i LOVE organizing

i love organizing...i mean i love it truly, whether it is organizing my own stuff or someone else's. i think it is therapeutic for me, a way of creating order, pacifying my inner (or boisterous, as my hubby would say) ocd-ness. my ocd tendencies have calmed down some since ella was born; for my own sanity, i had to learn that some things can be let go and don't have to be done right when i think they should. anyway, i realize now, weeks later, that the complete re-organization of the kitchen, hall closet, and laundry room most likely was me unconsciously dealing with the beginning of sophia's weaning (see post here), however it needed to be done and it was fun!!! originally i started out planning to just do the hall closet. it is our only hall closet and since we moved in about a year ago (when sophia was 2 weeks old!), it became just a catchall. however, the more i did in the closet the more i had to change in the kitchen, and then the more i had to change in the laundry room...so you see where this snowball was headed. my poor hubby was out of town when all this happened so he had to relearn where things were! i didn't do a great job with the before pics because, well, i forgot until had already started. so just imagine it a whole lot worse and all the things that are on the door hanger were on the shelves in the closet.
a few of my organizing guidelines--if you don't use it, you most likely won't (there are some exceptions like serving ware that is only used at certain times); put similar things together and easy to find; i love using baskets, trays, etc.---hobby lobby, ross, michaels and the dollar store are great places to find them; no junk drawers/cabinets; put things where you use them; if possible label baskets/boxes especially if you cannot see in them without opening; remember organizing is a process that has to be repeated every once in a while due to life changes/children ages/stages, etc; even if you don't have time to clean, always straighten; if you get it out, put it back where it belongs; and then there is my gut feeling about how things fit together, where they should go in the house, etc which is hard to explain. i got the door hanger idea from decorology  and purchased the actual hanger from chef's. i love that you can put the baskets where you need them based on your items. i have some of my favorite ideas on my pinterest board, i love organizing.
so here are the pics and i will post the kitchen and laundry pics soon! i'm not that good at the picture posting part so bear with me (O:



before

after!

on this shelf i put my fall door decoration and my extra flower containers with some decorative crosses that i haven't decided where to put yet and a crystal punch bowl.

these middle shelves worked out great! i had some extra wrapping paper that was too short for the door as well as the plastic rings that hold the wrapping paper together. i love my "j" tote! it holds all of the gifts i have on hand. on the right side of that shelf had a perfect liquor box that was holding all the extra gift bags. it works so well holding them that i decided to keep it for now until i can find something cuter. on top of that box is a bag of white tissue paper and several smaller pieces of bubble wrap. i put the gift boxes, flattened, between the gift bag box and the wall.



the next shelf is mostly craft items. the right side basket holds all the watercolor paints, faux finish notes, paint brushes, charcoal, colored pencils, etc. the stack of papers in the middle is actually christmas cards put together by years with binder rings. i forgot to put them with our christmas books last christmas so those will go in that box this year--and that means even more room in the closet! on the left side i had an extra decorative tray so i am using that to hold my glue gun, yarn, cardboard rolls and then a few flat rate usps boxes underneath. the advocare product section didn't change much; i already had it organized with like products together.

 this next to last shelf was pretty important because it holds things that my 4 year old needs to get to by herself. it needed to be organized by grouping like things together and also by using baskets. the wipes boxes aren't that cute but they are doing a great job holding puzzle pieces and card games. i will either paint them or get something cuter one day. obviously the games/puzzles are on the right. on the left side, i have a basket full of bubbles, another basket filled with sidewalk chalk, and yet another basket for play dough. so far the items are easy for ella to get and also for her to put them back where they belong!

the very bottom "shelf" which is the floor has 2 boxes, each labeled with decorations for easter and valentines. the boxes made a great ledge for the drawing paper holder.

and last but not least, the piece that inspired it all!!! the wrapping station door hanger! i didn't realize how much wrapping paper i had until i had to put it all in this basket! i used a piece of ribbon to secure the top part of the paper so it wouldn't fall over. in front of the wrapping paper in the basket, i put the colored/designed tissue paper. the next basket holds acrylic paint and a small dollar store basket with more paint, a hole puncher, and glue. the 2 above that hold all of my ribbon. the top shelf has christmas bows and extra popsicle sticks.

i had so much fun organizing the hall closet, finally! it took a few days since i could only work on it when the girls were preoccupied with playing or when they were napping. but i think it turned out great! you made it to the end of this post, woohoo! it was alot longer than i thought it would be!