Hello and welcome!
While trying to come up with a name for this website, I knew one thing it had to do (after being an available domain…that was harder than I thought it would be!!). I wanted a name that would evoke a feeling, the feeling we get when we walk into a calm, clutter-free space. I don’t think I will ever tire of walking into my home when the things inside it are in their proper places. I can simply enjoy the feeling of being in a space without too many items calling for my attention, whether that means upkeep, cleaning, maintenance or shuffling them around because they lack a space of their own.
Like the expression my grandmother used, “A place for everything and everything in its place.”
So how do we go about finding a place for everything? Judging by many home makeover shows, that way is to create more storage. And sometimes that is absolutely necessary, especially if you live in an older home. We previously lived in a home built in 1918 that did not have a single closet on the first floor. Not one, until we built a small closet in the downstairs bathroom. Our current house was originally built in the 1940’s, and boasted a 30” wide hall closet before the previous owners renovated.
How did those early homeowners exist with such inadequate storage? Simply with less stuff. There was no room for dozens of scarves in every color, multiple sweatshirts and jackets for every day of the week.
So let’s do it! Head over to your entryway mud room/hall closet/coat rack and evaluate your current outerwear.
- Did you wear all those scarves last winter?
- Have your boots seen better days?
- Do all of the gloves have their matches? How many pairs do you really need? Living in New England, I have three…one leather, one fingerless pair and one for snow removal and building snowmen with my kids (although my preferred hand warmer for snowy days is a mug of hot coffee or cocoa!). I consider my ski gloves a special item that I organize differently, more on sports equipment storage later!)
- Coats…this can get tricky, depending on your region. Raincoats, trenches, warm but lighter weight coats, down jackets and coats, fleece. They are bulky and they add up. Consider putting less-used coats in your regular closet. Use coatracks for everyday outerwear while keeping the rest in a hall closet of you have one available.
- If you have a closet door, utilize that space however works best for you and your budget. It can be as simple as an over the door organizer with clear pockets…these can hold hats, gloves, small umbrellas, pet leashes. In the summer you can use the space to store sunscreen, bug spray and other small essentials. In the summer we put a bin of winter gear on a high shelf and use that freed up space for summer camp items for the kids.
- If you have the budget, the Elfa over door system from The Container Store may be a good option for baskets inside a closet door. This is a great option for older, narrow closets.
- A shoe organizer doesn’t just have to be for shoes! Pinterest has great ideas for turning IKEA shoe organizers into multi-purpose storage. A hanging vertical shoe rack in a closet can hold rolled up scarves.
This is a great time to be especially thoughtful with your purged items, if yours is an area that sees colder temperatures please consider finding a local charity that collects coats, hats, boots and scarves for those in need.
Looking for more organization ideas, or are you in the Fairfield, CT area? Go to minimalisbliss.com for blog posts or to schedule a free in-home consultation.