The Great Hall…Closet
I realize what an amazing gift a hall closet is! Not everyone has one of these bad boys in their living space and I’m so grateful for it! Want to know a secret? This is the smallest amount of stuff I have ever had in a hall closet, and it is glorious. We literally only have the things we need in it! (If you disregard the boxes on the floor and the obnoxiously high shelf with some of the homeowner’s bedding.)
Let’s dive in!
First of all, we’ve got sheets. I have a basket that holds 4 flat fitted sheets. That’s the only sheet my kids use, so it holds enough of them for me to strip their sheets and put clean ones on right away. (Our 4 older kids share a room with two sets of bunks.) There is also a basket for our spare set of king sheets and a spare set of queen sheets. We have our favorite sheets on the queen and king beds, so these baskets truly just hold the spares. It took quite a bit of purging to get rid of mismatched sheets from old sets, but it was worth it, because nothing falls out when I open the door anymore and I can immediately put my hand on what I need.
Next, we’ve got towels! The hand towels go in one basket, and I’ve got quite a collection of those because I like to put fresh ones out when guests come or just when I’m cleaning the bathroom for the week. But, the basket is the container, I will never acquire more than will fit in the basket. Also, when I straightened this closet up, I ended up moving the two we use in the boys bathroom under their cabinet, so they are easy to access when I need them.
Up top between the sheets are our beach towels. I put them in this little fabric bin so they were easy to grab and so I could still easily pull out the sheet baskets. While I could put three of the baskets on each shelf, it wasn’t needed and it wasn’t practical. With three baskets on the shelf, you can only access the middle one. I honestly love the space and room it creates by only having two. It’s like a breath of fresh air!
Let’s take a look at the before and after picture.
While it was a little untidy, the closet was still functioning really well, showing me that this system works!! I just needed to refold a few things and re-home an item on the top shelf. Easy Peasy.
Anyways, there is a basket that holds the washcloths and pillow cases, and it’s the only one that I’ve created organization for within, see below. Oh and I’ve also tucked away our candle sticks and holders because we don’t use them everyday since we decluttered, but we still do on occasion and that space wasn’t being used.
On the top shelf there are a few things like large tote bags, an extra space heater, and Sammy the Seal, our son’s nebulizer that thankfully we rarely use now, but we still need to have it on hand.
The boxes on the floor have things that haven’t made sense to unbox (even after three years) because the homeowner already had the kitchen stocked with similar items. But we will need them when we move, so the items are just waiting on their time to shine! But look what did come out of storage, the KitchenAid! Because we are striving for a more decluttered lifestyle with minimal items on the counter, and our kitchen cabinets are full of dishes and food (two sets of dishes between ours and the homeowner’s), it makes the most sense for it to live here. And it works, so no complaints from me.
Well folks, that is our humble hall closet. I hope it gave you some inspiration for your own hall closet, if you’re one of the lucky ones who has one!
Also, this is the MVP of the hall closet! You will see this bin show up in several places, shapes, and sizes because it’s affordable and the dimensions available are so good! Oh, and Seth encouraged me to find the before before picture…here it is! Ha.
Action Items:
Only keep a few extra towels, or at most, enough for each person to have their own when your home is at max hosting capacity. Get rid of all the others! I would recommend parting with the most worn towels first and then your least favorites.
Also, I’m giving you permission to consider replacing your ratty old collection of towels, once it fits in the budget. I’ve never regretted doing that! In fact, I just did it with my kitchen towels and it’s so refreshing not to see the stains and torn fabric when I do the laundry.
You only need one extra set of sheets. Most minimalists would actually suggest that you only need one set. And if we didn’t have a hall closet, that’s what we would likely do, too. If you are a seasonal sheet person, you do you, but you need to genuinely find room for them and not just cram them somewhere.
Baskets keep things contained and provide easy access. Having a basket for like items and sets make it easy to access them and also easy on the eyes! My days of digging through a pile of sheets to find a pillow case are over!! (By the way, I store pillow cases with the sheet sets they are part of, and I store miscellaneous ones in a separate place.)
Don’t stuff it. If you have to stuff something into your closet to get it to fit, it’s time my friend. Empty that thing out and honestly consider what you need to part with and what needs to move to a different home.
Next Stop: The “Entry Way”
