Today I’m sharing yet another project completed back in Fall of 2017. It was seriously one of my favorites for a whole bunch of reasons – the transformation is so incredible you won’t believe it. Or that it took only 5-6 hours to complete. Mean it! But it’s mainly one of my faves because of the mom who hired me.
She was referred by my hairdresser, who also happens to be hers. We are both totally in love with our hairdresser, Elizabeth (as well as her new salon location), and can only imagine the conversation they had which caused Elizabeth to refer her my way. You know how the hairdressers chair is = an extension of the therapists couch.
Like most moms who reach out for organizing help, there’s never a single one space in need of decluttering or organization. The list is extensive and generally Mom’s focus is aimed first at the kid spaces. However, after meeting this sweetheart and seeing her master closet – and wanting to really give her a gift / make her feel special and important – I nudged her in that direction. I could tell immediately she was a dedicated mom and wife – she needed a little something to boost her spirits.
THE CHALLENGES
Her master closet is the double sliding type with heavy mirrored doors. Only her clothing fits in here while her husband has a closet up the hallway. They also have a couple dressers in the bedroom to give additional space. The challenges were:
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the closet doors made it tough to get to everything / see it all
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a dresser in the room blocks access to the left 1/4 of the closet
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a support beam was smack in the middle of both mirrored closets
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I didn’t have any products – not an issue for me. But wanted to be sure we could re-purpose her current organizing solutions
The main focus and easiest solution to this challenging space was the simple act of decluttering. She hadn’t done a real purge in almost 10 years so I knew this wouldn’t be too difficult. She was motivated. She had called me for help with is 80% of the battle to begin with. She was in! Deep down I knew decluttering was going to change everything in this space.
BEFORE
Am sure you’re on the edge of your seat waiting to see the before! Here’s the closet to give you a view of the challenges. Left side…
Right side…
I was not scared. I was excited! And she was too. She worked from home that day and we dug in hard for the first 2 hours. She made HUGE progress letting go of clothing she didn’t love or didn’t fit into…or had no idea she owned / even cared about.
Bag after bag, I made trips up the hallway dragging them out to the front porch…
Super proud of her!
Did I mention the decluttering process gets very messy?…
Category by category we sorted through it all – making quick decisions.
My favorite part of the organizing process is when I can send them off to do whatever they wish – and I take over putting the puzzle together, folding, hanging, etc. Hard for them not to sneak little peeks from time to time but I love spoiling these hard working moms by taking over the project from there.
AFTER
As we sort, I keep in mind the space I’m working within and what would make the best use of every inch. While sorting I was rehanging the shirts on the bottom rod…
Ultimately the best use of space on the bottom rod was pants…
With blouses and other shirts up top…
The difficult to access space on the far left was best used for shoes. It’s easier to sort through / grab shoes on that end as opposed to picking through shirts or pants…
I repurposed her stacking shoe shelves – placing them on the top and bottom to give her one vertical section of shoes. Flip flips fit nicely in the other wooden shoe organizer she already owned.
Hats up top.
I truly had the best time helping this mom organizer her master closet. Remember the before?…
After made possible by way of decluttering and using the space in the best possible way!…
The simple act of seeing the carpet and being able to step into the closet a bit…everything to me!
Since completing this project, we’ve also decluttered and organized her garage, her husband’s closet, all 3 kid’s closets, hall closets, and we’re heading back soon to do a quick garage refresh and *hopefully* her laundry room.
Love this one!
Not sure if I’ve previously shared this, but my clients may begin just that way – as a business relationship. But they absolutely become friends. It’s hard not to because of the intimacy of the work. And thank the Lord – they are all incredible! She knows what I have been up against with the home sale, divorce, the kids, and more…so last week I came home from a particularly long day to find these on my front porch…
If those aren’t beautiful and touching enough, her note crushed me…
Just absolutely crushed me in all the ways. Love and appreciate this one so much!
SHOP THE POST
These products were already in her closet, but if either will work in your favor – you can find them both here:
Hoping you’ve had a great start to your week guys!
xx,
Sam
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