Monday, August 23, 2010

Broom Closet Makeover

I'm going to guess that most people have a junk drawer in their house -- you know that place where any odd or end could get shoved in and it seems to be it's permanent home.  Well in our house we have a junk closet.  Yes it's true -- a whole closet that is full of stuff -- from cleaning supplies, to dog treats, to shopping bags and more -- it all ended up there.  I didn't realize how messy this was until I tried to put my new Swiffer Sweeper Vac (that I won from Kuzak's Closet -- be sure to link up for the Sister Sister Sunday link party they have!) in my broom closet and there was no room for it.  Then I saw how scary it was...so look at the mess below at your own risk.


EEEEK! Didn't I tell you it was ghastly!?!  Seriously -- this is how we live behind closet doors sometimes.  I had tried several times to clean it out and make it a bit more organized, but it never stayed that way.  There just wasn't enough useful storage space in this closet; or as my Mom's family calls it, the telephone booth (apparently when she was growing up in a house of four kids and one phone, they would take the phone into the "telephone booth" and make their calls in privacy -- away from the rest of the eaves droppers.  To this day, that is what a broom closet is called -- the phone booth). 

So the first step, obviously, is to clean that puppy out!  I removed my million and two plastic shopping bags and recycled most of them at Target.  (They have bins you can drop off unwanted plastic bags at each store).



At least we're starting with a blank slate now.  After I constructed my own shelves in our bathroom nook -- I knew this would be a perfect place for similar shelves.  I wanted white shelves, but I thought it might look weird with with the oak inside.  On the other hand I DEFINITELY didn't want to paint the inside of that closet white -- that sounded extremely tedious and a little overkill -- although I won't lie -- it would be SO nice.  That's when I had the idea to use adhesive drawer liner for the inside. 



I bought this stuff at Target for only $5.60!  And there is plenty of it left over.  I measured, cut and adhered my liner to the inside of my closet.  



Then I constructed my shelves, just like the ones in our bathroom.  They have a 1x2 on each side with a board laid across them and some trim in front to keep it pretty.  You can read more about how to make these shelves here.


Much better, right?

I also bought a plastic bag dispenser from SimpleHuman at Target for $8.99 and put some baskets that I found a for a few dollars at Joanne's and thrift stores inside too.  Now we have a much more organized space to hold daily cleaning supplies, bags, and doggy treats.  



On that first shelf I have my homemade disinfecting wipes in a Rubbermaid container , along with some baskets full of ready to use garbage bags and Swiffer Sweepers and then a basket full of our chargers for vacuums and other household things.  Our middle shelf is full of Ruby's treats and food and the bottom shelf holds a recycling bin (otherwise we have empty cans, bottles and boxes sitting on top of our fridge waiting to be brought outside) and our beloved Swiffer.   I also added some cork board squares to the door to post things like stamps, important phone numbers -- you know all the good stuff.

I usually have my Dust Buster and my apron hanging up in there -- but I took them down so you could see the rest of the closet. :)  Most of the original "junk" stayed in the closet -- just more organized; but some of it got moved to other, more practical places in the house.


And we now have a home for our new Swiffer!  It makes life so much easier to be organized -- and it doesn't hurt when it's pretty too! :)


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59 Hand-Me-Downers Shared:

michelle said...

I love it!! It turned out so cute! The paper you picked out is bright and cheery, something that I need when I reach for cleaning supplies!! :)

Mandy England said...

I love your choice of wallpaper! It looks a million times better! :]

Jessica @ Life's Good Be Happy said...

I love it! My broom closet thanks you for the ideas! Mine needs some TLC soo bad!

Gabi said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Gabi said...

Wow!!!

I LOOOOOVE it ;)

Amber D said...

What a great idea with the shelf paper! I really like how it turned out.

Cassie Bustamante said...

it looks so cute that it makes me wish i had a closet to put my broom in!

A Whole Lotta Magic said...

Much better!

S

Anonymous said...

This looks fabulous, and it was quick!!! My kind of project
lifeofperkperks.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

Great project! I did something like that to our closet lately and wish I'd taken the time to build shelves. Looks good!

Desiree said...

Great makeover! Love the "wallpaper"! Brilliant :-)

-Desiree

Stephanie@cre8tive said...

Wow, I love how you spruced it up with the contact paper. I am going to have to go check out our Target to see what patterns they have. It looks so nice in there now! Great job.

Unknown said...

how cute (: is that a bag holder hanging on the door there? All the broom closet needs now is one of my apron bag holders hanging in it (; haha

samantha

samanthasaccessories.blogspot.com

Decorchick! said...

Oh yes Amanda, we must be drinking the same Kool-Aid. haha! Love your new closet it looks great!! Being organized is such a great feeling. :)

Unknown said...

I love the pop of color. You did a great job.

Thanks for the comment on my blog. I've had a lot of people covet those chairs. I am so happy I got them.

I'm having a giveaway on my blog. You should stop by and enter. http:froufrugal.blogspot.com

KasiaJ said...

It looks wonderful, Amanda. Organized and beautified. I love it!

Cait @ Hernando House said...

That looks awesome! And, an added bonus, that shelf liner should be perfect for a project I'm doing. Woohoo!

Rhiannon said...

love the wallpaper it brightens it up. doesnt it feel good to clean the closets :-)

LaurenFaythe said...

It looks so pretty! What a great idea - a shelf liner! Hmmm, I have a junk closet....

Thanks for sharing!
Sue

Julia @ Hooked on Houses said...

That looks so nice! Love that paper you used. I can't believe it was so cheap!

Melissa said...

Great job and such a happy space with the paper.

angela said...

So cute! I'm tempted to head to target to find that paper! It would look so cute behind my canned goods!

Janis said...

Love it! I have that same contact paper all over my house.

I definitely need to know more about the homemade disinfectant wipes, though!! Please!!

Ginger said...

Totally cool! Great shelving! Thanks for linking up to Mad Skills Monday!

Betsy@My Salvaged Treasures said...

This is wonderful. I especially like the cork board you put on the door. I think with all the work you went through to get it looking so good, it will be much easier to keep it neat and organized. Doesn't it feel good to do a project like this? I love organizing myself, but don't do it often enough. Thanks for visiting me too:)

Emily @ Mini House said...

Cute and clever Amanda!! It's the little stuff that can make a BIG difference! Also thanks for your sweet comments over on my blog today! :)

Donene said...

It looks great Amanda! I love it when closets are organized and so cute! thanks for your nice comments!

Megan Gunyan said...

Yeah! Beautiful AND organized.

Megan // Honey We're Home said...

What a difference! The Target paper is perfect- looks beautiful. Almost makes you want to go in there more, huh?!)

Lisa Nelsen-Woods said...

The paper really makes it. I loves me an organized closet. Seriously.

Funny thing. I am fanatical about using reusable shopping bags to cut down on the plastic bag population in our house. I have two of those holders full of them. I don't have to buy kitchen trash bags for YEARS.

Maria said...

I didn't know they made such pretty adhesive drawer liner. What a happy closet. If it makes cleaning a little more fun, it's worth it.

Katie Olthoff said...

It looks great! I love the drawer liner!

raggygirlvintage said...

Wow, that is a fab makeover, very inspiring! Thanks for coming by for a visit!\
Tracey

Life in Rehab said...

Very nicely done! I love creating order out of chaos.

Kimberlee, The Spunky Diva said...

Love the green paper! Much better than white inside that cabinet.
~Kimberlee
www.TheSpunkyDiva.blogspot.com

Michelle L. said...

Hi, Amanda - thanks for commenting on my blog, I popped over here and found the MOST pertinent post ever - I have an even ooglier broom closet in dire need of this exact makeover. thanks for all the great tips, and a little motivation, too.

A said...

SO fresh and so clean clean...Lol. Good jog!

Sarah said...

It turned out fabulous!
God's blessings,
Sarah :D

Lindy said...

You've got to love your pretty new broom closet. It's bright and cheery!
L.

Jeralee said...

I love the paper. It gives me some good ideas! What an improvement!

HuNnY aNd PoPpA LeWiS said...

Cute and functional--I love it. I have a phone booth cabinet too and you have given me some great ideas! Thanks!

Kathy@DandelionsandDustBunnies said...

Looks great. You definitely have to make room for those dust busters - they are so handy for easy clean ups and for vacuuming out the high chair :-)

Nicole said...

wow you've really made that closet look beautiful! now I'm inspired! I have a closet in our apt I really need to clean out and another one freestanding that would look really pretty wallpapered:) now I'm on it!

Terrell said...

Amazing!!! Thank you so much for linking your wonderful creation up at Frou Frou Decor today!! Have a great weekend!
~Terrell @ Frou Frou Decor~

Elizabeth {the Path Less Traveled} said...

Great job!
We have a really dark (windowless) kitchen in our apartment and I've been looking for ways to brighten the cupboards. Had no idea Target had such cute contact paper! Thanks so much for posting (and encouraging me to not give up on our little space!)!

Handy Man, Crafty Woman said...

Drawer liner! What an idea. Why didn't I think of that? Great job!

Allison Shops said...

How pretty! My oldest daughter lined a closet in her last apartment with drawer liner.

I wanted to let you know about Atticmag's new linky party - Giveaway Friday! It's a convenient place for bloggers to link their giveaways each week. We've kicked it off with a fantastic giveaway of our own. Five lucky winners will win material to do a backsplash in their homes. Hope to see you there!

Allison
Atticmag

Becky@Organizing Made Fun said...

Awesome! I like ANYTHING that makes you more organized! You did exactly what I would've done by putting in the shelves! I love the color inside. I'm visiting from the remodelaholic and I'm so glad I did! Great job!!

Rebekah Lindenmayer said...

Great job! I wish I had a closet like that in my house!

Mrs. Pomp said...

I used that same shelf liner to cover the mini fridge we keep on our porch- it so calming and makes it less of an eyesore!

Unknown said...

It looks TERRIFIC! We are so glad you joined us at Anything Related!
{Rebekah}

Traci said...

A big smile whenever you open the door! Love the liner and cork boards - What a great idea.

Debbiedoos said...

So are you for hire or what? Very cute, makes cleaning almost FUN!!~

Allison @ House of Hepworths said...

I featured this project!

http://www.houseofhepworths.com/2010/09/01/hookin-up-with-hoh-15/

Love it! Thanks for linking up last week!!

Liz said...

My husband and I are about to move into a new house (as in TOMORROW) and it has a kitchen pantry and another closet next to it. Right now it has shelving, but I can totally see it as a broom closet like you have set up - shelving and still space for brooms and mops. I am LOVING that clever idea of the wine glass holder installed to hold your spray bottles to free up shelf space. Thanks so much for posting this!

Decor To Adore said...

What a fantastic project. I adore it!

Melissa said...

Wow! That looks great...and it looks like it was pretty quick- Awesome!

Suzanne@Meridian Road said...

It's a brand new closet! I love that contact paper.

Laura said...

Such a great job! Your contact paper is fabulous, and what a great idea to get out of painting the inside of the cupboard. You are one smart girl! Doesn't it feel fabulous to get organized!?

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