I did it.

The coat closet, that is.  It’s organized!  I don’t want to go out on this cold, snowy day to get the finishing touches so it’s not 100% finished but it’s done enough.  I’ll show you the what I’m talking about later.  First the before pictures…

This coat closet is beside the door that leads to the garage.  It’s the door we use 99% of the time so it made sense that we keep our coats and shoes here.  We don’t wear our shoes in the house.

See the shoes on the floor on both sides of the closet doors?  Those are my “go-to” shoes.  Mr. Aitch’s shoes are next to the refrigerator by a bench that you can just see the edge of at the bottom of the photo.  Some of his shoes are stored in the bench but these are overflow.

Now you see why those shoes aren’t inside the closet.

Top shelf left to right: old motorcycle helmet, box of my hats, two motorcycle helmets, motorcycle cover, Mr. Aitch’s random hats.  On top of those boxes are baseball caps.  Sorry for the blurry photo.  It was a dark day and not enough light.  My bad for not using the tripod.

Hanging coats row left to right: Three winter coats that either don’t fit or were left behind by our kids, two shoe holders that need repaired, an array of motorcycle clothing (chaps, vests, jackets and liners), light weight coats mixed in with heavy winter coats.

And on the for right are two long winter coats.  One has a few moth holes near the botton so I “intend” to cut it off, re-hem it and wear it.  If that doesn’t happen in 2017, it will be donated.  The other long coat belongs to Mr. Aitch.  Sadly, it doesn’t fit any more.

The floor is cluttered with: a yoga mat, step stool, a cardboard shoe holder, boxes of toboggans, more shoes, motorcycle rain suits, boots, my bowling bag, and drycleaning plastic bags.

Both shoe holders need repaired as the plastic insert in broken in half.  The orange one isn’t as bad.  How I wish they made these to support real shoes but I know I can fix it.

Now for the show!

No shoes on the floor outside the closet.  Yes, I still have my angel hanging on the wall.  She’s a winter decoration so I keep her up until March.

The top shelf might look messy but it’s organized.

Cardboard shoe holder moved to the top shelf.  One to three pairs of shoes fit in the cubbies.  The plastic bags help keep the dirt and dust off the shoes.  I might replace the plastic bags with fabric ones.  Not a top priority right now.

The two motorcycle helmets we do wear are next and a backpack sits on top if them. Those cardboard file boxes are the perfect size for our helmets.  The box offers protection and a flat surface above acts as a shelf.

The motorcycle cover (in the silver bag) slides between the helmet box and the wall.  The coats we kept were rearranged. Mr. Aitch’s coats are to the right of the orange shoe holder (winter to light-weight) and mine are next in a similar order from heavy to lighter.  The motorcycle jackets hang next to the wall.  Once the seasons change again, we will rearrange the coasts so they are easier to grab.

The floor is home to the yoga mat, my bowling bag, the small stool and our motorcycle and winter boots.  The rugs are remnants that don’t match nor fit well but they protect the hardwood floor.  When we get new carpeting (fingers crossed), I’ll cut a piece of the old and replace this conglomeration.

Our leather motorcycle chaps and jacket liners hang against the wall and the motorcycle rain suits in the red bag sit between the boots and the wall

The grey hanging shoe holder has gloves, hats, gloves, hats, hats, hats, sandals, and my two pairs of go-to shoes.  The orange shoe holder contains mostly motorcycle stuff: gloves, neck gators, bandanas, helmet communication chargers, and a couple of hats that didn’t fit in the grey one.  I love the drawers that fit inside the shoe holder.  I picked those up at IKEA a few years ago when they were discounted.  The red doesn’t match the orange but I don’t care.

We got rid of seven jackets/coats (Goodwill), one motorcycle helmet, and many, many pairs of shoes/boots, plus trash.

I think it looks pretty good.  We even have room to hang guest’s coats.

The one thing that I didn’t address is the baseball caps.

My plan is this.  I don’t have any extra shower curtain hooks and as I said before, it’s too cold and snowy to go out and buy some today.  I will need another over-the-door hook to hang the cap holder so it will hang high on the inside of the door won’t interfere with the coats.  When I find them and make the hat holder, the closet will be finished.

Are you a “self-starter”?  Or do you need outside motivation to get things started?  Do you procrastinate until  the very last-minute to begin a project?

Did you read my New Year’s post that “2017 will be the year to finally get my house organized and updated”?

I am in need of some major motivation and less procrastination.  Most of the time I have great ideas then fall short of achieving them.

Part of my problem stems from:

• the financial situation – Can I afford to do this?
• my ability – Am I biting off more than I can do without professional help?
• the best time to begin – Will I be able to complete it within a reasonable amount of time?
• my idea – What will Mr Aitch think of this idea?

If I promise something to someone else, I can get started right away and finish i.e. the Cheers to you Mitts.

I don’t seem to be able to begin without some type of deadline.  Self-imposed deadlines don’t get me motivated.  I need guests, or the promise of new carpeting, or remodeling the basement with paint and built-in shelving/cabinets/work bench, or help.  Mostly help.  It’s so much easier to clean out someone else’s stuff.  No sentiment associated with other peoples’ stuff.

Now as for the organizing part of my 2017 plan – our walk-in closet is in dire need of a major clean out.  That will take several days and our bedroom will be a total disaster during the entire time.  So I think I will tackle the smaller coat closet on the first floor as I know I can finish that in a day.

Today will be the first day!  I Can Do This!!!

I’ll let you know my progress on Wednesday.