Crappy Closet turned Crafty Closet

I am a craft-a-holic....yep it's true, although I haven't found a 12 step program for it. I am not sure I'd care to change either. I find sewing, knitting, and crafting to be soothing, calming, and therapeutic. I really enjoy using the skills my grandma taught me too! I love sitting down with my kids and creating fun projects together (and for them). We have a junk closet.....much like a junk drawer but bigger, and it certainly needed to be revived with life. Because I do so many projects at once I thought it might be a good idea to get all my craftiness supplies in one central location rather than strewed about the house. Want to know how I turned my closet into this lovely thing? Well, then read on...

Like I said, I started with quite a junky looking mess. It was actually embarrassing for me to take a photo of it to share but I am doing it for the greater good. (tee hee hee) Here is what I started with. A heaped pile of disorganization! Oy that is so sad looking and completely NOT functional.

The first thing I did was take every single thing out and sorted the items into piles. I decided what needed to stay and what needed to go. Once I had an empty closet to work with I felt like the fun was about to begin.













I reserved my top shelf for items I didn't want my kids to be able to reach without my assistance. I used two old soup cans for storing markers and brushes. I covered the cans with pretty card stock paper and added a little label to complete the look. For storage of my paints I used an old Goldfish Cracker carton. I used my handy box cutter and carefully cut the top off of the box. I covered the box with coordinating paper and labeled it as well.

The next shelf was my biggest cost. Are you ready? $3.22! Yep you read that right! I purchased 3 pink baskets in the dollar area at Target to store my scissors, elastic, and needles. I used two clear glass cookie jars for my thread and rick rack storage containers.

The next shelf took me the longest. Because I have 4 children I had ample supplies of diaper boxes and wipe boxes. They were sitting in a pile waiting to be broken down for recycling. Instead of purchasing expensive core board (like I had originally planned) I got out my box cutter again and started to cut the boxes into rectangle pieces. I took the rectangles and wrapped my fabrics onto the boards. I then arranged my material by color so I could easily see what it was that I had available to me. I am loving the way it turned out!


Next came my shelf for my machines. I reserved this shelf for them because they are at the perfect height for lifting. These machines are not only bulky they're heavy so I wanted to make it easy for me to grab. I put my serger and sewing machine next to each other along with two clear plastic tubs with machine parts and the pedals. Just below that shelf I filled that space with all my pretty ribbons and other "crafty" supplies. I had these plastic tubs already so this was something I didn't need to purchase.

Last but not least my floor of the closet was reserved for two plastic storage containers I have had since my college dorm years. I used to keep socks and underwear in them. I used one for my yarn storage and the other to keep all my patterns (and my grandma's) neat and organized.








So there you have it...my perfectly organized craft closet for a grand total of $3.22!!!!! I am so in love with the way it turned out. Let me know what you think and if I have inspired you as well!