This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #NewYearNewCloset #CollectiveBias
Resolutions for me are rarely actually FOR me. They’re always things that I can either do for the kids, or for my sanity. Redoing Oliver’s closet falls into the second category. His has been a disaster since he got forced out of his room and into the guest room with Sophie’s arrival (really tough on him, getting that bigger room, with the bigger closet, and his own bathroom. Boo hoo). I didn’t want to do anything permanent in his closet until he was older because I didn’t want to have to redo it (kids grow and all). But… my temporary solution wasn’t much of one. It never worked well, and now it was literally falling apart. See for yourself:
The only good thing about this was that when something didn’t have a place, you could just shove it into a cubby and forgot about it. Forever. Because I did many times. I’ve actually pulled clothes out of those cubbies with the tags still on them that he’d grown out of because I couldn’t see they were smushed in there.
I was SO excited when I saw the new Rubbermaid® Configurations® Custom Closet Kits. They’re no cut (phew, because that’s just an added pain there’s no going back from if you whoopsie), they adjust vertically and horizontally (really easily, including the shelving and the rods!), and they add up to 12 feet of shelving space and 10 feet of hanging space. But the BEST part: they are incredibly easy to reconfigure, so when Oliver grows, it’s literally a five-minute job to rearrange or adjust the shelves and rods! Want to know what else is awesome – they’re offering it for a new lower price. Regular price is $168 for the 3-6 foot closet system, but until February 15, 2017 it’s only $128!!! I grabbed mine at Home Depot because they sell all the add-ons there (like extra shelves, rods, and even espresso wood shelves, drawers, and cubbies that you can hang). Here’s the display you’re looking for, it’s in the wire shelving section:
I know, you’re thinking there’s no way it’s that easy. It is, and I’m going to show you now. I started this whole project 2 hours before the kids bedtime, with all three kids building lego at my feet in this room – because kids loving doing stuff like that when you’re trying to work. There’s also an amazing Rubbermaid Closet Designer you can use to customize and design your own closet before you head to the store.
The first thing to do was empty out the closet. This was the hardest part, because I had to figure out where to put the stuff that shouldn’t have been in his closet to begin with (like the alphabet letters in frames from his nursery that I just can’t part with yet). Then fill the holes with some puddy because your new Rubbermaid Configurations Custom Closet will look a lot cleaner than your old one and you don’t want a bunch of holes showing.
Next up, hang the top rail. We hung it a little lower than the instructions, just because of the height of our closets, and knowing that we wouldn’t be bringing shelving right down to the ground. The easiest way to do this is to find your studs (don’t do this if you have a husband hanging around unless you want him to beep the stud finder on himself – they all do it). If your studs are more than 24″ apart, or you just can’t find them easily, you can use the drywall anchors provided to install. Mark where each stud is located at the same hight up the wall (we did 75″ instead of 86″), then use a level to make sure they all line up nice a straight. Pre-drill either way (1/8″ for going into studs, or 3/8″ if you’re using the drywall anchors), then drive in your screws. Use a level on top of the rail one last time before tightening the screws all the way.
Now we have to hang the first two uprights on either side (6 inches in from the outside walls of your closet). This is such a piece of cake. They hang on the top rail, and you use a 6″ plastic cover as a guide to measure. Just one screw in the bottom of each upright is all you need to fix it in place. Don’t forget to pre-drill your holes again.
Add in the rest of your uprights now, the exact same way, spacing them out however you’ve decided to in your Rubbermaid Closet Designer plan. We just did them both 22″ away from the outside uprights. I wanted a lot of extra shelves because we keep all of Oliver’s pants in his closet, and I don’t like hanging them up. If you hang your top rail at the recommended height, you can very simply attach the uprights to run top to bottom, with a simple clip. You can have floor-to-ceiling organization with this set, there is literally no wasted space!
This is how I *thought* I was going to organize the closet. I was going to run the long rod all the way across the top and have shelves running up the left. But once it was set up, I didn’t think it made sense for us, and Oliver would probably make a giant mess trying to get shirts off of the top rod (he’s only 7).
This is what I finally decided on (it took less than five minutes to switch everything!). I put the extra rod on his top shelf to save for when he grows into the height, and I did two lower rods that he can easily reach. I also added four additional shelves, and a sliding wire basket, to the 3-6′ closet kit to meet all my storage needs. Everything couldn’t be easier to insert. The brackets just slide into place, the shelves rest on top of them and are then “locked in” with the slide of a clip. The shelves also come in two very slightly different depths, so that they can be installed overlapping to perfectly fit any width.The rods clip into hangers that slide into the underside of the brackets, and you can slide your clothes hangers all the way from one end to the other.
Here it is with all his clothes back in (well, except for that giant basket of laundry). It is SO MUCH EASIER for me to see everything now. All his shorts are in the sliding basket, and his sheets and extra blankets are actually folded and easy to grab. Since I did this, I’ve walked into his room at least 6 times a day just to open up those closet doors and see how clean and organized it is. I’ve actually enjoyed putting laundry away for, like, the first time ever. Now I’m planning on re-doing the girls’ closets in the next week or two as well. I love that Rubbermaid Configurations Closets are so easy to move around, they’ll be a breeze to switch up with the kids changing needs (and heights).
I’d love to hear what you’re re-organizing this New Year – I can always use some new ideas and inspiration. Let me know in the comments below!
Cyn Gagen
KIM