Behind Closed Doors

In the past, things that are behind closed doors, drawers, closets....you know, those dark places that no one can see but you.  Well....we ALL have them, admit it.  That closet...that drawer....that cabinet...the off limits to guests places!  Those places have always been in the back of my mind and have sort of  really, really bothered me, but not enough to do anything about them.  Out of sight, out of mind kind of thing.  UNTIL...this summer.  This has been my summer for organizing Every. Single. Thing. that needed it.  It was mind boggling....I had to let stuff go....like that lotion you bought and never used and one year later you just can't seem to toss it? or that hair care product that has been there FOREVER.  That stuff expires you know?  But...in my mind...there was no expiration date on it, because I'd never used it!  I had to let it go.  It was a must happen thing to really get my organized space to a place that looked remotely visible for that snooping really caring guest/friend to check out.

To me...you gotta get the containers/shelving system to put your stuff on and in.   Don't get me wrong.....I did have containers that were like 100 10 years old.  Seriously.  Ten!  Yes, I had half cleaned them....but they looked horrible.  I decided to clear out the master bath and Hannah's bathroom.  After all, we now had Audrey Hepburn checking things out in her bathroom. 

So...here's what I did.  Just like the hoarding (omg and faint) shows do....you sort.  You must.  2 piles for me...I was either keeping it or trashing it.  No donations on this mess.  Someone would probably get some sort of horrible skin rash and then I'd really feel awful.  Our bathrooms are small....I don't have the elaborate double sink master bath and Hannah's bathroom is smaller (it better be).  For the Master bath I ended up buying 2 sets of stackable drawers.  Each had 3 drawers.  I gave hub the top 3 drawers and I had the bottom 3 drawers.  On the other side of the cabinet I placed stackable containers.  Top container was for all the lotions, powders, hair products and anything else that needed to be in the bathroom.  Bottom container held the blow dryers and flat irons.  I hate those cords!  They all fit nicely in the bottom container and the cords are all in their place now.  This freed up enough space to add a couple of baskets to hold stuff....makeup remover wipes....cotton balls.....q-tips....& brushes.  The back basket holds stuff I rarely use...makeup bags...traveling type containers for my personal stuff.  Nicely tucked away.  For my makeup...I added a very small 3 drawer container and I have my makeup tray on top of that.  Easy access every morning.

So?  You ready?  End result.  More space.  Totally organized.  I know where everything is down to where hub's razors should all go.  I really should label the drawers...Oh my!  Why haven't I thought of this before now?! 

Here's the pic of my master bathroom cabinet....what I could do with more room!?!  I'll have to settle though and make you realize that no matter how small the space...it can hold lots of stuff!


 
Here's my advertisement now.  Big Lots for the larger containers.  I can't remember the exact price...but I know me and I would not have spent over $10 for each container.  The maroon striped containers came from Dollar Tree...that's right...a pack of 4 of those for $1!  I purged a lot of stuff and as you can tell, I kept a lot of stuff...but I'm working on possibly another purge.  This is working nicely so far.

Next I moved on to Hannah's bathroom.  It still had stuff that the 2 older children had left behind.  Really disgusting.  I tossed everything.  I bought another 3 drawer container and a couple of stacking shelves.  It's a single cabinet, so not much space at all.  She has more brushes than a teenager has.  Even more flat irons and blow dryers.  I placed a basket I had on top of her 3 drawer container that held her lotions, powders and a few hair products.  So far....she keeps it fairly neat, but from time to time umm...everyday I give it a little clean up. 

Excuse the photo being red tinted.  I DO NOT KNOW WHY?  Hopefully, by tonight my genius son will be over here to figure this out!

Okay....being that a bought a 4 pack of fabric containers for a $1 I had 2 more to place S.O.M.E.W.H.E.R.E in the house.  Since I was in bathroom cleanup mode...I decided to carry the 2 containers into my tub area...we have a cabinet over our commode where I store towels and I was able to use those containers on the cabinet.  One container holds all my Mother Nature personal stuff and the other holds stuff I use after my shower...bath powders, lotions and deodorant.  Right there at my fingertips!  Especially since the sink area is not in this room.  Here's the pic!

Okay...so I'm done with my bathrooms but I couldn't let go.  I had one more cabinet that was a wreck.  The cabinet under my kitchen sink.  I purchased a under the kitchen sink organizer from Lillian Vernon a few years ago.  It's very functional, it has ways to make as many or few "pockets" as you like.  It needed an overhaul.  It's plastic, so very easy to clean.  It snaps together and it's been a very functional piece for under my sink.  I recently added a wire rack to the door of the cabinet.  The wire rack was a Goodwill find for $.99.  It holds the stuff I need to not have to look for...like a cleaning pad or brush...bathroom cleaners and kitchen counter top wipes.  Here's the pic:

There you go....4 cabinets mastered.  Now to keep them this way!!  You don't think I really stopped here do you?  The kitchen pantry was next....