Alright everyone. Talking organization today! I’m sharing the magic happening behind the closet under my stairs.
Remember back in January when we made our 12 month organizing plan? Well. I made a plan. Did any of you make a plan? Are you sticking to it? I’ll admit I got a little behind. Life happens! But I’m catching back up. And I’m ready to share some organized spaces with you! Just to re-cap, my January goals were to organize my ATTIC, EXTRA ROOM, and PLAYROOM. Felt so good to get those spaces organized. February goals were my STAIR CLOSET, LUGGAGE CLOSET, and extra MUDROOM LOCKERS. March was lengthy with all of my kitchen, April goal was my office and May is my outdoor closet. (Check my original post to see how I break each room down.) Right now I’m caught up through March – but I’ve only shared my January progress with you. And it’s May. Ha! But that’s ok. I’m determined to get back on track!
This stair closet has been in disarray since we moved into the house. It’s in such a great location to just stash things I don’t have a place for.
So that’s what I have been doing since we moved in. Cleaning supplies, packaging I wasn’t quite ready to toss in case of a return, hand bags, camera equipment, you name it. If it didn’t have a place it was going in this closet. I couldn’t even walk in here! When I designed the house this was meant to be a cleaning closet where I could keep all of my cleaning supplies for easy access, but it certainly wasn’t helping me keep the rest of the house clean when the closet itself needed a good cleaning!
So I pulled everything out and found a home for it all – one item at a time. A lot of it decided to live in the trash. :)
And here is my after! Ahhh. Now when I open this door I can breathe! The back left corner looks a bit cluttered, but that is where I keep anything I’m either returning or decor items I plan on using but I’m still trying to figure out where. Because I’m doing so much decorating right now I needed a spot for this stuff to land. I’m in and out of this closet every day so I’m constantly reminded to find a place for these items or to return them!
On the far left closet wall I store my Central Vac. We got a Central Vacuum system for our new house and I have to tell you I LOVE it. One of the smartest things we did. I plug in the big grey cord and use the broom like attachment to clean my wood floors. So much easier than sweeping! I didn’t photograph this very well, but there is a black sack hanging with the cord that holds all of the vacuum attachments.
I needed a place to hang my dusters, mops and brooms so they weren’t all over the floor. I bought this track at the Container Store to mount to my wall, but since then I’ve found even more great options on Amazon. I love wall organizers! Everything is in one place, easy to access and off the floor!
Just storing these cleaning items on the wall opened up so much space.
I wanted a good central location for our coin counter (love this thing – it’s where we drop all of our loose change) so I had my carpenter add a little shelf for it in this closet. Easy to use, but tucked out of the way.
I designed this little cleaning cupboard when we were building to hold supplies and I’m thinking I might add another shelf to it at some point. I love having my most used cleaning products all together in one spot.
One more quick before and after! This little project didn’t take long at all but what a difference it has made! Now that this space is always clean I can also use it for temporary storage for larger items if needed. The plug outlet on the left was added in case we ever want/need an extra fridge. Maybe for when our kids are teenagers and eat everything in sight. :) But thankfully no extra fridge is needed right now and I’m thrilled with my cleaning closet!
Nothing like a newly organized space to put me in a good mood! If you’ve fallen behind on your organizing goals (like I did!) or want to set some new goals it’s not too late! There’s never a better time to just jump in and get it done. We can baby step our way to an organized home this year together.
And wouldn’t that be lovely.
:)
Wow what an awesome cleaning closet!!! Quick question. Those gorgeous lanterns from Pottery Barn, I have been considering them for awhile, but I just can’t pull the trigger until I can find someone to tell me if they collect dust in them and how they clean them. What are your thoughts?
Thanks Jess! Ok. Love my PB Hundi Lanterns! But they totally collect dust and they do need to be cleaned. Just last week I got on a ladder and took a rag and just wiped them clean inside and out. Now they look shiny and new and I probably won’t touch them for another 6 months. So definitely more high maintenance than most lights, but worth it to me because I LOVE them. The end. :)
Jess, I have the same lanterns and agree with Erin. They are high maintenance but worth it! I actually found mine new on eBay for a great price too. When we first had them installed, they were super dirty so I actually took down the glass part and washed with dish soap in the sink. It made me so nervous to do that, but they came out really sparkly and clean!
Hi Erin,
Thank you for showing the before & after pix, especially the before ones.:)
I’ve been trying to declutter/re-organise things in my house too & I’m gradually getting there.
The biggest problem I find is where to put the stuff that needs to be sorted until I’ve decided what to do with it. I’ve been putting it in the room that was my Mum & Dad’s & am hoping to sort the stuff out sometime.
At the moment I’m going through my Mum & Dad’s pictures (photos) etc, which I’m enjoying. One thing I find with this tho is like someone is saying in the back of my mind, “You can’t do that, the kitchen/lounge etc needs doing too.” Opposition in all things.
Please do some more posts on organising, they are my favourites.
Thanks Julie! I know – there’s always so much to do it’s hard to focus in on one thing! Lots more organizing posts are coming. :) xo
Seriously Erin, you thought of everything! A coin counter shelf???!! You are the most organized person I know! I love this post!
Ha! It just always bothers me to have that thing out in the way or hidden where it’s hard to use! Thanks Angela. :) xo
I am glad you are back on track. I love your monthly cleaning/organizing projects in your home. Thanks
Thanks Barbara! xo
What a great transformation, Erin! You did a great job. What a neat idea, a central vac. And hanging your brooms/mops/etc hanging up is also a great idea. Good for you for working on catching up. I realllllllly need to get on the ball on my end. I’ve let a lot of things go here. I started working part time (at a school) last fall. I work when my girls are in school, which happens to be my prime energy hours. When I get home, I’m pretty much done and not much else gets done other than dinner. School will be out in a couple of weeks. Then I can get excited about catching up on my house. Maybe? Keep up the great work!
Thanks Jeanne! I always rely on the summer to get a lot done too. Nice to have less going on for sure! Fingers crossed we’ll both be productive. :)
Good morning Erin!
A quick question…we are building a new house too, and have our pipes in for a central vacuum system…in our area they are not popular…you say you love yours, will you share the brand name please? Thank you…
BTW, I did not think of every little detail while designing our house! I’m so visual, so now that it’s up I can see where I could’ve been more creative! But I’ve always loved my homes, so this one will be well loved too:) My priorities were my kitchen, pantry, laundry areas and I’m liking what I see already;)
Have a sunshiny day!
Jan I LOVE my central vac but my mom has one and doesn’t use it as much. I think it all depends on the person. ?? It has been a game changer for me. I’m running out the door right now but will check the brand and get back to you soon today!
i have had central vac before and LOVED it too. And I’m looking forward to having it again. I’m just curious on the different brands since it’s been a few years back.
I can’t tell Jan! I looked at my vac and I don’t see a brand name on it. The guy who did our stereo systems installed it for us. Sorry I’m not more help!
Not a problem! Thanks for checking.
Great post! The closet looks awesome and is really roomy! I’m just curious if you’ve read the KonMari Method? Would love to hear your thoughts, being so organized like you are. :) I just finished it last week and thought it could potentially be life-changing. I thought I had things under control, but did my closet and dresser using her method and was amazed at what I could get rid of, and how much better everything looks now!
Hi Sarah! I’ve never heard of that but I’m looking it up! Sounds fascinating. Thanks for letting me know! xo
You did a great job organizing your cleaning closet. I think it looks more like a room to me! Your house amazes me. Even your closets are to die for! :)
Oh you are so sweet Bonnie! Thank you! xo
I’d like to know what cleaning supplies are your favorites! Your house is so clean and beautiful – what is your secret?! Have you done a post on cleaning supplies before?
Thank you Chelsea! I haven’t! But I should! Because I definitely have favorites. :) I’ll add that to my post idea list! xo
I would also love to see an updated cleaning products favorites post. I was thinking about buying the mop you have in the cleaning closet. Do you like it?
I do Cathy! I’ll try to do a fav cleaning products post soon!
It looks nice and clean now! What a great feeling! I’ve heard good things about those central vacs. I’m glad you like it. I keep all of my brooms and such on a similar hanging rack in my garage and I just love it. I’m working on small little organizing projects in my laundry room. You have a big house so it might take you a while to get your projects done. Be patient, it will all get done:) Happy Mother’s Day! I tried to leave a comment on your last post but for some reason it didn’t go through. Love your picture with the kids.
Thank you Sue! Love that you store those things in your garage.. so smart! I am trying to be patient, but yes – I have a list of projects that goes on for days! Oh well. It will all get done eventually. :) Thanks so much for your sweet comment. I hope you enjoyed your Mother’s Day! You certainly deserve it! xo
Your house is gorgeous and I am in awe of all the storage space and room you have to organize. I live in a smaller home with my large family of 7 and our storage space is really non existent. My cleaning closet is about 1/10th the size of yours, it doesn’t even fit my vacuum, that is stored in a corner of my kitchen. I’m not complaining but just wondering if you have any organizing ideas for those of us who don’t have as much room and live with tiny closets? I declutter and purged regularly but 7 people and a household have a lot of stuff!
Hi Ali! Oh my WORD do I ever feel your pain! TRUST me. I definitely know what it’s like to live with no room! All of our past apartments/houses were very tight on space. If you go through my archives to when I was blogging a few years back you’ll see LOTS of organization projects with minimum space! This was my linen closet in my last house and it’s also where I stored my cleaning supplies. There was no cleaning closet in that house. :)
https://www.thesunnysideupblog.com/2011/09/organized-linen-closet/
I can only imagine with 5 kids how hard it is to stay on top of things! Give yourself a break and pat on the back for doing the best you can because that is tough. Also let me know if you want specific ideas on how to organize certain rooms/things and I can point you to more past posts! xo
Hopefully this is a temporary situation. Some job and financial Setbacks put us here, hoping we get in our feet and can buy a bigger house! I may be going just a teensy bit crazy
It looks so great! Nothing like a clean and organized closet :) One of my very favorite things!!! Thanks for the motivation!
We got this!! Right!? ;) xo
Okay. So you even have an organized cleaning closet. ::: sigh:::
Of course you do.
(you know I’m jealous!)
Great job! I need to make a plan to organize our spaces. It looks beautiful!
Thank you Heather! xo
Hi, I love the coin counter and finish/color. Would like to put the same one in our office. Can you share the brand/link?
Thanks!
Hi Meredith! It was from Brookstone! Not sure if they still have it because I’ve had it for years. Check their site though because if they don’t have that exact one they probably have something similar. :)