New Little Old House

We’ve only got three small closets in our house, so our bathroom closet holds a lot. And it had gotten just a little out of control…

Part of the problem is that the closet is really narrow, so getting things from the back of the shelf is a challenge. The shelves are so full that reaching for one thing inevitably knocks three others onto the floor where they get lost.

I tore into the closet this morning and pulled everything out. I got rid of a few items but mostly just organized. Once I filled the random bins and baskets already in there, I resorted to cardboard boxes.

Ugly, but an improvement. This closet is curtained so it’s not like people see it unless they snoop (who doesn’t?). I wanted to do a little better, though, especially since the curtain is open a lot just because we’re always grabbing something or the other.

If this were Better Homes and Gardens or Martha Stewart Living this would result in a beautiful $100 makeover. I, however, work at a homeless shelter, not a shelter magazine, so I wasn’t about to put that much money into a bathroom closet. The Dollar Tree was a little more within my target budget.

$10.73 later, everything is sorted and much easier to access. Because our stuff is contained in bins it won’t constantly fall and spill.

I especially like these new baskets for small towels and rags. Previously they all just sat in a pile slowly overtaking the limited floor space. Whenever we spilled and ran to grab a rag, we would dig though the pile and make even more of a mess. Now one basket is for rags and the other for washcloths, kitchen towels, etc. We considered adding hooks for the mop, broom, and ironing board but they’re okay on the floor if we keep things cleaner in there.

My hope is that with the closet functional and attractive, we’ll put more effort into keeping it that way. If I can easily find a Band-Aid the next time I need one, I’ll consider this a good $11 investment. (All of you bathroom snoops out there please pretend to be impressed the next time you come over.) Now if only our other two closets were this pretty…

I can’t believe I just wrote that much about a bathroom closet. Who do I think I am, Young House Love?

I’ll confess that we didn’t finish the porch today. We decided to wait until the end of the week when it will be warmer and we’ll have plenty of time off. So the bathroom will have to be your excitement for the day.