Creating a "Kids Closet"

For months, I've been wanting to give the kids an organized place for their schoolwork, craft supplies and outdoor gear.  What I really wanted was a drop zone for coats, shoes and backpacks, but my house doesn't really have a good place for that, unless I buy a giant entryway system from Pottery Barn.  As much as I would love to spend that kind of money freely, it just isn't in the budget!

I tried using the shelves in our coat closet for the kids, but as they get bigger and have different needs, they've started to outgrow the space.

The kids' crafts, etc "before"

There's a weird little closet in the back hall by our garage door that I've always used for extra kitchen storage.  That's where I've stored my china, wine glasses and large serving pieces for parties.

Until now.

What I didn't realize is that I have a lot more space in my kitchen cabinets since decluttering and donating so much last year. Last week, I was motivated to weed through even more to sell/donate and make my storage spaces more useful.

I began by moving the china and some larger serving pieces to the china cabinet that I bought from my mom.

This is version 1 (of probably 8 or 10) of how this cabinet will look before I'm happy with it!

Then I relocated rarely used wine glasses to the kitchen, where they should have been all along.

This top shelf was actually empty, since Jason stopped drinking bottles.  The perfect spare-glass spot!

While I was at it, I decided to just empty both closets and start with a clean slate.

(This is the same closet pictured above.)

The random kitchen-overflow closet

That was a messy decision...

(no turning back now...)

The whole transformation only took a couple of hours and I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

Top of the new "kids closet"

Bottom of the "kids closet"

The old hall coat closet BEFORE (it was fairly organized, when it was straightened up)

AFTER - the shelves in the updated coat closet (the coats are on the left side, behind the sliding door)

I wanted to have the kids' shoes and socks in their new closet, but couldn't fit the shoe shelves on the floor.  While I was at the Dollar Store with them (choosing their toy for our 25 Days of Christmas) I found some coordinating bins that were perfect.  The sock bins needed to squeeze in at an angle, but the shoe bins (behind) are fit great.  And each child has their own color bins, so no one gets confused.  Often, identical colors look best, but with hurried kids searching for shoes and socks, I thought personalized colors were more appropriate this time.

I've also wanted a new "drop zone" for my purse, coupons, unopened mail, etc.  A few weeks ago, I moved everything to the laundry room, but decided to clear a shelf in the coat closet so I could have my folding counter back. 

Before - in the laundry room

After - in the coat closet

The last thing I did was make sure the labels were up to date.  I used to have swimsuits and sunglasses in the baskets for the kids, but those are pretty useless to them in December, so I rotated in hats and gloves, flipped over the tag and relabeled the bins.  Cute, huh?

One side of the tag

The opposite side of the tag!

The craft bins have always been labeled, which helps things get put back in the right spot. (ish)

I like how the kids closet turned out!  Everyone's getting used to the new system and I love the clean look.