Coat Closet Clean-up

After my pantry organizing success last weekend, I’ve been in a closet-clearing phase.  And it’s a good thing.  We have a lot of closets and they all need some help.  Case in point: our entry way closet.

When we moved in there was only the one long shelf/bar in this closet.  Last year around this time I moved the shelf way up and added two long coat hooks–one on either side of the closet for me and Chris.  (We don’t share coat hooks.  His jackets have cooties.)

At the same time I took all of the fleeces/coats that Chris said he wanted to keep but didn’t wear very often and put them in the green bin pictured above.  Over in the other corner, I continuously threw my gym, school and work bags on the floor, and stuff had really built up over time.

So, I proceeded to pull out all of the items that were either out of season, needed to go to Goodwill or needed to be thrown out…

The green bin hasn’t been opened all year, so I think the contents might need to find a new home. But enough of my nagging poor Chris…

Once I had cleared some space, I wanted to implement a new function for our coat closet.  Remember a couple of weeks ago when I mentioned that we had a filing build-up problem?  Well, I decided to move our filing cabinet out of the office closet and into the entryway closet where it would be right in my face several times a day.  Hopefully it will help me remember to file.

I added a little organizer on top so that I could sort bills that need paying and bills that need filing.  And now I also have a home for my school books that go in and out of various bags based on my schedule for the day.  (All of the magnets that are no longer on our fridge now decorate our filing cabinet.  Here’s hoping it makes filing more fun?)

The end result is a more spacious, well-divided space that hopefully adds more function.  And at $0 cost!

Here is the after shot of my side…

(The shoe rack does hold currently-in-use shoes for both of us.  Apparently Chris’ shoes don’t have cooties.  Just his jackets.)

And here is Chris’ side all done up…

I know that we are super lucky to have a nice, spacious closet in our entryway.  As an added bonus, there is an identical closet across from this one that holds our washer and dryer.  It’s a pretty good set up, especially when you can come home and dump your dirty gym clothes right into the washer.  So, we are going to make the most of what we have and try to keep this organized all year long.

Do you think we have it in us!?