A Closet Makeover | Organizing with Labels

Does anyone else wish there was 24 hours more in a day?? Or that they were a vampire? Vampires never sleep right? Or do they sleep during the day?  Gee, now I don't remember what the dealio is with vampires because I haven't been getting enough sleep. But I sure wish I could function on less of it. My To Do lists are pages and pages long and I don't even know where to start... There just isn't enough time in the day. Common theme for all working moms, right? I have so many DIY projects in my head and I just don't have the time to do them. :( One day at a time. Actually I also have tons of completed projects that I haven't had time to document here and I really would like to...For some reason, it never feels like progress to me unless I take before and after pictures and write down what I did. Not sure why that is. I think because I am very visual. Am I nuts, or is there anyone else out there like me??? :) Bueller?

Anyway...here was a little Saturday morning organizational project I did while my youngest was napping and the older two were outside playing. It actually only took an hour or so...Not counting the time it took to shop for the baskets, crates and bins....

Here was my terribly unorganized hallway linen closet before...

And here it was after. I didn't paint the hallway that day, obviously. I just forgot to take a before picture that morning so I found one from a few months back. 

Before and Afters like this make me so HAPPY. Sigh. Seriously makes my life feel a little easier to have an organized closet. And I LOVE that everything has a specific, labeled place now...and the hubs knows exactly where to find things...and where to put things back. ;) I know I got the "over-the-door-shoe-rack-for-something-other-than-shoes" idea from some other blog.....I just can't remember where. If I can find it I will add an update later. But seriously, isn't it genius? Maybe its a pinterest thing, but a couple years ago I had an "aha!" moment, when I realized that these shoe racks can serve SO MANY other organizational uses.

I am currently using one in my garage to hold cleaning supplies and one in my basement to hold extension cords and other miscellaneous items.  

This one here is my fave, though because there are so many things that I put in this closet that I want to be able to grab quickly, without having to dig in a bin off the shelf...

I made the circular labels by using my 2 inch hole punch on some yellow chevron paper I had laying around. I also have tons of the mini-clothespins, which work perfectly for clipping the labels onto the pockets and baskets.  I thought about using my label maker, or printing the labels on my printer, because I don't love my handwriting and I am a perfectionist like that...but then I remembered there isn't enough time in the day...and if I don't waste too much time on the labels, I won't feel so bad when I change things up and want to switch out the labels. I punched a bunch of extra circles and put some in one of the pockets with some extra clothespins, so I am totally ready for some new changes and categories as the need arises. 

The plastic bins on top just got a makeover with a piece of chevron paper slipped inside, with a label for the bins' contents. Easy peasy.

I had a little trouble figuring out how to clip the label onto the big rope handles on these fabric baskets until I spotted some extra linen ties that I had in an old bag inside the closet. Perfect.

Let's take one more look at that beautiful AFTER shot. Can you see me smiling? :)

Now I've got the itch and I want to tackle all the other closets in the house. But there's not enough time in the day. Sigh.

Ch-ch-changes {Painting an Old Buffet from Craiglist}

So I found this old buffet on Criagslist for $125 but I talked the guy down to $75 because as you can see it was in pretty rough shape. He actually included delivery to my house in the price, but the timing didn't work out right and he delivered it when I wasn't home. It sat outside in the rain for an hour or so and the side of the buffet warped from all the water. So I mailed the guy my check but asked if he would consider giving me $25 back given that I bought it sight unseen all because he didn't arrive when he said he would. So he did. Mailed me a check right back for $25! Bam. An awesome antique buffet for $50.

Not that I didn't have to put quite a bit of TLC into it, but it didn't actually take the long to get it looking like this:

I HEART her. Did I mention I used Rustoleum Painter's Touch Satin Summer Squash spray paint? Then I of course painted over that with my faovrite eco-friendly lacquer, Safecoat Acrylacq to seal in the toxic spray paint fumes. I LOVE the turquoise on the inside of the cabinets and the sides of the drawers. Its such a fun surprise when you open her up to peek inside.

And I also lined the drawers with pretty paper. When I have time I am going to decoupage it in permanently and of course paint over that with my favorite, Safecoat Acrylaq.

Oh and remember the old dresser that I refabbed that used to live right here in my dining room. Well, she found a new home in my bedroom. She's a perfect fit: