{ and three years later... }

We have shelves in our master closet!

This was one of those projects.

You know what I mean -- the kind you always plan on doing, but it takes a gigantic kick in the rear to actually get moving -- right? (or maybe I'm the only one that procrastinates like that...)

Before we bought our condo, um, THREE years ago, we knew we wanted to add more storage.  But, in between babies, and moving every year, it just wasn't a priority.  Well, when we had our second little bundle of joy this summer, adding storage got shoved right up to the top of the list.  We have a three bedroom home, and I wanted our kids to have their own rooms right now so they don't wake each other up and maybe because I wanted to decorate them for each kid.  Maybe. 

Anyway, Broox's room has been a junk room of sorts...okay, that's a total lie.  It's been an absolute DISASTER.  We always kept that door closed because it was overflowing with crap.  We'd clean it out about, oh, once a year, and it would stay that way for maybe a week.  Then it got buried again.  Awesome. 

So, we knew it. Was. Time.

With my hubs being home so much now, we decided to tackle it.  (and by "we", I mean, I told him what I wanted, and he built it for me :)

Here was our closet before:

One shelf all the way around the top of the closet.

I had one of those canvas shoe hangers from Wal-mart, but even still...

 the floor usually looked like this.

 I didn't get a shot of hubby's side, but it was pretty similar.  Clearly, shoe cubbies were a must.  As were additional shelves.

This was before we painted.  We were so exited to get organized and not have our clothes strewn all over our room that we put half of our stuff back up and painted the closet it halves.  Note to self: next time, be a little more patient and paint beforehand.  Man, those cubbies were a ridiculous pain!

 Broox's closet was STUFFED wtih boxes.  We still have to go through them (again), but for now, we decided to just move them into our room so we can get his room set up as quickly as possible.  This is only a fraction of the stuff we moved out of here...how embarassing.  :)

 Moving the storage stuff in.

 Shoe cubbies! Love, love, LOVE them!  I actually put my shoes away now!  Something my hubs is particuarly excited about...haha!

 Plus two extra shelves!  Perfect for storing Christmas presents, Christmas trees...etc. :)

 My Mister's side -- he organizes his clothes by color/style because I get all stressed out if it's not that way -- It doesn't bother him one bit if they are all mixed together.  I get hives just thinking about it.  Sweet guy to do that for me. :) 

 I think I may be completely a teensy bit obsessed with organization...

{sigh} Love it!

It feels soooo good to have this project done!  Plus, it means we are one step closer to getting to Broox's room -- which is SUPER exciting to me.  I just love being able to check projects like this off our list -- especially because then we can move on to the more fun ones.  It is amazing how much more storage we have now, and it doesn't make our closet feel any smaller at all -- just utilizing the space better.  And, we have been hanging shelves in other rooms of our house like crazy, so we will have plenty of room to grow for the next little while.  I love it!

Do you have any projects like this -- that you dread doing, and then once it's done, you could not be happier?  What are your storage secrets?  I love finding new ways to make the most of our space! Share your ideas with me, I'd love to hear them!