Post Project-Closet Cleanup!

So…I definitely failed on the one post a week plan…
Major work projects will do that.
Now that the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is on it's way to officially opening (May 28th!!) I am slowly starting to get my life back.

See an article about the mine here.
You can just see me in a picture at the bottom of the page.
As a way to feel like I'm getting back on track I decided to finally clean out my closet.

For a small back story, almost a year ago I started to organize my closet in an attempt to dress faster and better.  Part of this cleanup included the use of the Stylebook app (but more on that later).

The first step to cleaning out my closet started with this post on Organized Simplicity.
I did exactly as it says-I turned all of my hangars backwards in the closet.
After almost a year, I went through and took everything out of the closet. And i mean everything!
Jaxon of course wanted to help!

Anything that was still backwards went in the reject pile (with the exclusion of special dresses).
Anything properly facing I divided into two piles:
1. Keepers
2. Worn out Keepers

Depending on the level of wear of some of my favorites, I took note on style and color and made the very difficult decision to toss.
If it was acceptable but on it's way out, I also took note to keep an eye out for similar items on sale to eventually replace.

Unfortunately, I failed to take before pictures of my closet disaster, but I do have some lovely after photos.  As an apartment dweller, I am forced to use the existing wire shelving that comes with the closet.  However, Target and the Container Store are my best friends for all my organizing needs.
I purchased the 24" shoe shelves at Target which are stackable or hang-able as I have done.  I used a wall mount coat rack from the Container Store for my belts, scarves and hats.  The flip flop hanger and the boot hanging clips are also from the Container Store.

I used two standard key hook racks to hang bras.
Big bags and totes i hang on the back of the door.
The large basket is for small bags/clutches.  The small basket is to hold any specials I need to set aside for laundry day.
As you can see my closet doubles as my laundry sorting station.

Due to limited space in my apartment, I also store my Christmas tree and seasonal decor and extra bedding and blankets in the top of the closet.
To be honest it is frightening how few clothes I now have in my closet.
I am working on maximizing my outfits by only purchasing and keeping versatile pieces.

More to come on using your closet to it's fullest potential!

Window Shutter Mail Sorter

So…my first post took me longer to get around to then I originally planned.

I decided to start with a simple home decor project I did a while back.

I get a lot of compliments on this, and it was super easy.

A while back I saw a pin on pinterest that I wanted to mimic.

It showed an old shutter being used as a mail organizer.

Picture below:

The hardest step for this proved to be finding a shutter.  I went to a few garage sales and an antique store, but I struck out.  Of course, in my usual impatience to start a project, I went to Lowe's and bought a shutter pack.  I bought the smallest set they sold-although, the fact that it was plastic added a new step.  First step-primer-I used Valspar Primer for Plastic.

I was trying to give the shutter that aged look that a wooden shutter would more easily have.  I found this great tutorial here about creating a crackle effect using simple elmer's glue.  First the base paint color. I wanted a really bright pop of color to peek through.  I love buying sample jars from Lowe's-they're great for testing colors or for smaller paint projects and are really cheap!

After the base color dries, add a layer of Elmer's Original Formula glue (this is important as the new formula does not work as well) and spread evenly over the entire shutter. Don't forget the top and sides!

Once the glue is nice and tacky, top with your final color.  I chose a sample container of antique white.  Make sure you don't put it on too thick.  I made this mistake on one part of the shutter, so all of it didn't crack as much as I wanted.  Don't worry about it dripping through the slots, wait for it to dry and take a box cutter or knife to separate the layers.

As it dries, the paint will start to crackle, pictured below:

I added this step after playing with the painted shutter and having almost all of my mail fall through to the floor.  I don't have any pictures of this step and I apologize.  I will try to explain best I can.

The shutter is 12" wide.  I took standard 12x12 scrapbook paper in the same color as my base coat and cut into different size strips:  4", 6", 8" and 10".  I took all of these strips and folded 1/3 of them up lengthwise.  For example, the 4" strip was now 1.5" on one side of the fold and 2.5" on the other.

These would become the folders to hold any items that fell through the shutter.  I hot glued 1.5" edge to the bottom of the first slot on the backside of the shutter.  I glued the 2.5" edge to the bottom of the 2nd slot. Thus, I had a pocket for slot number 1.  I alternated the sizes per slot so i could store receipts and gift cards in the shallow slots and letters and invitations in the deeper pockets.

The last step was mounting the shutter to the wall-I used four drywall screws to make it more secure.

As you can see-I use it a lot.

I hope this tutorial was useful. I plan on updating soon with more detail on creating the pockets.

Until next time!