Back Room Makeover Results!
July 9, 2010 in Organize
If I learned one thing from this back room project, it’s that I didn’t need to wait until I could devote an entire weekend to it. In the past 26 weeks, never did I wake up on a Saturday morning and think, “I’d like to spend my whole weekend cleaning out the back room.”
When motivation struck on a Tuesday morning, I took hold of it, and I finished by Thursday. I didn’t block out a large amount of time; I worked on it a little at a time.
Before & After
I consolidated stuff into fewer boxes and sorted everything. I knew we would keep most of it. The only things that are on their way to Goodwill are a laundry basket, a planter, and a box set of VHS tapes.
It’s amazing how stuff takes up less space when it’s organized.
Progress was slow. After I piled everything in the dining room on Tuesday (you can read about that and see the “Before” photos), I didn’t see the dining room floor again until Wednesday evening. By Thursday 5:00 p.m., a few last things remained on the table. I dumped them into a bag of Miscellaneous and decided I was finished.
Back Room Makeover:
I’m glad you found what works for you. It looks great.
Jackie@Lilolu´s last blog post ..This Moment
You can do anything. Of course you can, (and we all want to see it!.
Great job! Very inspiring.
anne´s last blog post ..Summer Reading List
This is amazing! So right about just starting something big instead of waiting for some magic “NOW!” moment.
Kate´s last blog post ..Read On
For 2 years I’ve been piling kids outgrown clothes in the bottom of a closet. I need to pull all that stuff out and sort/purge/organize to prepare for baby #3!
Tracey´s last blog post ..Mittens in July
What a great job! You have inspired me! I may just go home and clean out my closet. Thanks!
So did it all go back into the room all organized or did some of it get recycled (trashed, given away, etc.)? You can do anything you put your mind and time to!
A few cardboard boxes got recycled. Almost all of the stuff went back in the room. Just a couple of things are being donated. Some things are new, like all the bags of kettle chips on a shelf. (They were on sale for half price, so of course I had to buy ten of them!)
Sounds like my Grandad, he just was complaining that he just ran out of soap, I aked he when was the last time he bought soap and he said 1973, there was a soap factory going out of business so I bought a crate for $1.
Benjamin Bankruptcy´s last blog post ..Budgeting apparently I need to do it-
looks great! What is organized in the clear labeled bin on the left side?
Allyson´s last blog post ..Traveling With Kids
On the left side of the closet at the top are several bins of baby clothes. Each bin holds a different size so I can pull one out as my kid grows. I wrote more about organizing kids’ clothes here:
Organizing Your Children’s Clothes Storage
At first I thought all the bins were organization overkill, but they have worked well.
On the left at the bottom is a bin of toys. We rotate the toys so the kids don’t get tired of them and their room stays picked up.
SHA-ZAAAAAM! Look at THAT! I am so proud of and inspired by you, sister. NICE WORK!!!!!! (I’m totally coveting your perfectly organized bins)
Megan@SortaCrunchy´s last blog post ..Paradigm Shift- Breastfeeding as Worship
Thanks for the after pics, I was curious as to how it was going to turn out. I should have been an organizer by trade as I love this kind of stuff, the before and afters. Great job!
I’m impressed! As soon as my daughter moves out of the basement, we are attacking the utility room (a room that stores some similar stuff). I hope to get rid of most of it!
Sharon´s last blog post ..Diary of a No Spend Month- Day 9
I am a big fan of before and after photos. What stands out about your before and after photos is that they capture real life. Magazines often show before photos that don’t look too bad and after photos that don’t look like they would stand up to real life. Your work here is encouraging because it looks great and it reflects real life.
I love these lines: “By Thursday 5:00 p.m., a few last things remained on the table. I dumped them into a bag of Miscellaneous and decided I was finished.” When I read that I had to smile, because who hasn’t tackled an organizing project only to have that bit of misc left over.
heather´s last blog post ..Make Meat a Side Dish
There was a moment on Wednesday morning when I had put just a few things back in the closet, and I thought that if my life were a magazine, I wouldn’t still have so much more stuff to put away.
If I didn’t have the bag of Misc, I probably would still be trying to organize that random stuff. Sometimes you just have to quit.
Oh Well done!!! Totally Good for you!!! Love the little person under the table – talk about real life and why projects that used to be finished by bed-time now take three days!!!
se7en´s last blog post ..Se7en’s Celebrities- MayaMade…
Rachel,
You are great organizer and planner. It simply looks great, did you got rid of a few things or looks compact because it is organized?
I also liked the picture of little Tom under the cleaner Table. Looks like he is already mobile. My 1 year old is running around all over, doing work with him around creates extra work!
Preeti @ Heart and Mind´s last blog post ..No Spend Month Challenge- Update 1
It’s mostly all the same stuff that was in the before photo.
Tom is so mobile, we really had to think about baby-proofing when we were putting things back on the lower shelves.
Rachel,
Wow, organizing it made so compact and fit so well. Great job.
Tom being mobile will make you bit more busier I am sure.
Preeti @ Heart and Mind´s last blog post ..No Spend Month Challenge- Update 1
awesome! or as someone wrote on my facebook wall this past week… snausage!
jill´s last blog post ..Summer evenings And further adventures of The Mud Fairy
Great job on your closet. The hardest part is getting started. I should know.
Rana´s last blog post ..I want to be Caroline Ingalls the Ultimate Crunchy Mama
My 5-yr-old daughter and I moved into a new (old) house about two months ago. Even though it’s not totally organized, I’ve taken one painted door off it’s hinges, and have been stripping the paint off on the front porch. I figure, if I only do one door per year, I’ll be done in eight years, and then I can tackle all of the painted trim upstairs! (Thankfully, the previous owners refinished the downstairs woodwork.)
I can believe the Star Wars AT-AT walker is BACK in the closet. Can you not hear the poor menfolk sobbing? Otherwise, it looks great.
It looks fantastic – what a feeling of accomplishment you must have now. I bet you smile every time you go in there and look at it
That’s awesome! I saw your initial post with the dining room table full of stuff and your promise to post when it was done and it inspired me to make my own plan for my bedroom closet this weekend and I also scheduled a clothing pick up for Tuesday to declutter a little before the big clean out.
One Mom (Kristina)´s last blog post ..Love- Mommy
Nice makeover!! I’ve got a front closet that needs some TLC too. I think you’ve just given me the kick in the pants I need to get it done.
well done…it looks just right! Looking forward to the next installment of your adventures in keeping things organized and easy
You’re an inspiration Rachel!
angelvalerie´s last blog post ..of dreams that die…
That picture just makes me happy. An organized room…sigh.
When we first moved in the first room done was the bathroom and sometimes I would just go in there and enjoy one room where everything had a place!
And I didn’t even notice Tom until I read another comment! Organizing and baby proofing in one shot–nice!
Kait Palmer´s last blog post ..Another No Spend Month
It looks wonderful! I’m looking forward to going through my moving crates and seeing what project you’ll tackle next.
Lou´s last blog post ..Together Part 2
Well done!! I know you are at peace having completed this project! Isn’t funny how our perception of a massive task can keep us from attempting it or completing it?
Just have to ask….what is the big cardboard box underneath the basket on the Left side of the closet? Looks like it has 2 handles on it…I have looked & looked @ it…can’t figure out what it is!
that’s our Christmas tree.
Y’all are cracking me up wanting to know what my stuff is!
LOL….thought maybe it was a body!!
This is great encouragement for someone (like me, perchance) who finds it hard to take the first bite of the elephant.
WhoHoo! It looks great! Doesn’t it feel fabulous to complete a project of that size!
Tina @ Ride On Toys´s last blog post ..The Land Sailor- Sailboat Racing On Land
Well done! I need to do this as well. Our storage room has gotten out of control.
AWESOME JOB Rachel!!!
Great job organizing!
Love it! I’ve hit the basement, the work shop and the garage over the past few weeks. One of the things I enjoy most about sorting and culling is that after wards I know where everything is! This makes me feel a little bit like a a super hero.
juliet´s last blog post ..Get the Fed out
Yay! Yippee! I bet it’s alot easier to find what you need now. Looks great!
What a great makeover! So inspiring!
I have to say that the hardest thing for me in tackling big projects is my two young children (2 1/2 and 1) get into EVERYTHING! And they make even small projects so much more time consuming and challenging. So, I’m just wondering, how did you manage this with your kiddos? How did you keep them out of the stuff while you were organizing, and did the rest of your house look like a disaster because you were spending all your time on this – or the kids were tearing apart the rest of the house while you were working? Because I know that’s how my house feels after I work a big project.
I just feel like one of my biggest obstacles, if not my biggest, is my children and I’m just trying to figure out how I can overcome that, or work with them instead of what feels like them working against me! ha!
Great job! I bet that feels good!
Jena (Organizing Mommy)´s last blog post ..Recipe for Blueberry Buffalo Remake
This is very encouraging! I have a number of these types of projects that I’ve been putting off because I am overwhelmed at the thought of devoting a large chunk of time to them. Thanks for the reminder that I can do it in little bits!
Sarah @ SoggyMommy´s last blog post ..Ministry of Reality Monday – we’re back-
Inspiration!! My weekend project is my closet! Can’t wait.. I love your blog!
Liz´s last blog post ..Natural Ways to Boost Your Metabolism