For too long, I’ve sat in our home complaining about the storage or ironically lack thereof in our cleaning / linen closet at the end of the hall. The fact that we had the closet to begin with is great. But it’s functionality was less than ideal, so follow along as I give this closet the dramatic makeover she so desperately deserved!

I believe at the time our home was built that perhaps the goal of this closet was to house extra linens. It had shelving from floor to ceiling and quite a bit of space, but for the purpose I intended to use this closet, I needed a home or parking spot for the vacuum, mop, broom, cleaning supplies, and backstock of air filters, batteries and lightbulbs. In it’s previous form, this closet just didn’t allow for our needs forcing us to park the mop and mop bucket behind the bathroom door, vacuum in our den, and broom and dust pan typically wherever they were used last.

Out of frustration, one day while my toddler was in school and baby napped, I ripped out the old shelving, organized all of the items I needed, got rid of anything I didn’t, and with pen and paper drew out my dream cleaning closet.

I took measurements and price checked what I’d need, and eventually found that I would only have to buy one board for $25ish, and the rest could be created from repurposed scrap material and paint I already had on hand. Initially, I wanted to conquer this project myself and surprise my husband with my handiness. Unfortunately I quickly learned that I am the visionary in our relationship. I can see alternative use for something or see potential where sometimes he cannot, but handiness and making it happen? Not your girl.

So after 3 weeks of patiently waiting for my husband’s assistance, we spent a Sunday afternoon working to transform this space from merely a storage area to a functional cleaning closet.

Do you have a space in your home that could serve you better? I implore you to take note of what you need the space to do vs. What it’s actually doing and look up ways to achieve this. Check out Pinterest but beware- They have an idea for everything! Draw out your plan, and determine what you need to do to bring it to action! Shoot, even look around and see if you can do it on a budget, too. I would love to hear about your projects.