Hall Closet De-clutter

Their hall closet is an essential center for this young family's busy life. Two small children and two working parents use it many times a day. It holds their linens, games, toiletries, and lots of fun craft supplies that keep the kids creatively entertained.

Only after we cleared off one shelf for re-organizing did I realize I forgot the "before" photo. The other shelves give you a good idea of the chaos they faced when they opened the doors.

We tackled the most critical shelf first: that cleared-off one that held first aid supplies and toiletries. After tossing the expired or the why-did-I-buy-that-I-never-used-it items, we put like with like. First aid items in one bin, body care in another. A bin with "grab and go" items for a trip to the park - wet wipes, sunblock, etc. - was placed front and center for easy access. Now there is even room to store little used or seasonal items behind the bins.

Then we sorted linens, eliminating tired towels and no longer needed crib sheets and saving three sheet sets per bed (with limited storage I recommend having only two). We tucked them into their pillow cases and stacked it all neatly. Read more about this here. 

The final bit was the two jumbled shelves of craft supplies. Now there is one shelf for the mom's crafts and one for the kids. Each child has their own bin for finished projects and materials are easier to find... and to put away!

Total time: 90 minutes which included moving items to other like-with-like storage areas in the house.