I kept my candle burning and my music playing as I entered week three of my challenge to “Make My Home a Haven.” Anyone doing this with me? It is a journey, I’ll give you that.

This week my challenge centered around decluttering.  I must admit I am one of those people who loves a clean surface and gets stressed with clutter.  I jumped on this week for the chance to work towards this in my home, but also in my spiritual life.

Due to the massive project I wanted to undertake, I actually began on Saturday of last week. We purchased a home two years ago that needed some TLC. I’m not so good with TLC and there is always the need of money to accomplish aforementioned TLC. Slowly we are getting there. One thing that needs happening is the closet in every bedroom.  The systems installed at move-in time were not only inexpensive but poorly installed. Combine that with heavy use and they were a mess!

Earlier this year we began a closet remodel on our bedroom. We aren’t really sure where to go next with it, but it’s working so much better! Last week we tackled the home office/school room This closet was the most hodgepodged thing. And I completely forgot to take a before picture.

Trust me, we are all probably better off without it. There were shelves that fell constantly dropping things on our heads. We used a variety of plastic drawers, shelves, and other things to rig up storage. Seriously, it was… Frightening.

Unfortunately,I’m not really ready for after pictures, because there’s still much to accomplish. When we get it completed, I will do another entry, I promise!  Especially since I scoured the internet looking for ideas to no avail. I simply refuse to believe I am the only one in this predicament!

The problem is this closet tries to serve a lot of functions.

It holds our games, which we own a lot of. We love games. All games. In fact, I recently wrote about games. Our Church has long promoted what they call “Family Home Evening“. We’re kind of horrible at it. Or at least it seems that way from the way some people talk. Mostly this is a night set aside by the family to come together and regroup. Families just get so busy and fractured today. A lot of families I know incorporate payers, a song, and a lesson as well as some sort of family activity. And a snack. Hello, you always have to have treats!

We typically end up playing games. I figure we win because at least we are doing something together. However, we probably should attempt to do the other stuff. Right?

We kept our games stacked on top of each other like most people, and hoped that when selecting one the whole mess didn’t crash down on our heads. With our shelves at customizable heights, we were able to put the games in on their sides like books. This actually takes up less space.  We could cut down some of the shelves to make this even more customizable if we wanted.

Since this is a home office/school room, there’s also the staples, pens, pencils, crayons, scissors, and etc. I had these in various plastic drawers shoved all over the place. When purchasing the rails to put on the back wall as well as more shelf items, we discovered these little three shelf units. These were meant to go on the inside of doors so are fairly shallow. We snatched up four. Two are now installed and they alone work perfectly for those basic office supplies. We installed them on the side wall and they fit in the space between the corner and the first rail perfectly. Talk about fortuitous!

We also picked up a drawer we can hang on the rail system we installed. I’ve been wavering back and forth on the lower portion of the closet. Cubbies seem to work well for organizing. Especially if you cubby with those little canvas drawers. They just seem a perfect size. The hanging drawers also seem useful. We decided to purchase one medium size drawer to use as an example of various ideas. It’s a really great size for a lot of things so we are now debating some of the drawers. This is the part that will take time.

This is all I’ve gotten through, but it has made me so much happier!! I’m still in the progress of assessing what is left to go back in. There’s my sewing, stamp, scrapbook, knitting, and beading stuff. There’s the kids actual schoolwork stuff. And there’s my husband’s art supplies.

Now that we have the rails up, we can purchase what we need a lot easier. I’m trying to decide if I want the other two wire racks in the closet or to use them elsewhere.

A long ways to go, but we’ve also progressed a lot as well! I’m so glad!

Closets are difficult and expensive beasts. Especially when they are more than just for clothes.  However an organized closet makes me so happy…so peaceful!

* * * * *

In the home stretch, there’s only two more challenges to go.

Week 4: Keep the candle going, the music playing, and add some tender moments with your family. Have a pillow party in the family room and get out every blanket and pillow in the house and be cozy with the kids or your hubby! Even if you live alone you can do this. Enjoy a cozy evening of hot cider and caramel corn. Give a 5 minute back rub to every single person in your house…and for a double challenge – try to give one every day to each family member! During your tender moment with the family, ask them how they feel about this challenge. Are they enjoying it? Is it helpful? Is there anything they would change. Give your family listening ears. I think you will be blessed by the positive feedback you will receive!

–Lady O