Mystery Revealed

As promised, I have completed...well mostly completed Project #4!

Those of you who really know me, know that I have some quirks. By quirks, I mean Obsessive Compulsive Disorder tendencies. I'm not really sure when the OCD took over in my life. I used to alphabetize my book and CDs as a kid, but I still allowed my room to become covered in clothing and accessories in between cleanings like any good teenage girl would. So maybe it was hiding under the surface all along.

In college, my OCD exploded. I constantly cleaned, purged, reorganized, and then cleaned again. It was an extreme cycle. Mike remembers these episodes well. He would often come to my apartment only to sit on my perfectly made bed and watch TV alone. Meanwhile, I was vacuuming, edging, dusting, cleaning the bathroom, wiping down baseboards, and reorganizing my desk and closet yet again. It was a regular occurrence that seriously interfered with my relationships with friends and most importantly my fiance.

With Mike's help, I've come a long way from those days. My cleaning now is weekly only, with exception to the kitchen which I need to be cleaned every night. Its just too germy not to. Mike helped me realize that there is a time to clean and a time to relax, to enjoy life a little. It's been good, and I owe it all to him.

Unfortunately....he's not here and so...I might be slipping back into the OCD realm again. I'm blaming in on STYLE. They have this new show called "the Amandas." Have you seen it? Five minutes into the first episode, I became a huge fan. Finally, someone that is worse than me! You should watch it. Monday nights.

So now the big reveal. Can you guess it? While Mike was here, I asked him repeatedly if we could make these changes to our home. He always said, "no, its too expensive." Oh, but he was wrong. (Sorry babe.) He was very wrong this time.

So a total of 15 hours and $65 later, we now have a completely new master closet! Oh yes, I did say $65. I was very thrifty, creative, and luckily I had a few items laying around. Its not high end, just good old wire shelving (Amanda would NOT approve.) Really that's what made it affordable, and I still achieved the same organizational greatness.

Now about the part that isn't complete...I didn't purge the closet. I'm planning on completing that in a way that will take a little work and time. I honestly can't remember where I found the info, so I apologize for not sourcing this. Basically, you turn all your hangers around backwards. As you wear items from your closet, do laundry, and return items back to the closet, turn the recently worn hanger back around the correct direction. At the end of the season, get rid of everything that is still backwards. It's genius, a wonderful visual. So at the end of the summer, there should be a lot less in the closet...unless I go shopping that is. Oh, also I filled the holes left by the old shelving, but I didn't paint. I really wasn't that concerned about the paint in a closet, and I haven't gotten any touch up paint yet that matches. So...I don't know when I'll get to the paint. One last thing, now that I moved the top rack basically to the ceiling, I'm having trouble reaching my clothing. If anyone sees a cute step stool on sale, please tell me.

Check out all the pictures below, but please don't call the fashion police. There are lots of items that are out of style. Although I'm very good at donating items regularly, my style lacks creativity. I'm boringly classic, but I'm working on it. One of my girlfriends (from Columbia) says I need Latina flare. I'm trying...really.

 Our closet has a small double door entry.

 The bag on the floor holds my dry clean items...it needs a home still. I'm thinking a basket instead.

 I love these shelves. This is where the bulk of the cost went.

 Mike's favorite hat has it own special place...Who thinks I should get Mike a new Alabama hat???

Those towels are the ones Mike is allowed to take to work. If he didn't pack one everyday, they would by no means be in the closet. And yes, he takes pink towels to work. So manly of him.

 I had to be creative here. High heels don't stand well on wire shelves so I used some shelving liner I had from an IKEA trip. Also, I had to play with the layout to make them fit. Luckily, my days of wearing high heels are less and less so I don't have that many anymore. I prefer a wedge or flats.

Because every room in your house deserves to be decorated. Granny and I found these canvases at Tuesday morning. My sister has the other two in the set. A little girlishness is good. Also, the bird cage was something we used at our Wedding. I'm going to put all our letters in it.

Mike was really excited about this project when I a) informed him I had already completed most of it and b) it was affordable. I did leave a space on the bottom rack for all his uniforms when he gets home. I hope he loves the design and finds it as functional as I do.

**Update:  It has now been five months and my closet still looks perfect! Getting organized and giving everything a home made a world of difference. Everything is in the exact same order and spot. I highly recommend this project, and I'll help!!