Happy Tuesday friends! Isn’t that nice!? The week is starting on a Tuesday. I’m a fan. :) Sharing my luggage closet today that has driven me crazy since we moved into our new house. You know how I show you all pics of my mudroom and it looks so clean and tidy?
And remember the small closet by my black dutch door? I call it my hobbit closet.
Well. I’m a little scared to show you what has been lurking behind it all this time. Remember the “Monica closet” from Friends? (Am I dating myself?) :) Yeah.. I had one. Don’t believe me? Check this out..
It got so bad I couldn’t even open the door all the way.
The right side was a mess.
The left side was a mess. I couldn’t stand it any longer! I finally pulled everything out and after purging and filling two Goodwill bags, I started putting it all back in. Just a bit more organized this time.
I had these large stack baskets from The Container Store. I originally bought them for our outside pool storage closet and may still use them in that space when I get around to organizing it. For now, they are perfect for holding random items I want to keep in this closet. 
My most used bags on top so I can grab them quickly. Swim goggles and a few pool toys next.
Knee pads and gloves for the kids rollerblades, and black bags that came as a set (we have 5 with our names on them) that we use for random things. 
I had a lot of other random bags that we use often (beach bags, laptop bags, etc.) that I didn’t want just loose in the closet. Loose items without a home tend to clutter up a space quickly! I was going to toss this laundry basket since we have built-in hampers in the laundry room, but decided it would be perfect to hold our random bags. Love it! All tidy in one spot – easy to see and grab on the go.
So now when you open the door you see this! I finally have a place to store our outdoor pillows and towels when we aren’t using them! Which is only for a couple of months here. 
I mostly just moved them inside because we are supposed to get so much rain in the next two months, but nice just to have the room to store them!
To the left are the stackable baskets (love the vertical storage!) and then all of our luggage. 
In our previous house where we didn’t have much space I always stored small suitcases inside of large suitcases. I would recommend that if you are tight on space. I have the room in this closet to just line all of our suitcases up along the wall. Amazing how much space you have when you get rid of things you don’t need. You might notice a space between the grey and teal suitcases.. one suitcase was missing because my husband was traveling when I took this pic. When he leaves town is always a great time to tear apart a closet or two. :)
To the right we store our Christmas tree. I don’t like to have to haul it up and down the stairs with the rest of our Christmas decorations. I also have a few other random items like our house plans, extra rugs, extra shelves/table extensions and backpacks in this closet. It’s a true catch-all.
There is even a lovely walkway so now I can get back in this closet to get what I need! Oh my word. My hobbit closet has never made me so happy. :)
One more before and after…
BEFORE
AFTER
What a difference! I’m so happy every time I go in this closet. I can’t stop peeking in there to make sure it isn’t just a dream. Ha!
So yeah.. I think starting the week on a Tuesday with a perfectly organized closet needs to be the new norm. Agree?
:)
Enjoy your week everyone!
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Oh the satisfaction of an organized cupboard!!! It’s such a great feeling knowing where everything is too! Great job and great ideas Erin. Thank you for the inspiration as well! Have a lovely week!
Marnie
It’s really the best feeling, isn’t it!? So nice to have everything in a place where I can see it instead of tripping over it! :) Enjoy your day cute Marnie! Now on to the rest of the house. ;) xo
Ha ha! Love the term Hobbit Closet! I will have to remember that. It’s got such a cute little door, too. :) But it’s sure deceptive. Wow, that’s a lot of space. I can see why that jumble would get to you. You did a fabulous job organizing the space. It looks amazing now. Congratulations and good for you. A big whooo hooo to you since I can’t give you a happy high five! Have a great rest of the week. :)
I felt the high five Jeanne! :) Thanks cutie! I know.. there is a lot of space in that little closet. Happy I can actually walk in there! Hope your day has been good so far! xo
Erin!!! This is awesome! The “Monica” closet! Lol!! I love it and I’m totally inspired! Starting my master closet stat! Love ya, girl! Enjoy the organization!
Thanks cutie! Oh my word.. my master closet needs a MAJOR clean out. I keep putting that one off! Ha! Do yours quick and send some inspiration my way. ;) xo
Loved seeing this new space Erin! Everyone needs a catch-all closet and yours is beautiful! Great job hunkering down and getting it done :) Have a great week!
Thanks Lisa! Feels so good to have it finished! Now on to the rest of the house. :) xo
hi! it looks great, as usual–and i do the same thing–organize and purge when the hubby is not around ;)
i was wondering if you could tell me what that bag thing is (and where you got it) with the trucks and cars, etc., in one of your before pics–i love that material (i have three little boys)!
Thanks Wilma! That is Kole’s sleeping bag! I wish I could tell you where it was from but it was a gift from his grandma a few years ago. I’m sure you could find something similar if you googled “boys sleeping bags” though! xo
Great job again :) I just love to organize and clean and organized closets/ everything makes me so happy too!
have a nice week <3
Thanks Satu! :)
I LOVE when you show the “before” shots! Makes us all feel a little more sane!
Ha! Thanks Casie! :)
Love the “Monica closet” reference! We all have one at one time or another. I have a small second walk-in closet in our room and it can quickly become my “Monica closet” if I’m not careful. It also stores our luggage and that has got to be one of the worst things to store! No matter what you do, it’s still luggage just sitting there. At least it’s behind closed doors! Your closet looks great and I’ll pretend you didn’t say you only have to pack away outdoor pillows and towels for a couple
of months during the year! Lol (we made it to 14 degrees today – it’s a heat wave! ?)
I agree Laurie! Luggage is a pain to store! Enjoy your heat wave! Ha! You crack me up. :) xo
Looks great! I would love to have a closet for stuff like that especially luggage! I was just curious what the teal is behind the suitcases? I always spot the most random things when I look at photos, lol:)
Thanks Teresa! That is an extra shelf from our upstairs laundry room when we built the house. I should get rid of it, but I keep hanging on to it just in case we want to put it back in or ever need it for anything. How is that for random? :) xo
Hi Erin-
I love, love, love your house! I am new to your blog and have been reading many of your past posts. I love the mirror above your fireplace in your family room. I saw from a previous post, that it was from Pottery Barn. Did it have the hardware to hang it included, or was that something you added? If you know the name of the mirror, I would love it!
Hi Alisa! Thank you so much! I’m so happy you found my blog. :) That mirror came with the hardware! I wish I could remember the name of it. I just tried to find it for you and can’t see it on PB’s site! It’s so weird. Sometimes they have it and other times I can’t find it on-line. If I find it I’ll let you know! xo
Hi Erin,
I love a good before and after! I really should take more before pics when I clean. It is so motivating to see the difference you can make.
I don’t know if anyone else is having the same problem, but on my phone last night and again on my computer this morning the photos in the second-half of this post aren’t loading for me. When I click on the photo link in the post it says on the new page that pops up that the picture can’t be displayed because it contains errors.
Thanks Jamie! I know.. “before” pics are really motivating. I’m so sorry you’re having problems with my post not loading! I haven’t heard about that from anyone else, but I’ll look into it. Let me know if the problem continues! xo
Hi Erin,
I just wanted to let you know that the last few photos still aren’t showing when I view your blog post in the Firefox browser, but I just tried it in Chrome and it is working fine with that. If I have any more problems in the future I will just view your blog in Chrome. :)
Thanks for letting me know Jamie! We have been fixing and updating a few things this weekend so hopefully it won’t do that anymore! xo
Erin, I love your simple storage ideas which are so effective! How lucky being able to store all the suitcases too so they are easy to access x
Thank you Belinda! I know.. it’s nice to have the room! As long as I keep things organized and under control! :) xo
Since we’re tight on space I don’t have a Monica closet, but just a couple of Monica drawers instead! :D The after picture looks great. You are my organizing queen!
Thank you Sara! Believe me.. I’ve got a few Monica drawers too! They are also getting a makeover! xo
Even the most organized of us have a Monica room somewhere… mine is my van. Oh my poor van. And I really don’t understand it because I would have an anxiety attack if the inside of my house looked that way. Do you have any tips for keeping the vehicle clean and in order? I have three little boys and they are always bringing legos, books, papers, etc, and it’s so hard to keep up with!
Oh man Carrie.. I drive a van too and it’s so hard to keep it clean! The main thing I do is constantly nag my kids. Every time we pull up at the house I don’t let them go inside until they have cleaned and moved ALL of their stuff out of the van. It’s such a pain and my kids complain and don’t like it, but if I don’t make them do it, it would be a disaster in minutes! If your boys are old enough, I would just start a new rule that anything they bring in the van has to be taken out and cleaned up before they leave the car. xo
Nice job! ? Always a great feeling of accomplishment when you get a much needed project complete!! I would love to know how you got your tree back in your box…. I just bought a 9′ tree and kept the box, but I also purchased a tree bag. I am not too impressed with how bulky the tree bag is….. but putting my tree back in the box skills are lacking….. ?
I wish I could help you with that one Amy but I completely turn that job over to my husband. He somehow manages to get it back into the bag and the box for me.. but I know it does take him a while! No easy task for sure. xo