Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Going Into The Closet

Even if you've only been following my blog or twitter a short time, you have likely noticed I've got a preoccupation with chaotic closets...and trying to rebuild order.  My house is not normally a place of clutter, but for the past 6 months or more I have found myself in state of disarray with clothing and shoes piled up all over the place.  It actually started to hinder my ability to think clearly and I felt a little depressed, so as my birthday approached I made a commitment to myself to pull it together and regain a well-kept space.

Off my dining room is a narrow walk-in closet that beckoned to me in the night, "I will house your clothing in an orderly fashion kind woman.  If you build it, I will store."  Apparently it must have been whispering to the Chef too because he showed up here a couple weeks ago with a rad closet organizer that saved my life.  Last week I said sayonara to a year of my life and a bunch of clutter, too.  Yippee!!  My clean house is back...and it all started with this closet.

You don't have to be kind.  It was a hot mess.
Can you say clutter?
Don't worry I'll say it for you. 
But now look!!!   
What was that?  You want a close up??  Me too!!
To the left is a wardrobe/shelving unit that holds 
hanging items, boxes of boots...
and some of my most favorite folded cashmere.
 On the right are personalized hooks I found at Anthropologie.
They're perfect for holding bags, belts, and scarves.  
I love to see my initials hanging on the wall when I walk in.  Cool!
 The upper part of the back of the closet was the perfect
place to install a hangbar for coats and jackets. 
They were taking up so much space squishing blouses, dresses
and other fine articles of clothing.  Now I can shop my closets!
Below them is shelving that is ideal for storing shoes.
It doesn't hold all of my shoes, but at least it holds several
pairs of my favorites and creates more order in the other closets.
Here's the space behind the door.  
There's still room for more shelves higher up to hold 
additional pairs of shoes.  I want to use as much of the space as wisely
as possible - without overcrowding it.
Here's the view out of the closet.  
It gives a sense of how deep the space really is. 
I picked up a couple of these rugs at Ikea.  
Today I actually laid down on them right inside the closet.
It's my new happy place.

For months I've looked at fancy closets far and wide and wished I could figure something out in my own space.  One day it dawned on me...uh, Carrie - you're not Olivia Palermo (or anyone else who has a big ol' space for a big ol' closet).  Fortunately (at least a little anyway) I don't have her wardrobe to house either.  All it took was the willpower to get rid of a bunch of things and re-organize the stuff that was remaining in order to clear this walk-in and regain a sense of order. It also took a boyfriend who shopped Home Depot's aisles like a pro to get the best configuration possible for the limited space I have to work with.  Thank-you again Chef.  I owe you big time!!

I've never had a nice closet like this - at least it's a big deal to me - and I wanted to share it with all of you to encourage you to reconsider an area you might have that could be waiting for you to use it in a new way.  I was so overwhelmed with stuff that I couldn't think straight.  A good purge and a reasonably priced closet organizer later, I'm feeling so much better. 

Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation?  Are you ever tempted to just throw it all away and start fresh?

P.S. Don't forget to enter the CSN Giveaway!!  Goes til Wednesday at 11:59 PST.

84 comments:

Anonymous said...

Look at this amazingness you've created! I love it. And I'd lay down in it, too.

To answer your question: http://isitfridayyet.org/

this free bird said...

Katie I seriously want to live in it. No jokes. I go in there several times a day and stand there, sit there or lay down on the floor!!

Anonymous said...

Willpower! I know that is the magic word. I need it, please send some over! We're moving house soon and now is THE ideal time to get rid of things but arrrgh it's so hard! Your closet is looking verrrrry nice, I like it!

Miles Of Style said...

wow! i love your closet transformation! everything looks so neat and well kept!

persis.
http://onestylemile.blogspot.com/

annelise said...

Bless the chef's little cotton socks! What a sweetheart. I agree, nothing better than a good clean out. (I, unfortunately, am running so low on clothes, I have nothing to clean out. My problem is at the other end of the spectrum!)

Sounds like you had a wonderful birthday, happy (belated) birthday!

Have just realised I am not following you on either your blog or Twitter. I shall remedy that immediately.

Sher said...

Wow, everything looks so tidy and fresh and neat now! Hooray for a "new" closet! I wish I could say the same for mine:P

xx

Diana Mieczan said...

You did so well...!!!..I am so impressed by how it looks...I often find myself thinking about getting rid of everything and start all fresh but then I look at all my stuff and I am like....no...hahahah...Really love what you did...
Kisses, my lovely and have a great last day of August

Collette Osuna said...

You go girl!!! Your closet looks fab.....and is not hard for things to get out of control like in the first few shots.....it happens to everyone...but NOW? it looks great...and soooo organized!! I bought some Anthro knobs....just waiting for BF to put them on wood pieces to hang my jewelry on:)

k said...

Oh myyyyy lady, it's AMAZING!!! you guys did such a good job. good thing the closet whispered to you.
i'm doing a'ight. marks family is visiting.... ........................
so uh....i've been busy entertaining. having them is great but is unbalanced by my incredibly disorderly house now and slight stress of entertaining/making dinners. i better go or i'll keep ranting.
bye!

Laura said...

umm.. yes carrie, clutter central in that closet.. but AMAZING RECOVERY! haha.. that looks so so so awesome. i'm super impressed. :) wanna come organize ours now?

Georgia said...

I hate you :@ I am so jealous. All i have is a crappy wardrobe with no space and a pile of shoes in the bottom. :'(

xxxx

Anonymous said...

My problem is that I moved from a very large house to a very small one and there's not enough space for everything.I've got rid of a number of things I didn't need or didn't used anymore, but all the rest are books and prototypes i need for work. If I had more time I know i could get everything organized, but right now...i don't even sleep!!!

bobbi

Nicki said...

great job! i love the personalized hooks, btw. yes, i've definitely felt like throwing my entire wardrobe away and starting fresh. however, i know i would be in major debt if i actually did so! but when i do feel that way, i like to experiment with my clothes to come up with new outfits and combinations!

Roxy Te said...

Bravo Carrie! I did the same this weekend! Should've taken a picture for my weekend recap, it was hilarious. The contents of my {fashion} life were scattered to all ends of my room, mostly in heaps on my bed. Not having time to finish before the tailgate I arrived home after many drinks and straight passed out on marc, zara, forev, james, louis, and the like hahaha

DT ~ RDH said...

It doubles as a napping space!
Great job! I also recently cleared out an underthestairs closet and lugged out about five hundred pounds of... ??? just stuff! Goodwill got most of it. Even though I was able to close that closet door before the big cleanup job, it always bothered me. I feel like I can breathe better now. :]

S said...

Girl friend, you describe the story of my life! Good ole Chef..well done on reworking the space, it looks terrific! x

Kristen said...

this is so awesome! I love the closet photo shoot. That would be my new happy place too if I were you!

Lilacandgrey said...

looks GREAT!
PS. thanks for the e-mail :) :)
PPS. Having a CSN giveaway too, come check it out!

Lisa - respect the shoes said...

That is a an awesome job you and your honey did with what would normally be a random hallway closet.

And the Ikea rug kind of gives it a luxe-look touch - did you want to lay in that whole bin of sheepskins in the store?

Carla said...

Wow! What a change and improvement! It looks so great, just like in the magazines! Congratulations! I would love to have a closet like that. Here in Germany, where I live, we don't have build in closets.

danielle (elleinadspir) said...

I love it! I think getting dressed in an organized closet is a peaceful way to start your day. I love, love, love reorganization!! My one closet tip, hanging shoe organizer for jeans http://tiny.cc/zq19f. It saves my closet!!

Anonymous said...

Carrie, for all of those who says size matters... you proved them wrong! ha! It's what you DID with the space. The best part is the rug!! I want one for my closet now! Oh, I totally want to see the alien pic. If you aren't going to post email it to me! xo

Closet Fashionista said...

Oooh! It looks great!!! I wish my closet was like that, haha :D
http://aclosetfashionista.blogspot.com/

Lynzy said...

OK, I am seriously impressed. Do you want to redo my walk in closet?!? Pretty please??? :)

xo Lynzy
http://fromskirtstoskillets.blogspot.com

erica said...

Closet looks fabulous! I really need to organize all of my closets here. Between my clothes, shoes and handbags (you know I have a lot) and the boys clothes plus his work stuff it's clutter in the closets and really i have no idea how to tame it... at all.

xo

MerciBlahBlah said...

First of all, happy belated bday, mamathita. I am tho thorry I missed it. Thecondly (I have dethided to type in lithp today), your clothet it THUPER. Tho thweet! Thirdly, I am heading to thign up for the THEEE-ETTTTH-NNNNN contetht potht hathte.

Did any of that make senthe?

Merthi,
Shannan

AGNES STYLE said...

Wow, your wardrobe is amazing! I'm so jealous now=). The rug looks so comfortable haha!

www.agnesstyle.blogspot.com

Natalie said...

that had to have been a massive undertaking, bravo!

Chloë, Wardrobe Quarry said...

I love it! It looks amazing! So jealous.

PursuitOfLLT said...

ugh I felt like I was drowning in my cluttered mess too. Plus the fact that I moved from a place with unlimited storage to one where I had to get smart and strategically place everything!

You've done a fabulous job and it looks so calm and organized!

Daniela said...

looks great!!!

Annie said...

nice work!!!
Thank you for your sweet comment yesterday :)

Stacey said...

Well done! Now it'a all "feng shuied" out! xx

Nikki said...

WOW it looks amazing!!!! You really created a serene little space out of a closet! I love it! I also love how you keep your boots in their box and stack them neatly. I wish I had done that because now I have 15 pairs of standing boots in my closet that fall every time I breathe.
Great job!

xx
Nikki

Mary @Delightful Bitefuls said...

YAY! It looks soooo great! I love organizing... isn't it the BEST! So fresh and wonderful! Love what you've done!

Mary xo
Delightful Bitefuls

Jessica said...

It's amazing what you can do with what you thought was a small space! I need this done at our house. I have wayyy too many clothes for the small amount of closet space that we have. The rug looks so soft, no wonder it's your happy place!

Valerie said...

Wow, this is totally inspiring me to go home and organize my closet. Right after I watch Bachelor Pad and take a long nap. haha. No, but really. I'm going to do some organizing this weekend. My closet reminds me of your "before" pictures. I want to feel the serenity that comes with your "after" pics. Very good job, Carrie.

xo
Valerie

Josie said...

Carrie! It looks amazing. It looks so big and clean and very, very chic -- I love the hooks and rug! I would kill to have a closet in my dorm. Well. Not really, but I'd twist someone's arm really hard.
xo Josie
http://winksmilestyle.blogspot.com

THE ALTERNATIVE WIFE said...

I love it!!! It's perfect. I'm seriously envious. I have such an issue with my closets. I have afew walk ins but they're seriously cluttered and not user friendly. You've encouraged me to toss and start anew! :)

La_Flaneuse said...

Whoa! I am totally inspired! I think I'll do a before and after of my office! Great job! All the hard work was worth it!

Bubbs...
www.paris-on-my-mind.blogspot.com

essentially aimee said...

goodness i LOVE it!

Abby said...

yes! I recently had a cleaning frenzy to prepare myself for school, and I got rid of so much random junk sitting in my drawers. Including some really weird stuff I kept when I was little... like tufts of rabbit fur. Or piece of wire. Or broken things. It felt so good afterwards!

Your closet looks great now!

Petite Gorgeous said...

I am in the process of cleaning out my closets, too! :) I feel like the days are too short cuz I need the extra hours.

Anonymous said...

So organized, consider me impressed!

Kate said...

VERY impressive!! I have to admit, my closet is a complete and utter disaster! It's shared with the fella, and everything is so jammed in there. This makes me want to organize! It's such a sweet little space, and I love the image of you just laying on your rug in the middle of your closet basking in all its organized glory! Haha, so cute!

Natalie @ Blossoming Visions said...

That is quite the transformation there! How can you go wrong with an organizer? They are heaven sent. Congrats to you and your new space. It's so freeing to throw out the clutter and start new.

Marie a la Mode said...

You did a great job! I love it. And the rug looks so soft! I am in the exact same position as you. I moved all my stuff in with my boyfriend's stuff and now we have all this STUFF in the basement in boxes and we NEED to get rid of some of it or else we'll never be able to see the carpet again! It's like, "Where do we even start?" I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed and he's gone for 2 weeks out of town. I'm tempted to start throwing things away : o

Anonymous said...

Girl, this is my crazy, anal, overly organized forte! You had me at hello! You need to run out and buy more of those cute little initial hanger thingies, hang them behind the door for your belts! Or possibly a clear shoe holder/organizer thingy to put jewelry in. I LOVE this kind of crap and I'm SO PROUD of you! It looks AMAZEBALLS!!!

Fé... said...

Wow, what a transformation.... I especially love how the mink carpet adds a touch of glamor! Great job indeed!

Unknown said...

Nice job! I'm super impressed. I need to do the same to my closet, it's a good walk-in closet and we just kind of have stuff all over the place in it. I love those anthro hooks - I bought some for my sis-in-law as part of her bridesmaid present. They're so classy!

alli/hooray said...

Carrie, this is so, so awesome. I love closet makeovers and get so excited over extra details like the ikea rugs you added. Enjoy the new space (and please come makeover my closets now!).

Kim Axani said...

Ahhhh I would kill for a walk in =) I have way too many clothes, I've resorted to stuffing them under my bed unfortunately.

Nadia said...

This is so great! Amazing job! This is our next home project and after seeing what you did, it doesn't feel so daunting anymore.

xo Nadia

STYLE'N said...

I know you didn't do this over the weekend right? or maybe you did and that's why you really needed recovery yesterday! I love it all...I am hiring you to come over to my place next.
naina

Blogs said...

I totally cleaned out my closet too:) but it doesn't look near as fab as yours...i love the rug...can't wait to buy one like:)

Lacey in the City said...

I love your new closet, and I'm so jealous!! In a good way, of course though! That rug looks like it could just beckon you in, and I really appreciate being organized like that as well. Kudos to you and The Chef!

kelli g. { bug miscellany } said...

omg, it looks great!!

i DEF need to divorce myself from some seriously old duds. it's just silly the way my closet looks now.

PhotoPuddle said...

What an amazing transformation and great use of space!
I've still no idea where to put my shoes and other bits and pieces when my daughter wants to actually use her wardrobe.

Laura said...

I think your closet looks awesome, I want one lol. So organised and stylish :)

L x
Half Dressed

shopgirl said...

Great job sweetie! Love the way it looks. I wish we had proper closets in Italy the way we do in North America.

xoxo

Jess said...

Oh yea - I've been eyeing those Anthropologie hooks for awhile. SO cute!!

Kerri said...

well look at you and those tidy closet pics!!! you've been busy!

Elle Sees said...

my closets were AWFUL. and then i was laid off from work for many months and had no choice. i can't believe i ever let them get that bad. never again!

Tina said...

What a transformation! And damn, that closet is nice and deep!! LOOOOOVE them hooks! Those would make me smile every time I saw them too :)

Louise (Fifth Sparrow) said...

Yay! That is such a great space! Plus, I'm obsessed with those rugs, so pretty AND comfy! Chef was such a sweetheart to plan it out for you! lucky lucky lady! xx

Unknown said...

There's something therapeutic about cleaning out the closet...that feeling of letting go of "extra baggage". Right now my closet is in complete disarray, wonder what that says about my life, hehe.

Style, She Wrote said...

Wow! What an amazing closet makeover! You did a fabulous job. Love the initial knobs and the furry rug. xo style, she wrote

Lori said...

I can see going in to visit it time and time again ~ don't you just love when something comes together and turns out as fantastic as this one did!!
You have not been over to enter my giveaway!!

Bring Pretty Back said...

I am so impressed! What a transformation! I can see why you go nto your closet and spend time in there! ( :
Have a pretty day!
Kristin

Punctuation Mark said...

Congrats on a job well done in that space...looks great and I'm loving your hunter boots event though i didnt see more than just the box

LyddieGal said...

Ahhhh an organized closet! I love the sight of such a thing. I dream of such a thing.
It will only happen for me when I somehow figure out how to get rid of half of everything I own and stop buying more OR get a closet 3x the size...

Chic on the Cheap

Marcie said...

Love this post! There is nothing better than cleaning out clutter spaces! I went through my closet this weekend and dumped two big trash bags full of clothes! It was a great cleanse.

I love what you did with the closet. That little rug is so great too!

xo M

heather said...

Oh my goodness! What a happy welcome back for me! LOL! I laughed when I saw that first picture of your new + improved closet, complete with a RUG! Those hooks are amazing too! Someday someday, I am going to do some major nesting, and it will include monogrammed hooks!

I love your new closet and glad you were able to slough off some of the extras. Clutter outside usually means clutter inside, so it's good to just gut it sometimes!

xoxox

Anna Walker said...

That;s amazing!!! I love love love that!! Don't we wish that we could all be organized 100% of the time?!

Mimi said...

wow, that is amazing! you did a gooood job! i love it! :D

<3, Mimi
http://whatmimiwrites.blogspot.com/

RedPoppy said...

Fabulous fabulous fabulous!! So well and elegantly done, you should interior decorate! Thank you for your amazing comments on my blog and for following, I look forward to reading more on thisfreebird xo

S.I.F. said...

Oh how I hate clutter! You've got it looking incredible though! And I just adore those hooks!

this free bird said...

yay!! thanks miss redpoppy!!

carolina @ patagonia gifts said...

wow Carrie! that's a complete transformation! congratulations. it requires a lot of willingness. but it's so good to see the result! thank you for your sweet comment! xo

DolceDreams said...

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!! great job!
Nathalie

Jamie said...

I know what a big project that was and you did an amazing job! I LOVE this closet. Having a pretty space for your fashion makes getting dressed that much more special. Love it!

http://www.glamlatte.com

PS. You are SO right. Long distance really DOES suck!!!

Anonymous said...

You are so inspiring!! I love your new organized space!!! Great job!!!!!!

o said...

Carrie, this is amazing! I'm definitely inspired:)

TheOwlsCloset.blogspot.com

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