Organization - Creating A Holiday Storage Closet

11 November
I have an entire house to myself (about 1800 square feet of space) but for some reason I still struggle with where to store my holiday decor!
I don't have a convenient place for storage. I don't have an attic, I don't have a garage, and I don't want to store everything in a shed outside. The extreme temperature changes aren't good for things anyway.

creating a holiday storage closet



 I always dread dragging out all the decorations when it's time to decorate for a certain holiday because I know it means I'm going to make a huge mess!
Since I do have spare bedrooms that aren't being occupied, I decided to utilize some of the closets in them.
They aren't large closets by any means, this one has a couple more feet of additional space off to the left from the view below and that's it!


The first thing I did was give it a fresh coat of paint. It feels so fresh and clean after being painted! I think this is the last little area in my house that had not seen paint yet!


These next couple of pictures are all the "stuff" that needs to go in that little closet!



If I had just shoved all these huge totes (5 of them!) them into the closet then it wouldn't be any different that shoving them underneath the stairs in the basement.
Here's the issue I have with totes like these:
  1. You can't tell what's inside most of them.
  2. No matter where they are stored you always need the tote on the very bottom!
  3. They can be heavy when full of stuff.
  4. You make a huge mess just to get to a few decorations!
So to start my closet re-purpose project I bought a couple of these plastic shelving units for $14.00 each at Lowe's.


And this drawer unit for about $16.00 at Fred Meyer.


One shelving unit went into the closet off to the side... in the 2 ft. space that you cannot see in the first few pictures. Fits perfectly! :o)


I left the top shelf off the next one.


And it went on the opposite side of the closet like so


I put the little drawer storage unit on top of that. It actually came with casters but I left them off so it could sit securely on the shelving unit.


The top went on the shelf in the top of the closet. There is usually a lot of dead space in the top of closets so this is a way to get more usable storage space.


Now that I had the basics in place I started unloading the totes! I added a few nails in the back of the closet for hanging things...


A trip to the Dollar Store and I had three of these colorful plastic baskets for only $1 each!

I tried to color coordinate the basket with the holiday items I would be storing inside.

A green basket for most of the smaller Easter stuff (they didn't have pink).

A red one for Valentine's Day (barely visible behind the green basket)


And a blue basket for the 4th of July.


The rest of the closet (so far) is for Christmas decorations. Like most people, I have very little 4th of July, Easter, and Valentine's Day decorations and LOTS of Christmas!

Here is the other side of the closet...vintage Christmas tree ornaments and strings of lights...


My little white tree which I use for Valentine's Day and sometimes Easter! My collection of snowmen and Santas are on the shelf behind that...


My nativity scene, and some small greenery pieces are stored in the top of the closet.


And my vintage aluminum tree, the stand, and color wheel are on the shelf above the nativity set.


I even used the existing hooks that were in the closet for more strings of lights, rusty reindeer bell ornaments.


And garland, and my very first Christmas stocking! :o)


And I used my wreath hanger to hang my wreaths on the inside of the closet door... genius... I know!


So far so good! I still have a little space up top for my Thanksgiving and Halloween decorations. I just need another shelf and a couple more baskets I think!


And I just close the door and... aaaahhhhh (sigh of relief)... open the door and I can easily get to whatever I need without having to drag out SIX giant tubs and make a huge mess!


These plastic shelving units are SO handy for areas like closets! They go together in about 5 minutes and they are inexpensive!


Here are a couple of my other closets that I have used them in.

This is the closet in my bedroom where I used a larger one. This closet is being used to store memorabilia.

You know... all those school papers and pictures from your kids that you don't want to throw away, their baby clothes, things your kids still want but can't take yet because they are living with a dozen or so room mates and space is at a premium at their place too, and OUR memories (high school year books, your first sewing machine, your grandma's dishes, etc. :o)


This one is in a hall linen closet that was previously a coat closet.

My question is why do you need a coat closet at the top of the stairs...

...when there is one at the bottom of the stairs...

...next to the door... where you come in and take off your coat...

...just sayin'... old houses, they are weird!


So what do you think? Where do you keep all your "stuff"? If you have an attic or garage you're lucky! Unfortunately I don't have either one of those :o(


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  1. looks nice and neat! I wish I could get our Christmas things consolidated down to only 5 tubs! I think we need a Christmas intervention! LOL!
    Mom

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  2. Good for you! I loved your post! I' d like to see more of this type of "normal" blog activity myself. I don't go for the fancy decorating or the people that are trying to make a name for themselves in the blogosphere. You are right up my alley and so motivating! Thank you! And I love the tips about products you've actually bought with your own money (not a sponsor gift) and used yourself and recommend. Awesome! You go girl!

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  3. Love it Tania! These kinds of posts are right up my alley....I love organization ideas. I wish I had a closet inside that could be used for holiday decor but sadly do not. It lives in the shed in totes and boxes. I have a ridiculous amount of Christmas decor...lol! Nice work...thanks for sharing. Have an awesome week....Vicky
    Life On Willie Mae Lane

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  4. great organization skills! we use closets too, underbed storage and a little space in the garage

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  5. Awesome job of organizing that closet! My Christmas stuff is thrown out in my shop/shed/studio (a space still to be streamlined and organized!) Someday it will be inside the house :)

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