Entryway Closet Reorganization

Entryway closets are awkward spaces, at least they are in our little apartment. I'm not going to lie and say I don't stuff things in there to hide before company comes over, because I'm a pro at that. Last minute items always seem to collect on the shelf, or find their way into the cramped space, but no more! 

This project took me about thirty minutes, and it didn't cost me a single penny. Insert jazz hands here! After some pretty serious searching throughout our house, I managed to find odds and ends perfect for this space.

  Before:

I don't love the sliding doors, which are a theme in this apartment, because I feel like they confine the area, but we manage to work with it. We've wound our way into the habit of taking our shoes off before we walk onto the carpet, but they pile up on the floor. I can't tell you how many times I've tripped over a pair of shoes just sitting there like a dangerous obstacle course. Something you might not know about me is I don't really like hanging big coats in this closet. I find trying to slip a heavy coat off of a hanger is tedious. My dad and grandpa built the red coat rack you'll see below, and we've found this is much more practical for us to use instead. 

After:

Doesn't that look amazing? To start, I found an old cardboard box and covered it in fabric. All of the shoes fit perfectly in there, and it's easy for us to pull down when we need to grab a pair of shoes. I also took all our winter accessories and placed them all in the orange container. We won't be using them for a while, but it will be nice to know they're stored in an accessible place for when we do need them. 

There is more space available on the top shelf, so if needs change we can rearrange. Items that we don't use everyday, but need to keep handy like Branson's bike helmet and our umbrella went onto the command hook. I love that they're right where you can reach for them, but at the same time they're out of the way. Now I have to think of a way to use the empty command hook for a different project. 

I threw a little rug on the right side of the closet where the cleaning tools go to keep my vacuum stable. Before it rolled all over the place, which was a nuisance. My favorite part of the whole closet are the hanging tools. Putting them all on the ground looked like a jumbled mess! So as I was contemplating my options, I remembered we had extra shower curtain hooks in our hall closet, and the mop and broom both have holes at the top, so maybe I can hang them. Guys, it totally worked! Not only are they easy to take on and off, they also tidy up the appearance. If I need to grab the vacuum, I can simply slide them across the bar and then slide them back when I'm finished. Genius!