home fashion: Organized "Boutique" Closet

Happy Monday! Hope you all got enough sleep last night, it's hard to lose that hour. :( I've gotten my closet all organized and pretty to show you, but I wish you could just come over and see it! Photographing is so tricky because of the light situation. There are three windows, which provide nice natural light, but I realized that it also gets hot or the sunshine glares into the mirror, so I keep two of the three windows covered with retail boxes. Lends to the boutique feel I was going for. ;) I have whittled down my wardrobe and jewelry to items I will actually wear, so it's nice now to be able to "shop" my closet instead of feeling like I have nothing to wear.

Some of you may have seen photos of my closet before, but in case you're new to my blog, I'll start from scratch. The room is 9'4" x 13"2 with a center island that has six square cubbies on each side. There is a built-in dresser with overhead shelving, shoe shelves (with room for tall boots on top), and behind the door, more cubed shelves. There are 12 hanging compartments, but I don't have enough clothes to fill all of them, so I'm showcasing my jewelry in those "empty" spaces.

The shoe storage is a favorite element. I like to see what I have and be able to access it easily. I keep a small stool in the closet for when I need to reach high and it provides a good seat when putting on my shoes. (Athletic shoes and flip flops are downstairs in the mudroom).

I recently switched out all my white plastic hangers for these slim, huggable hangers, which I love! They save so much space and really keep your clothes from falling off the hanger. Also, these hangers have rounded ends to prevent those ugly points on your shirts. I had to get used to using them because when you put them in your shirt, they can get caught on the fabric.

My tops are organized into four hanging sections: 1) tanks/sleeveless; 2) cotton tees (long and short); 3) blouses/button down shirts; and 4) sweaters. I then organize them by color.

I realize I have a tendency to buy plain tan, grey and black shirts a lot, so I'm making an effort to wear my colorful clothing more often.

Jeans and leggings are folded and hung on children's huggable hangers.

Since this back wall is the first thing I see when I enter my closet, I hung my colorful necklaces there using a silver pushpin pushed right into the wall. I tried to keep them level but didn't measure, just "eyeballed" it. The statement necklaces are hung across two pushpins and the others hang on one.

The adjacent wall is where I hang my trousers, skirts, dresses, blouses, jackets/cardigans, and sweaters.

I prefer to hang my sweaters during winter so they aren't getting smashed and wrinkled, but I anticipate our weather is warming and I doubt these folded sweaters will be getting much use again until next fall.

I'm crazy for how I use this tie/belt organizer to hang my scarves. It keeps them tangle and wrinkle free and easy to see. It's very strong- holds 14 scarves on one hanger!

On the back of my closet door hangs my robes and a swimsuit (wishful thinking!). There are seven cubbies to the right for extra storage.

My bangle bracelets, gold necklaces and earrings are on the shelf closest to the door since these are the items I wear most often.

I used bookplates and labels for these canvas bins for easy reference.

Bikinis go in their own bin with dividers.

On the right side of the island are my tank tops, shorts, and capri pants. The tanks are divided into "small" and "medium" but I may also create a section just for white tanks since I wear them so often.

Belts are on the opposite side in bins with compartments.

The dresser holds my travel bags, purses, watches/rings, makeup (top drawer), undies/socks/bras (second drawer), workout clothes (third drawer), and pjs (bottom drawer).