decluttering more closets

This week I tackled the two closets in our front hallway, between the front door and the kitchen. We don’t have many closets in this small house, and these two are workhorses. We access each of these closets multiple times a day, and it was driving me crazy that they were so messy.

Ugh — you can see why I shuddered every time I opened one of these doors.

For closet #1, I donated some of our coats and winter gear. Then I corralled my winter gloves and scarves into one basket and put the girls’ winter stuff into another basket. (John and the boys keep their winter things in another room.) Masks are in the third basket. Below the coats, I stored a box to keep glass for recycling. (We can’t recycle glass in our curbside bin; instead, we have to take used glass containers to a recycling drop-off spot about a mile from our house.) The blue bag holds grab-and-go items that we need every time we visit our Airbnb rental. On the floor, I stored a container with summer items (goggles, sunblock, picnic blanket, beach towels) and a container with the dog’s treats and toys.

In closet #2, we store cleaning supplies in buckets labeled with the area to be cleaned (for example, “bathrooms” or “floors”). The hand-held upholstery vacuum goes on the top shelf along with a few extra paper shopping bags. Extra toilet paper and paper towels go in the woven basket on the floor. The regular vacuum (very scratched!) is on the floor, and a broom with a dustpan hangs on the side wall. Vacuum bags and attachments are in a bag hanging on the right of the closet. Another bag holds replacement cartridges for the bird feeder in our front yard, and we have a few umbrellas hanging on a hook. Garbage bags and reusable shopping bags are in the baskets on the door. This closet would function much better if we replaced the clothes rod with shelves, but that’s a project for another day!

Are you cleaning and decluttering this January? Let me know what you’re tackling!