An Organized Teen Closet

So, Elfa and Rubbermaid and ClosetMaid have been around for quite some time now.  So.... why do builders still give us a simple shelf and rod when there are big closets in most new homes?

Case in point.... my son's bedroom.

This closet is 8.5 feet long.  Yes... a 102" long reach-in closet.  Granted more than half of the closet is hidden behind walls, not doors... but it's a lot of storage area.  So... why does he only have one shelf?  It was seriously under-utilized.  

Last week as I wandered around my 13 year old's bedroom, I realized he had a lot of things sitting around the room due to lack of storage space {aka shelves!}

I wanted to do something nice in his closet since he is at an age to respect most anything that goes into the room (i.e... no one using marker on it or placing stickers on every visible part).

We are on a tight budget these days, so a $400+ Elfa system was out of the question.  Even a $250 wooden tower system like this...

... which looks awesome... was still out of our budget range. 

So, I relied on the same ol' white wire systems I usually install.  This time I picked Rubbermaid's 4'-8' closet.  It had a lot of flexibility to the system.  Plus I could get it on Amazon for $95.  I also opened a new Amazon card account, which gave us $50 credit!  So, I paid $45 for the system.  MUCH better than $400+.

First, I painted his closet the same gorgeous navy blue that we have on his one bedroom wall... it was leftover paint.  Read:  $0!

I was a little concerned about putting a dark color in an small enclosed space without a light.  I even painted the ceiling!  Why not?  It's easier than taping off the ceiling.

I'm not sure my back and neck have recovered fully just yet.  Yeeeowch!  

Do you do this?  I cover my roller tray with Press-n-Seal to make for SUPER easy clean-up.  Just pull up the corners, grab the foam roller off the rod from underneath, ball up and toss.  Roller and tray... clean.

While the paint was drying, I removed the contents of the closet system box.

So, here's after coat #1.  Yep, I was still nervous about the dark color, but it was too late now!  So, I did one more coat of paint.

Then, I began installing the system.  I used a laser line to draw the line to install the HangTrack on.

Here, the standards are hung:

After the track and standards were hung, I began popping in the shelves.

It provided 22 feet of shelves and 10 feet of rod space.  Wow... what a change from 8'!

I added a few inspirational quotes to his closet doors.  They seemed like the perfect spot to be reminded of who he is and who he needs to be.... y'know, a door you open every day.

Here's the Bible Verse I chose:

And the reminder quote:

Also hanging on the left door is a ThirtyOne bag to hold "too small" clothes.  All of my kids have one of those in their closets.  Anytime they try on clothing that is too small, itchy, uncomfortable, etc... they are to put it in the bag.  (If they don't, those same too-small clothes somehow always end up in the laundry basket and Mom never learns that it's not being worn.)

All in all, we were able to remove all pants and shorts from the dressers.  (Which is GOOD... he's almost in a man's size... those bulky jeans practically take up a drawer on it's own!)  Those now have a shelf dedicated to each type of bottom.  

I put the shoe bin on the bottom shelf.  No more tripping over it at night.

Here's a shot to show how we're able to utilize the several feet to the left of the left door... it's  rod for dressy clothes and unused sports/guitar equipment.

Here's the top shelf.  Ahhh... More Thirty One Storage bags to hold "too big" clothes.  All of the other bins in the closet (and the ThirtyOne bags) were already owned... we didn't buy anything new, other than the shelves.

I'm very excited to walk past his room these days.  I just grin when I see how organized and clean it looks!  Now... to see just how long it lasts!  Ha!

After looking at this photo, there is obviously a little untapped door space on the lower right.  Hmmm.... what could go there?  A painted chalkboard area (it's already nicely shaped)?  A hook to hold extra bags or hats?  A whiteboard?  A poster?  A framed photo?  Oh, the possibilities!

Even Lucy loves Ben's new ORGANIZED room... especially the beanbag chair near the door.