When we were talking about house shopping in California, I had only a few must-haves in a house. We needed a second bathroom (that's right all of you folks with multiple potties, only a second, as we'd lived with only one, seriously), just enough grass for the dogs to use for their own potties, a space for guests, and most importantly, a closet in the office. They seem like little requests, but you would be surprised.
And aside from the grass for the dogs, we'd lived without the other three for so long, it was due time to know what it felt like to have an office closet and a second bath. And we were definitely going to need a space for guests. And then when Mister Man told me about the house over the phone, they did this horrible thing to what would be our office. They took this bedroom and removed its closet, took out the door, and turned it into a den. It wasn't a bedroom anymore. And I informed him he would be returning that closet to its rightful place. Because I had to have an office closet. It was my ultimate diva moment. And it wasn't negotiable. (I was actually nice about it, but I did need my closet.)
I like everything in its place. But when certain things don't have a place, what's a girl to do? I'll tell you what that girl ends up doing. She has those items living in bags, or a tote in the basement, or stacks of items on a shelf, with canvas bags in front of it. She gets frustrated every time she has to look for certain supplies. This is exactly why that girl needed her very own office closet. It was time for office supplies to have their very own place. They needed a place once and for all. She needed them to have their own place.
This isn't vital for every person. Not every person hoards papers, pencils, school supplies, and card stock. And these don't even include my craft supplies. No, these are just office supplies. Every September, I stock up on leftover school supplies from clearance sales and hold on to them for teachers. I also go through a lot of paper, staples, envelopes, pens, markers, and glue just for our own household needs. Again, this isn't a first world problem for every household, but it was for mine.
Even though they closed up that closet and turned it into a hall closet, it had potential. Grand potential. So Mister Man attempted to open up the closet before we arrived to California, but all he managed was a rectangle window which appeared to be a puppet theater. He finally got the rest of the thick wood removed, I painted the closet to hide its flaws, and it was ready for perfection. And now, after finding the perfect shelving system, on sale for $139 at Lowe's, I now have the very closet of my dreams.
Just the same as every painted wall I have done, he hurt it!
Luckily, we can recycle all of the leftover bags that held all of the pieces.
The fun part was that I could keep switching shelves and items around as much as I wanted, seeing what fit best for me and for our items.
I found these awesome boxes at Michael's ages ago. Gear and tool themed. I wasn't even sure where they'd go. But they ended up being perfect for the closet to house excess supplies. For example, brand new packages of blue pens.
We've had this homework bin since the beginning of the school year. We keep all essential homework supplies inside it. And now it can finally go in the closet.
I actually didn't stack the binders like that on purpose. It just sort of happened.
We even have a place for gift bags and boxes! Not Christmas ones though, they're kept in the holiday totes.
And after finding the last four boxes I needed right before our vacation, the closet is finished. For now. Aside from needing doors. And trim. And someday I'll have the boxes in a pattern, I'm sure, but for now, all is well. (And even though they aren't in a pattern yet, they are alphabetized, just in case someone who knows me well thinks I'm not myself.) And I get giddy every time I look at it. Because it is exactly what I wanted.
Exactly what I needed.
I wish everyone else the most organized of closet spaces. I wish you organized bins of separated crayons, envelopes, markers, pencils, pens, scissors, and whatever else your creative minds need to survive. And I'm glad that even though we worked on this project last month, I am finally sharing it. Because something this awesome needs sharing. It needs to be experienced.
