The closet, closest to the front door, is the coat closet. This closet has become the catch all for everything that comes through the front door. It holds coats, hats, scarves, gloves, backpacks,shoes, umbrellas,and the vacuum cleaner (someone please tell me why the vacuum cleaner is stored with outdoor clothing)?

This is an important closet, this is a premium space that should not be mis treated. This closet welcomes you home! It opens its door and lets you place all of your outside baggage into it. It doesn’t complain no matter how much you shove into it, on it’s rod, the floor, maybe even the shelf above. This closet takes everything you can put in it, and keeps on storing! Until one day it pops open and stuff starts to fall out. Like a snake popping out of a joke can, but this is no joke! It’s time to do something about it, take some action, get started!

Step one: Remove everything! Yes, that’s right! I said everything, from the tippy top, to the very bottom.

Step two: Wash the walls and baseboards, paint if needed. Line the shelf with shelf liner, and vacuum.

Step three: Sort, purge, and edit everything into three piles. Keep, love, can’t live without, and can’t see my future with out it, pile. Then there is the “Thank you” for teaching me, what I don’t need, don’t want, and can’t use pile. Last, but not least. My favorite black trash bag, so whatever you put in there cannot be seen, so you don’t take it back out.

Step 4: This is a tricky step. Make sure the items you are choosing to put back into this space, actually belong in this space.

You will need matching heavy duty hangers, coats are not lite. 3-4 baskets or bins for the top shelf, to hold hats, scarves, gloves, compact umbrellas, etc… and an umbrella stand in the corner of the closet floor. (Only if you have full length umbrellas 🌂).

Everything should be looking and feeling pretty good about now. If you have no other location for the vacuum, there should be room for it on one side of the closet floor. Remember to leave a few empty hangers for when guests come over.