Let’s be honest—closets are amazing when they’re functional… but most of us use them as a last-minute junk hideout before company comes over. (Guilty as charged!) Anything that doesn’t have a home? Into the closet it goes. Out of sight, out of mind, right? Until you open the door and get hit with an avalanche of “stuff I might need someday.”
Do you have a closet or two that looks like this?
Trust me—you’re not alone. I’ve got two that could win awards for “Most Likely to Contain a Mystery Box.” One of them technically still works as a place to hang clothes… kind of.
But after hearing my boyfriend complain one too many times about not having space for his shirts (because my clutter had claimed every hanger), I finally had enough. The chaos had to go.
So I did what every overwhelmed homeowner dreads: I emptied the entire closet. Ten years of living here—and I’d never once truly cleaned it out. I’d just been adding to the pile. I’m not even kidding when I say about 75% of it went straight to the trash.
While I was at it, I decided to give the space a real makeover. Out came the old ‘70s carpet (what was I thinking keeping that this long?), and in went sleek tile flooring to match the rest of the house. A fresh coat of white paint later—okay, three coats because those walls were stubborn—and it already felt like a brand-new space.
Since this closet isn’t quite big enough to walk into, I installed some clean, simple shelves for the essentials (and yes, my box of random cords and chargers I’ll “definitely need someday”). Come on, we all have one of those mystery-tech bins we can’t part with.
Even with my “organized chaos,” there’s still tons of space now—for shoes, folded clothes, or whatever else he decides to toss in there. There’s even room underneath the hanging clothes for a shoe rack or storage bin. Progress!
One closet down, one to go.
What do you think—worth the effort? Follow along to see how I tackle closet number two next. Spoiler: it’s even worse.
