*affiliate links used
Hello friends! I hope you all had a nice Easter weekend! We had a great one despite a teary moment I had prepping Easter baskets the night before. Filling my girls’ baskets with make-up instead of bubbles and remembering 2 minutes ago when Ellie looked like this..
kind of hit all at once. That happens to me from time to time now that my girls are teenagers. You know the saying “the days are long but the years are short?” It really could not be more true! But I absolutely love the stage we are in so I dried my eyes and reminded myself to keep enjoying every minute. Teenage drama and all. Because someday I’ll probably miss that too.
Or not. ;)
I’m sharing a quick organizing project with you all today! If you look at our backyard to the right of this picture you’ll see a little walk way that goes to the side of our house.
We have a small outdoor pool shower and then two doors on the side. The door on the left with the window is our outdoor pool bathroom.
I shared pictures and details about our outdoor pool bathroom in this post if you missed it and are interested!
It’s a small space but greatly appreciated in the summer when my kids and all of their friends aren’t running back and forth through my house between the pool and bathroom. My wood floors appreciate this space too. :)
The second door opens to a small closet that I added when we built the house to hold pool items and the kids’ outside toys. I wish I would have taken a recent “before.” This picture was from two years ago and last week when I decided to tackle this closet things looked even worse! The closet had become such a mess where we all just dumped things and shut the door. It was dirty and dusty with junk piled high.. my kids didn’t even like going in there! None of us did.
I went to put away these two pool floaties we blew up for the kids to use during their Spring Break and there was no way they were going to fit. I told myself that the next weekend I would finally clean out this closet no matter what! I’ve honestly been saying “I’ll get to that outdoor closet soon” for the past 5 years we’ve lived in our house.
The weekend rolled around and there were so many more appealing things to do that I almost put it off AGAIN. At one point Saturday Kenny asked me if I wanted to go on a walk and I said “I’d love to, but I can’t. I have to organize our outdoor closet.” He said “oh you can do that anytime..” and I told him that “anytime was never coming.” It was time to just prioritize it and get it done! So out came ALL OF THE THINGS that were living in this closet. (Sidenote – can you see my little friend who was helping in the top of this pic? We have the cutest bunnies that come out on our lawn every afternoon and eat our grass! I adore them! My husband not so much.) ;) I swept and mopped and wiped down the entire empty closet until it looked brand new and then got rid of so many things we weren’t using anymore.
Ready to see the after?
So clean! And the new floaties have a home! And the kids can actually walk inside to get things! And I can now breathe normally when I open this door! And a project that has been on my list for WAY too long is finally finished!
It’s the little things. Hooray for all of the above!
Pool floaties and bodyboards line up nicely to the left..
Then I used these large stackable baskets to hold all of the outdoor toys. I used to have these baskets in my mudroom closet but knew at some point I would move them out here. I originally bought them for all of the goggles and beach toys and balls! It’s a perfect solution for this tiny space. The stacking baskets hold a lot and the kids have easy access to all of their things.
We have our water heater in this closet so I just used some space to the side of it for more pool toys and dusted everything off.
Feels so nice to actually see the floor of this little closet!
I try to keep pool “stuff” to a minimum, but I know we’ll end up with more toys/floaties during this summer because the kids often get stuff like that for gifts and we have several floaties we just haven’t blown up and used yet. My plan is to add some vertical storage to the top of this closet. Maybe a couple of shelves? I want to make sure there is room for tall things on the left, but it would be great to maximize and use more of that empty space at the top of the closet. I’ll keep you updated on that one!
For now I’m just thrilled to finally have this done. You guys.. 5 YEARS! 5 years I put this off! We’ve hated this space and it hasn’t been functional for the past 4 summers. It took me ONE HOUR to whip it into shape and now my kids love it and will have a nice place for all of their outdoor toys. I can’t believe I didn’t clean and organize this closet sooner. That is honestly the main reason I’m sharing this tiny pool and toy storage makeover with you all today. To remind and motivate us all to just DO THE THING that we keep putting off! I had put this off so long that I’d built it up in my head thinking it would be such a huge, awful project. It was a piece of cake once I just decided to jump in and do it!
If there is something on your to-do list that you keep procrastinating and putting off I’m encouraging you to schedule a day/time on your calendar and just KNOCK IT OUT. I have a feeling it will be easier to tackle than you think! That was my takeaway from this little one hour project that should have been done 4 1/2 years ago.
Lesson is learned. Rant is over. Closet is clean.
My work here is done.
For today. :)
{POST SOURCES}
Great job finally eating that frog, Erin! It looks great! Thanks for the motivation and inspiration to just get it done! I hope you rewarded yourself by going on that walk with your husband. :)
Thank you so much Jeanne! I need to eat that frog more often. ;) Now that it is staying lighter longer we have been going on walks together whenever we can sneak them in! One thing I love about this time of year. :) Enjoy your day! xo
What is the color of paint on the pool house?
Hi Natalie! You can get all of my paint colors here..
https://www.thesunnysideupblog.com/join-printable-library/
What is the color of your house? I am trying to pick out a paint color for my small house and was looking for one and i love yours.
Thank you Whitni! You can download all of my paint colors (inside and outside) here:
https://www.thesunnysideupblog.com/join-printable-library/
Erin, your house is absolutely stunning inside and out! Would you happen to know the pool bathroom light source?
Thank you so much Katie! It was from Kichler Lighting but I can’t find it on their site anymore so they must not have it in stock!
Oh bummer. But thank you for responding!
You bet. :)
I just love your outdoor space Erin! Your outdoor shower, bathroom, and closet is well thought out. I also like it when I get something done that I’ve been putting off because I think it will take so much time. Currently, it’s getting our digital photo albums caught up. I try to make photo albums for each year or if I can squeeze an album for 2 years. I’m soooo behind and I’ve been putting it off. I need to make it a priority somehow or it will not get done and I’ll be more behind each year rolls around. That saying that the days are long but the years are short is even applicable for silly things like digital photo albums.
Thank you so much Debbie! Oh my word.. photo albums are a big one I think we all procrastinate! I try to remember that something is better than nothing so even if I just do one photo book of a trip or develop some pictures for my kids’ rooms I’m ahead of the game. At least that’s what I tell myself.. ha. :) Love that you do albums for most years.. that is amazing! xo
Good for you!!!! So satisfying, isn’t it?
The best! Motivation to do it more often. ;) Thank you Jane! xo
Erin,
I just want to compliment you, You, your family, and home are beautiful, but your personality shines even more! You are one of the few bloggers that actually responds to their readers any more. I think it shows you respect your supporters, and is testimony to your character! I know it takes time and energy…keep up the fabulous work!!!
Sincerely,
Melanie Carter (from California)
Melanie! Oh my word.. you have no idea how much this sweet comment means to me. It brightened my entire week! So sweet of you! It says a lot about your character that you would take the time to leave such a sincere compliment. Thank you again! This is a comment I’m saving. :) xo
Hi Erin! On an unrelated but related topic, do you mind sharing (even on IG if its not full blog post worthy) what you put in each kids’ Easter baskets? Little kid baskets are prevalent but older kid ones seem more challenging to put together without going overboard. Thanks! xo
Hi Jessica! Here are a few things I put in my girls’ baskets this year (and things I’ve done in past years) now that they are older: make-up, nail polish, a necklace, Starbucks gift card (they love the lemonade drinks there!), candy, flip flops, a book or DVD, hair elastics, lotion. I hope that helps! :)
That’s brilliant! Especially the nail polish and Starbucks. Flip flops!! Face palm…why didn’t I think of that. My oldest (a girl) is only 5 but seeing your post made me panic for the baskets to come. Now I feel a bit better …about the basket, NOT about her getting older! Maybe Easter Bunny Mom gets a drink for herself while she’s picking up the GC’s at Starbucks! Lol …xo!
Ha ha.. exactly!! ;)
Hi Erin, I am a follower on Pinterest and your blog. Can you tell me the kind of Sherwin Williams paint your painter used.. Is it super paint, duration or emerald, they said the color will be different depending on what paint i use with your formula Thanks! Love your style!
Sorry, I am talking about your indoor Seattle Paint color
Hi Jody! Sorry I’m just getting back to you! I was waiting to hear back from my painter. He said my paint is similar to SW super paint! I hope that helps! xo
I love your pool and it makes me a little envious to be honest. I have a big garden, but in the UK, a pool is a waste of water and natural resources. We just don’t have the weather for it!
So sorry to hear that Caroline! But I get it. Wish you could come over for a swim! xo
Love your closet! Great idea! How or where do you store your pool chemicals
Thank you so much Gina! They are all on the side of our house inside a little white gate! :)
Love this!! We are about to add a master bedroom suite onto our home that will reach our pool. I would love to add a pool storage room if I can! Also, what is the flooring you have in the pool bath. I’ll be looking for a floor for our pool bath that can withstand the dripping water that it will have all summer and I wanted something that they won’t slip on. Thank you!!
So happy you like it! I used this same simple tile in our pool bath! Good luck with your master bedroom suite.. so exciting! xo