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Organization

Organized Luggage Closet (& outdoor favorites!)

Organized Luggage Closet (*affiliate links used)
Organized Luggage Closet (Sunny Side Up)

{Mumbai stripe woven rug/woven texture pillow /lumbar dye stripe pillow}

Happy Saturday!  How are you feeling today?  This quarantine situation is so strange isn’t it?  Some days I wake up feeling motivated and energized and other days feel a little more heavy and sad because of everything going on.  On harder days I’ve found a few things that always help me feel better.  Exercise (I especially feel better being outside!), talking to friends on house party and of course.. completing something.  My best days are always days that I feel productive!  I’ve always been that way.  Even if it’s something small, I feel better when I check an item off of my list that I’ve been wanting to accomplish.  Laundry and every day cleaning doesn’t count for me because that stuff is never ending.  Organizing a spot that has been driving me crazy?  Now THAT makes me feel good. :)  Lately I’m organizing things so fast and furious around here that I’m getting behind sharing my progress on the blog!  I’m sharing a lot of organizing on IG stories which is so fun, but if I haven’t shared it on my blog.. did it ever really happen?

I think not. ;)

So for those of you who missed this fun closet makeover on IG, let’s catch up!

Organized Luggage Closet (Sunny Side Up)

{stripe doormat/hanging baskets}

When we were building our house I realized that the closet under our staircase was going to be very large and deep and kind of a pain to walk into so I had my builder make two smaller closets instead.  They both fit under my stairs, but one closet door is next to my stairs and the other closet entry is through this little door in my mudroom.  Most of you already know that I lovingly call this my hobbit door. :)

Organized Luggage Closet (Sunny Side Up)

Here’s a fun “before” of what has been lurking behind my hobbit closet door.  I was using this space to store lots of things – rugs I’m not using at the moment, outdoor pool towels and pillows when we aren’t using them, luggage, my kids school work bins and other miscellaneous bags.

Organized Luggage Closet (Sunny Side Up)

I have cleaned and organized this closet COUNTLESS times and it it always just ends up looking like a hot mess.  You can see that at one point I tried corralling all of our extra bags in a laundry hamper thinking that would help.

It didn’t help.

Every time I needed a bag it was a pain to find and then I’d end up with bags all over the floor because I had to dig for the one I wanted.  No matter what I tried, this closet has never stayed organized.  Until now!

I finally realized two things:  1) I was trying to store too much in this small space.  2) I needed a better solution for all of the extra bags.

Organized Luggage Closet (Sunny Side Up)

When my carpenter was here putting up our hall molding I had him install some hooks in this closet.  (Our hall molding has been done for awhile but isn’t painted.. and ahh!  I still need to share that on the blog too!)  I bought these hooks a long time ago at a local hardware store when I bought some for my girls’ closets and just hadn’t got around to hanging them.  I had him install 4 hooks on the right side of the wall when you walk in the door.

Organized Luggage Closet (Sunny Side Up)

Here’s a look at them head on.

Organized Luggage Closet (Sunny Side Up)

Then I also had him install 6 hooks on the other wall to the left of the door as high as possible.  I’m going to have my painters quickly paint the wood the hooks are on when they come to paint my molding (once this stay at home order is behind us!).

Organized Luggage Closet (Sunny Side Up)

“After!”  I pulled everything out of this closet and cleaned the floor and then re-evaluated what to put back inside.  I donated things we weren’t using anymore, moved the extra rugs to my attic and put our camping bags in the garage with all of our camping gear.  I put back our pool towels and pillows, all of our luggage and my kids school work bins (updating their school work bins is another project on my list!).  It felt so good to move some of the items OUT of this closet so that I have room to walk in this space!

Organized Luggage Closet (Sunny Side Up)

In our previous home and apartments when I’ve been short on space I’ve always stored small luggage inside of large luggage.  But at the stage we are in now, someone in our family seems to be traveling somewhere every month (when things are “normal” that is!) and it’s a pain to pull everything apart to get our carry on bags.  We have this space for luggage so I really wanted to find a way to make room for ALL of our luggage individually.  Moving some things to other better spots freed up so much space!

But guess what made an even bigger difference!?

Organized Luggage Closet (Sunny Side Up)

The hooks up on the wall!  Oh my word!  Do you hear the angels?  How could you not!?  They are LOUD.  ;)

Organized Luggage Closet (Sunny Side Up)

Getting our beach bags and smaller travel bags up off the floor was a HUGE game changer!  Now they are out of the way and so easy to access.  No more digging through bags to find the one I need!

Organized Luggage Closet (Sunny Side Up)

The other side holds our backpacks!  My kids keep their backpacks for school in their mudroom lockers but Kenny and I have always just kept our backpacks (that we use for travel and hiking) in a messy pile in this closet.  Not anymore!  They now have their own home!  There’s even a nice spot for Kole’s saxophone along the wall.  Oh the joy I feel when everything has its own place. :)

Organized Luggage Closet (Sunny Side Up)

In a few weeks when it’s warming up and time to pull out our outdoor pillows and towels it will be a breeze!  No more clutter.  This was such a simple makeover that felt like a HUGE win for me.  This closet has always been a struggle for me to keep organized.  Not anymore!  If you have a spot like this that you just CAN’T keep clean, try the 2 things I did to turn this space around.  Clear out more of the clutter AND re-think how you are storing things.

Organized Luggage Closet (Sunny Side Up)

{Ambeur 2-piece spinner luggage set}

When I shared this makeover on IG I got lots of questions about my rose gold luggage!  I LOVE this luggage set and it’s what I use the most when I travel.

Organized Luggage Closet (Sunny Side Up)

It’s lightweight, easy to spot at the airport and has lots of room inside.  I love the way it’s organized with a place for shoes and extra zipper compartments!

Organized Luggage Closet (Sunny Side Up)

You can find it sold as a set here.

Organized Luggage Closet (Sunny Side Up)

Also when I shared our pool pillows and towels I store in my organized luggage closet I got some questions about those.  My exact pillows have sold out, but I found some really similar, fun options that I’ll link below!  You can find my stripe reversible beach towels here (on sale!).  Our favorite outdoor Cantilever umbrellas are also on sale for a great price right now!  I can’t even begin to tell you how much I love these umbrellas.  You can easily adjust them up, down, side to side.. anywhere you want!  They are perfect for outdoor lounging and have been well worth the price.

Organized Luggage Closet (Sunny Side Up)

{pink flamingo floatie}

We also use them over tables for shade every time we entertain.

Organized Luggage Closet (Sunny Side Up)

These pictures make me miss having people over so much!  I’m really missing extended family and friends right now.  Anyone else?  So excited for when we can all be together again.

Organized Pool Closet (Sunny Side Up)

My favorite Reflected Diamonds indoor/outdoor rug is also on sale this weekend.. 40% off!  I have this rug in 2 spots in our backyard and have thought about putting one inside too I love it so much.

Organized Pool Closet (Sunny Side Up)

{reflected diamonds rug/white tray}

Here is a closer look at my rug!  So cute.  I wish our outdoor area looked like this right now.  We’ve had so much rain lately.  I need to go outside and move things back in place and clean everything off!

Organized Luggage Closet (Sunny Side Up)

I still love these navy stripe pool towels as much as I did 5 years ago when I bought them!  They have held up so well.  I keep them in our little outdoor pool bathroom during the summer.

Organized Pool Closet (Sunny Side Up)

Since we’re talking all things outdoor and pool here is a quick makeover I did on our little pool storage closet last year around this time.  This “before” was taken after I’d already pulled half of the stuff out.  It was such a hot mess!

Organized Pool Closet (Sunny Side Up)

It sill looks like this today!  EASY to keep clean now.  I eventually want to add shelves up high on the wall for the boogie boards and other pool floaties.  Vertical storage is such a great solution!  Hopefully that will happen this summer, but I have a lot of other priorities I want to tackle first.

I need to slow my roll and not get TOO ahead of myself over here. ;)

Organized Pool Closet (Sunny Side Up)

If you are ready to organize your outdoor toys for the kids this summer these stackable baskets are an easy solution!  They come in other colors and work so well for kids’ toys – inside or outside!

I’ll link other outdoor favorites below.  Everything is on sale this weekend!  I have a feeling our yards are going to be more important than ever during the next month or so.  I know I’ve been so grateful for ours this month with Kole.  Most afternoons when it isn’t raining I take him outside and have him just run laps!  I don’t think little boys were meant to be on zoom and inside all day.  Too much energy that needs to be burned off.  We all have anxious energy we need to burn off with everything going on lately!

Laps for him.. organizing for me. ;)

Enjoy your Saturday friends!  Stay healthy and safe and if you’re also organizing this weekend let me know what you’re working on!  :)

{POST SOURCES & OUTDOOR FAVORITES}








xoxo, Erin
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14 thoughts on “Organized Luggage Closet (& outdoor favorites!)

  1. I saw this on IG and was so impressed. Great job, Erin! I can well understand that feeling of accomplishment. I’ve been having a few of those during moments this crazy time. I’m glad to be finally doing rather than wishing I was doing, or intending to do. ;) So, where are you storing the stuff to donate? This is my big struggle right now as I’m working on deep cleaning and wanting to doclutter. My regular donation box is full. And I really don’t have a great spot to pile up donation stuff. I guess I might have to clear a spot in the garage (which is in desperate need of a declutter). Can you imagine the donation centers when people are able to get out freely? They may be buried in people’s stuff! I hope you have a lovely weekend. We had two snowstorms this week! The second one dropped 9-11 inches of snow. In mid April. Yeah, Mother Nature you are just as confused as the rest of us! But, this weekend should be nice, weather wise. :)

    1. Oh my word.. right!? EVERYONE will be heading to Goodwill when our stay at home time is done! They actually set out big bins at mine and we are allowed to drop off small things so I’ve been taking some stuff there. I have a large chest I want to get rid of and it’s just sitting in the back of my husband’s truck at the moment. Storage for the stuff we don’t want to store is an issue right now! Ha. I’m so impressed with YOU! It really is nice doing rather than wishing isn’t it!? I feel the same way. So many things I’ve wanted to get done that I just couldn’t do before. It was always too hard to block out longer than 20 minutes here and 20 minutes there and sometimes you just need time to really immerse yourself in something for hours until it’s done! Happy for both of us being productive right now. :) Happy organizing and yea for sunny skies ahead! xo

  2. Oooh, second attempt to comment. I think there may be something on your page that sometimes doesn’t load well and the comment doesn’t upload because it’s trying to fully load the page. Proud of you for getting some of those long awaited projects done. I feel your joy of satisfaction! One of my struggles in all this is, is finding a spot to put the items I have decluttered and want to donate. Our donation centers are closed right now, as I’m sure yours are. So instead, I’m still in some ways to clean clutter. I am trying to clear a spot in my very full garage. Oh well, it’ll work out. Can you imagine the donation centers once the stay at home orders are lifted? They may get buried. Hope you have a lovely weekend!

    1. So here is the deal with my comments! I have to approve them before they show up on my blog. I have it set up that way to block off spam and the occasional hater (although thankfully I don’t get many negative comments!). So when you leave a comment it won’t show up right away. So sorry about that! I know it’s annoying to write something and push publish and then not see it! Spam comments and people trying to advertise is an issue so it’s set up this way so that I can only let real comments from real people get published. I usually wait to approve them until I have time to reply so sometimes it takes a while before they show up on the blog. I hope that made sense and clears up any confusion! :)

    1. Thank you Cindy! They were from Pottery Barn but sold out! I linked to some that are almost identical at the bottom of this post and I think they are the same size! :)

  3. I love the hooks (and the baskets hung by the door). I live in a small apartment but adding the hooks will certainly give me more space! Thanks for the great idea

  4. Love the before pictures. They were helpful as it showed what you were dealing with. I’m like you, my best days are productive days in the area of organizing and decluttering. :-) I was actually on the same page with the bags the other day. Hung them on hangers on a low rack in my clothes closet but didn’t like the visual effect. Love your idea though! I have lots of storage space but not enough free wall space in my storage closets as I have large racks in them. So, although decluttered, my bags are still piled up in a basket. Will keep thinking about this.

    1. I’m so happy this was helpful Stephanie! Thank you! Projects are definitely helping me cope with everything right now. Feels good to accomplish a little something each day! Take care and happy organizing! :)

  5. Thank you for the never ending inspiration flow!!!! And thank you for sharing so many pictures and details from you beautiful house!!!

    A question I was hoping you could help me with. I have clothes (Classic cardigans, silk dresses etc) and some bags that I’m not using but I want to keep for the future , I’m trying to find some good storage bags to keep them fresh and in good condition even though stored for some years , do you have any recommendations? (I myself have loved when my mom and grandmas took out bags and beautiful dresses both for me but also dresses for my daughters my mom used to have)
    Thank you and wish you a wonderful day 🌸🌸🌺🌺🌸🌸

    1. Hi Anna! Thank you so much! I wish I had a good recommendation for you but I can’t think of one! I have some clothes stored in my attic but they are just inside a storage bin so nothing fancy there. What about those bags that you can vacuum tight to save space? I know they have those on Amazon and that might be the best way to keep things fresh! If I come across a good solution I’ll share it on my blog. Sorry I’m not much help with that one! xo

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