My closet makeover + small closet hacks

I love our little home that we live in. What I don’t love is our closet situation. In a perfect world I’d have a super spacious walk in closet with an insane amount of storage, huge windows, and enough room to add an office/beauty area. I will make it a dream some day, but for now a girl can dream and I have to work with what I have!

The master bedroom closet that is meant for Kyler and I to share is so ridiculously small that having just his work clothes in it would fill it up. I love him to death but I do not want his work cloths rubbing up against anything of mine even if they are clean(he’s a welder & gets gross buildup on his jeans no matter how much we wash them). So, I did what any sweet wife would do and kicked him out and took over the closet. He got the spare bedroom closet which is 10ft long, and I added a storage system similar to the one I’m sharing today. He has nothing to complain about since his closet it technically twice the size of my current one.

Now, when I say this closet is small, I really mean that it’s small. It’s 4.5ftx5.5ft and about a foot shorter in height compared to the standard closet.  I spent quite a bit of time on Pinterest (you can follow me on Pinterest here) searching for closet inspiration! My absolute favorite way to search for anything that has to do with organizing on Pinterest is to type minimalist ___. I’m definitely not trying to live a minimalist lifestyle when it comes to my clothes, let’s be real here haha, but I love the look of the minimalist lifestyle! Here are a few pictures that really inspired me when I decided to do my closet makeover.

Because I am working with such a small space I decided to stick with lighter colors so nothing would feel out-of-place and it would flow. I picked a closet system that was white and used light cream colors for organizing similar to the ones in these inspiration photos. I still wanted to make this small space fun so I used my clothing as the pop of color. I secretly love making a closet look like a boutique and displaying shoes and handbags and if I ever get a fancy handbag I will for sure have it on display.

before

I am so embarrassed even showing you the before but this was what I was living in and working with! I do have to add that there usually isn’t that much extra crap on the floor haha. Whenever we have company over I always shove everything in my closet because nobody ever goes in there.

In my eyes there was a lot of wasted space. The top shelf was wonderful to have and probably the only thing I really liked about the closet. There was a ton of wasted floor space that no matter what I did I wasn’t satisfied with how it looked and still felt as if it was messy. I didn’t invest in anything super fancy (hence the wire cubes) because I knew I would be doing this makeover at one point.

demo time

I have been on a huge fixer upper kick and have wanted to start from scratch with anything that involves using my drill and hammer lol. Here’s a little glimpse off the old system and what I before had to work with.

Removal wasn’t too terribly bad. I was expecting the worst because of how difficult the rest of our small projects have been. The only bad part was the crazy amount of caulking that was used to keep these suckers in place and ripping the boards out with the nails going in every which direction.

I don’t have any pictures of this but I spackled the heck out of the walls filling in any hole and smoothing out all that was ripped out. After sanding the spackle down and wiping down the walls I gave it a fresh coat of paint. You’d be surprised how of a difference a fresh coat of paint makes. I also went crazy and painted the baseboards. On the walls I used Behr’s White and for the baseboards I used Behr’s Polar Bear, which is actually a lot brighter than the white. We used Polar Bear on all the baseboards in our home.

installation

This was the fun part because it meant that I was almost done and I was super excited to see it all put together.

There are so many closet systems to choose from and I spent a long time looking and comparing what each system offered. Since space was my biggest issue I had to say no to quite a few systems I really loved. I also kept it practical. This isn’t our forever home so I didn’t want to invest but I also didn’t want to put something cheap in.

I ended up going with ClosetMaid’s Selectives 25in. White Custom Closet Organizer. It had a 4.2 out of 5 star review and the best part…..IT WAS ONLY $89!!! This is a total steal with how expensive every other closet system was and you can find it here. This was my top pick because of how much shelving there was and there being three rods.

I also switched out the light fixture and went with an LED light. I have this one in my office downstairs and loved how bright it made that small space feel.

the reveal: 

For what I was working with, it turned out pretty amazing. I didn’t realize how much clothing I had until putting everything back and took that as the perfect opportunity to really clean out my closet. I’m selling all my stuff on Poshmark and you can find my profile here if you want to check my items out!

Having the three separate bars has helped actually see all that I have. I have my dresses and long cardigans on one, all of my long sleeves and sweaters on another, and all my tanks and short sleeve tees on the third. I don’t feel like everything is crammed in the corners either. I can also display some of my favorite shoes which is really nice!

The bins you see  below are also full of clothes. I use these bins from Pottery Barn and they are very spacious (10″ wide x 14″ deep x 10.5″ high). They’re $52 for two, which is a little on the pricey side but I wanted bins that were super sturdy, had a lid, I could easily relabel, and I could move to any room in the house. I have these in Ky’s closet and am getting them for Laken’s as well.

Here are some other great alternatives to the bins I have.

Something else that I love is that I can now use my own pieces as display pieces. Eventually I hope to add more splurged items to display and to remind myself how far I’ve come with all this. (Day dreaming big time here haha)

 

Closet Hacks

Hacks in general are so nice but closet hacks and small space hacks are my absolute favorite. I used quite a few simple hacks when redoing my closet.

Giving the closet a fresh coat of paint: This helps tremendously in a small space. If it’s a place with very limited lighting I always recommend going with a  lighter color. Not only does it give the feel of more space but it also gives you a fresh start in that space!

Switch Light bulbs or the light fixture: This is something that I didn’t think of. I was so accustom to the lights in our home that I never thought of them as yellow. I recommend switching to daylight lightbulbs. This gives everything more of a ‘white’ look that brightens up a room like crazy!

Making sure everything has a place: This is goal for my home in general but it helps so much in a closet. If something doesn’t have a place it’s usually a sign it doesn’t belong.

Put items where they belong: This is pretty much what I talk about above in making sure everything has a place but it’s something that I think we (def myself) need to think twice about where putting things. Coats belong in a coat closet. If you have one take full advantage of that space and store what is meant to be in there! Linen closest are meant for linens. It keeps things simple, clean, and everything is organized.

Color code: The best and easiest hack by far. It’s easier to find things this way. It keeps all your clothes organized and keeps you from having to go form one side to the other looking for a single item.

Using your own items as display pieces: Is this actually a hack? Yes, duh! Display items that you love and want to know are there. Display your favorite pair of shoes or your favorite hand bag! I have a bunch of chunky scarves that I love so I took advantage of them and displayed them as my pop of color! I also took a bin that is full of clothes, placed it in the corner, and put my cowboy boots on them! I don’t wear those shoes a lot but I love them and don’t want them hidden and sitting in a box.

Sticking with calming colors: I know I’ve said this before in this post and in my Instagram stories, but sticking with lighter colors keep you inspired. I have yet to find myself walking into my closet and saying I have nothing to wear. Staying with the color palette that I chose has really helped with keeping me calm when getting ready in the mornings, too.

Using cloth bins: I clearly took this hack up. Not only does it make things look cleaner but they right away make you look more organized!! There is one cloth bin full of jeans, swimsuits, workout wear, belts/hats/leggings, maternity clothes, and other stuff. Right now the bin holding jeans will be switched out with the shorts on display once it gets cooler out.

Using the same type of hanger: This definitely isn’t something that is needed but I promise it will make a big change! I have used black hangers my whole life. I’d get the $2 pack at Wal-Mart or Target and was perfectly fine with it. I made the switch to black velvet hangers a month or so ago because I noticed the plastic hangers were taking up more space. From the images you can’t really tell but the plastic hangers are taking up an inch more in space! I ended up getting these velvet hangers from Amazon and will never go back to plastic. They look more clean and they hold up every type of material which is a huge plus!

 

I’d love to hear some of your favorite closet hacks!

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xx-Kendra