grab more frequently.
I kicked things off by gutting the closet completely. A bunch of stuff had merely been dumped in there — painting supplies made their way out to the garage:
I previously stored these inside the house (in a chest of drawers), since our garage required a much longer trek back then. Now it's a super short trip for me to dart out to the garage so these will permanently reside out there.
But the moment we settled into the house I developed a completely fresh philosophy about our possessions after spending two months without them. I parted ways with a TON more and haven't mourned a single piece. Though here's the kicker…there's still one category I clearly cannot keep in check. It's totally bizarre…but I was floored by the sheer volume of candles we'd accumulated:
What on earth?? Where in the world do they all originate? It baffles me. Don't. get. it. A few were scattered around various spots in our previous house and now I've consolidated them into one location. We also stashed them throughout our decorations and when I boxed them up I grouped them together. So that accounts for some of it, but still. UGH.
So. I purged all of that. I'm down to a couple shelves — most of them are electronic candles I bust out during the holiday season. If I discover we need extra room in here down the line I'll relocate some of them to down to storage. I have some wax warmer accessories and some oils/plug-in fragrance diffusers that I sorted as well:
We're sitting on a pretty hefty surplus right now — we don't normally stockpile this many paper towels and tissues. I've mentioned it a million times!! Spending balloons when you're not organized. We constantly ended up purchasing way more than necessary before I sorted out our home. I'm still riding the just-settled-in excuse for the time being. 😉
I genuinely believe keeping these essentials this accessible will rein that in going forward. But seriously…isn't it gorgeous?? I mean feast your eyes on this:
I've owned all of the organizing pieces for ages, with the exception of the small round fabric bins. I scooped up a handful of those from the Target dollar spot a couple weeks back. Adorable.
And there you have it — the inaugural organizing post of the new year/new house! It took me a solid three months to finally get rolling! Our Monica closet is spick-and-span and feels like a breath of fresh air whenever we swing it open. NOW it's time to tackle the mud room closet — I'm even more pumped about that project. #nerd
Have you been on a purging and organizing kick lately? I'd strongly suggest sorting through your belongings before arranging what remains. But doesn't it feel absolutely incredible though? Are you as hooked on it as I am?
P.S. Not a single person inspected the closet. 😉
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