Getting Organized In the Shaffer Home

As you may or may not know, organizing is a MAJOR hobby of mine. It brings me great joy to have the order and balance that comes with organized spaces. This week I decided to give my mom the gift of an organized sewing closet. It has been a door that is never opened unless you really need something and when you get what you need you throw everything back in and quickly shut the door (much like you would an overly full suitcase that you have to sit on to shut it.

If you have a sewing closet that fits a similar description, you should get started on putting the function back into your closet. I took some empty cardboard boxes and cut them up to the same size (about 11" square pieces). Once I got enough pieces cut, I began wrapping my fabric around the cardboard until I was done. We've done similar to this with magazine boards at our homes, but it isn't essential and I just wanted to get it done that day.

When Samson got home I got him busy making shelves to build directly on the closet walls. We used particle board (the actual shelf) and 2"x2" boards (the support- on 3 sides) to put the shelves in. We started putting the shelves in 18" from the ground so that there was plenty of room for a tote or two to slide in. From that shelf we made a 12" spacing until we were out of space. When cutting the boards, we made them 1/2" smaller than the width of the wall so that we could actually slide the boards in. The depth we made so that there was some space to put a large cutting mat or an ironing board in the closet.

After we got the shelves cut, sanded, dusted off, and in the closet I was able to start filling them with the fabric I had wrapped. It's incredible how something can take up so much space until it's neatly put away. Once I got the kids to bed I continued working on the closet. My mom had all these really nifty clear containers and they were already roughly sorted. The only change I made was to add to the collection and then individually bag each type of thing. For example in my sewing tool tote, I have buttons, elastic, and zippers. Each of these has their own zip-lock bag so they're not jumbled everywhere.

It makes me so happy to see this. Now every time I walk down the hall I stop to look in. It's crazy how a little bit of order can bring peace to my soul. Happy late Mother's Day, Mom. So if you're wondering what I'm up to this week, I'm taking one of my talents and blessing my family. I'd love to hear if you have any helpful tips to get organized.