Organizing closets

So do you get overwhelmed at the thought of organizing your hall closet? It is easier just to shove it in, and close the door quickly! I have found and gathered some organizing tips that make my closet easier to look into, find what I need and NOT slam the door! Some of these ideas have come from magazines, MOPS speakers, and I don't know where else...   I read about rolling your towels saving space, and thought "oh, that's not gonna help too much..." and guess what? It did! So, that is what I do on my top shelf. My mom even helped me turn them all the same way and it looks even neater! (Thanks, Mom!)

Top shelves

The next shelves are full of medicines, first aid kit, natural oils, infant care, etc., It used to be all thrown into one or two large bins, and it was hard to find anything. Some of you may have this under your bathroom sink. I caution you, if you have ANY children around, to PLEASE put your medicines up high where they cannot reach them! These bins (below) we found at Wal-mart for a few dollars each and then we organized our medicines/ health items into these 8 smaller bins. Now when I need allergy/ cold medicine, I can just grab that bin and take out what I need. It is so much handier than rummaging through the whole closet! Especially when there are a child's tears involved! I have an infant care bin, which has the gas drops, the green bulb syringe, infants saline, baby vapo-rub, etc., It is nice to have it altogether. The above photo shows the miscellaneous stuff that just will not fit in the smaller bins. It has the economy size ibuprofen, tylenol, ace bandages, prescription med's (not older than one year), and other various items that just have no home! Next to it on the shelf is the hydrogen peroxide, epson salts, rice warmers, and other big items. The RED bin there (below) is the FIRST AID kit, which is very important. It must remain on top and be easy to grab. Since ours is a cloth version you can clip onto your belt, it is easy to see and use! Everyone in the house knows which bin is the first aid kit and can find & grab it quickly for me in case of an emergency!

Middle shelves

You will see my sheets and mattress pads on the middle shelves. What I have done with my sheet sets is very handy. I took my sheets- top flat sheet, and fitted sheet, folded them the best I could (that fitted one is never easy for me!) and then placed them IN the matching pillowcase. If you have more than one pillowcase, put that inside there as well. Then the set is altogether, easy to grab it and replace the sheets. Now I have a bed-wetter, and have been known to replace the sheets in the middle of the night, but not usually. I just grab a rolled towel at 3:30 a.m., and put it on top of the wet area, and go back to bed. The sheets get replaced during the next day! There are crib/ toddler bed sheets and mattress pads on the left, and extra pillowcases in the middle. Some of you may think this still looks disorganized to you, but it is MUCH better than it ever was before! Trust me! I never would have taken photos of my closet shelves before our old house was for sale. I think that is what spurred me to do this work. There were going to be strangers looking into my closet! I wanted it to look nice and roomy! And since our new hall closet in this house is even smaller, I had to use the space well and be organized!

Bottom 

On the bottom, I have an extra vaporizer, and on top of that is a bag full of beach towels, which are- you guessed it- rolled up in the bag! It really does save space! (There is a shelf under that blue flannel cloud set and pink flannel sheet set! :-D)

The best part about this closet organization? It is easy to keep up and I don't need to re-organize this closet often, because it stays pretty nice and neat! Hope these tips help you. Let me know if you have anything to add!

AND, my favorite organizing tool of all... my handy-dandy labeler! I love it! My hubby gave it to me for Mother's Day many years ago, and I have used it a ton. You can put labels on your file folders so they are easy to read, on your medicine boxes in the closet, on bins in kids' bedrooms, on nearly anything! I have a Dymo Letra-Tag labeler, and I can buy lots of different colored cartridges for it, including silver paper, iron-on paper, and white paper of course. My labeler has helped me a lot! If you don't have one, I highly recommend it!

 I hope this helps you be motivated to tackle your closet- even if it is for just 15 minutes at a time, it makes a big difference!