Two things are true: Closets can hold anything you need AND hide the thing you need when you need it.
This is where the Rao family found themselves when they DM’d me on Instagram!
After living in their home for 5yrs and growing from newlyweds to a family of four, they were done making do with their mudroom. While our free call focused on this space, my client quickly realized that another area needed urgent attention:
“Stuff was literally falling on us when we would open the door to this [guest room] closet...we always forgot what we had since it was buried in toys! It’s just so easy when you have space to dump everything somewhere and not think about it for a few years, but at some point, you may need that space to function as intended.”
🙌🏽Intentionality. Is. Key.🙌🏽
After our call, we walked and talked through their entire home, and I devised an organizing action plan to give every closet a clear purpose with zones. I admire my clients for being open to the process, recognizing which closet gave them the most anxiety, and choosing to tackle it first! The transformation involved 3 closets. Here’s what we did and why!
1. guest >>> formalwear + travel
My client’s beautiful Indian garments had taken over their daughter’s closet. They planned to relocate them to the basement, but I could hear how much they valued these pieces. I saw the guest closet as a perfect alternative, and since they typically travel for formal events, it made sense to include their luggage here, too!
2. entry >>> supply storage
An entry closet typically houses coats, but my client didn’t need it for that. Instead, we defined 2 clear zones:
SHELVES. Lesser used items, such as regifts, wrapping, bags, and bows…all relocated from the guest closet.
HANGING ROD. Backstock items the Rao's regularly reach for (i.e. diapers, pull-ups, and wipes).
Entry closet before (left) and after (right)
Having a smaller zone for gifts helps them manage what they have (i.e. "if it starts to overflow, something has to go"), and making the diapering supplies visible lets them see what's in stock at a glance.
3. daughter >>> has her closet back...
...for HER clothes!🥻👕👗
We rounded up the closet shuffle by editing both of their kid's bedroom closets and dressers. Their baby girl's dresser was originally packed with future clothes to wear but it had nowhere to go while her closet contained Indian formalwear. After we relocated them, we edited out clothes to be donated or given to friends, then sorted her clothes to wear in her dresser and closet by age.
File folding is the way to go to see everything available to wear at a glance.
Any age-appropriate toys removed from the guest closet are now tucked in the purple bins on the top shelf of her closet, so everyone knows where to go when it's time to rotate toys!
We did the same process for their son's closet, which my client PRE-purged before we started (seriously!). She wanted to maximize our time together (smart!), so she got to work removing the random things (pillows, baby swings, etc.) that didn't belong. Yesss!
While we didn't start with the mudroom as planned, we started with spaces that truly needed to be changed:
"Having my actual closets organized is giving me a new LIFE."
They walked away feeling good and so proud of all that they conquered. I’m so excited for the Rao Family’s journey, and this is just the start!
have a tricky closet clutter challenge?
A home with abundant closet space may sound dreamy, but it can make it all too easy to put things anywhere...and then nowhere to be found. Comment below or DM me to chat, and let's solve your closet dilemma together!
Always,
Comments