The Closet Shelves

This is the first in a sort-of series, all about the home improvement work I've been doing that's kept me away from the gym, this blog, and consumed all other aspects of my life. My bedroom has been my 2015 project. I'm hoping to wrap most of it up this summer.

I have a tiny little closet that is only walk-in if everything inside it is removed and the person walking into it is under 200 pounds. Really, it isn't a walk-in. It is a door you open. Inside is a rod. Above the rod is a single shelf. That is the whole closet. I find I can comfortably fit a laundry basket inside, a few shoe boxes on the shelf, and clothes on the rod. Along either side of the doorway, the rod goes in about a foot. Both sides are pretty much unusable, because if clothes are pushed one way or the other, you can't see them.

I wanted to make the space actually work for me, so I decided, as I was getting ready for my new carpet, I should put in some shelving along one side. The other side, I thought, could be for the laundry basket and the middle would be for clothes. The shelf on the top of the closet would be for shoes or bags, and the rest of the closet would be empty.

I decided that nothing that could not be worn--no yarn, no books, no picture frames, NOTHING else--would be allowed in the tiny closet. Tiny closet = clothing, shoes, purses, scarves, belts. That was that.

This led to a trip to the hardware store.

I picked out a nice smooth board and had the lumber guy cut it in two. Then, I bought a piece of trim and had the lumber guy cut it into six pieces, to create a ledge around the closet where the board could sit.

Then I went home and began my expert Twitter tutorial, which I have put below for your home improvement entertainment needs.

I painted the wood trim the shelves sit on, and the boards, along with the board at the top of the closet, are going to be covered with wallpaper, as soon as I find a remnant of a pattern I like at the discount wallpaper place. Which I will have to go visit some time, but that doesn't need to happen immediately.

I'm also getting some kind of storage for my shoes, hopefully something easily-accessible. I think a trip to T.J. Maxx is in order, so I can get some of those crates, baskets, or fabric boxes they have. We'll see. (There will be an official closet photograph when that happens.)

I'm excited to have a space that isn't packed so tightly! What projects are you working on this summer?