Family Closet

So... with all the people in our family we have so much laundry. It is an all day everyday event. Plus, with little kids, trying to let them be independent  is just a disaster. They aren't really tall enough to reach any of the clothes and when they try, they just knock everything into the closet floor. 90% of the time I wind up getting their clothes for them to avoid the mess, or I have to go back in later and clean it up. I had read several blogs on organizing and decluttering and had seen "the family closet"several times. Most people do this in their large laundry room or basement, or devote a whole room to it. Well, my laundry area, doesn't even qualify as a room. It is in a hallway behind bi fold doors. There is enough room for the appliances but nothing else(it is the one feature of our house I would change). Since we are already short on space, dedicating a whole room to it is obviously NOT an option. However, the closet in our master bedroom is rather large and already had all the shelving and hanging space installed so I thought it would work perfectly. So today I did it. I forgot to start taking picture before I started so I got my closet about half way switched over before I took a pic, but still good enough for you to get the point. I started in our closet, which was like half closet half church office supplies.

<Kevin's side
 My side after I started>
Random church supplies and Shoes

 



 



So I switched all of my stuff over with Kevin's. It made that side a little less spacious but we will live. Then I started going through the kids closets. I figured while I was at it I may as well purge a little junk. Our kids have a lot of clothes from hand-me-downs so I limited how much they had. I do this about once a month anyways, it was time. Then I started moving the small dressers and kids stuff into our closet. I am so pleased with the results, and I did a load of laundry and took the basket up to the closet. I was able to do everything, fold, sort, hang all in one place!! It was so great and saved me at least 10-15 minutes of making trip up and down the stairs!

 

                                                                                                                                              

 

^^Messy Kids Closets Before^^

 

 

 

 

                                               ^^ Finished product^^
Well, After I took the picture I added labels to the kids drawers so we would all know what was in them. Other than that that is what it looks like. Now the kids' closets can be used for toy storage or something else, and I don't constantly have a huge mess to worry about! :) It may be just a phase but for now I like it and if it makes doing laundry easier then it's a bonus!