Organizing A Small Office Closet, Before and After

Without a doubt, the beginning of the year is where we all attempt to organize our lives and homes. But after spending all those hours getting organized, sometimes it’s easier to let all that organization go by the wayside, rather then stick with it. That’s why today I’m holding myself accountable with y’all, to keep myself organized and share before and afters of my office closet organization project with the help of professional Houston organizer, Amy from EcoModern Concierge. 

For the new year, I told myself it was time to get organized and stick to it. No more doing a half-baked job of organizing for an hour then giving up. For months, I’ve been essentially drowning in disorganized chaos in the room I spend multiple hours a day in, my office. At the encouragement of my mom, I finally reached out to a Houston-area professional organizer, Amy of Eco Modern Concierge.

Get to know more about Amy in this Adored by Alex interview.

We set a day for Amy to visit my home and see what she could help with. To be honest, there are multiple areas of my home that I’m wanting to tackle, but my office was the most pressing. She took some measurements and offered some tips, and later sent me an email with different suggestions of items to pick up so we could use them for our scheduled organization session.

Isn’t it ironic that I absolutely love the Container Store, but admit I’m not the most organized. I could spend hours in that store, and have even joked that I’d love to work there on the side, simply for the discount! I’ve always seen their Elfa products but never thought I could put them to use… plus they always seem a bit intimidating to me… anyone else?

But lucky for me, Amy knew exactly what I needed for my office closet and directed me to the exact Elfa pieces I needed to purchase.

The Before

Another moment of honesty here, I was so embarrassed to actually start tackling my closet. As you can see from the before photos, I clearly let it get out of control. And honestly the phrase ‘out of control’ feels like an understatement. But let me give you some background.

As a full-time blogger, I receive a ton of product, whether it’s by brands just hoping I’ll try and/or wear their pieces and tag them, along with pieces for actual negotiated and sponsored posts or projects, and sometimes just because (with no strings attached). Couple receiving all these products (accessories, beauty products, clothes, etc.) with all the items I personally purchase for projects or outfit shoots. And add on top of the aforementioned, the clothing that I no longer wear on a regular basis because it’s outdated or no longer fits. All of that equals one mess of a  closet exploding with items that need to be given away, sold on consignment, etc.

You might also notice I have quite a few handbags. You can say designer purses are one of my major weaknesses. Honestly I’m actually one of those few people who change out their purse pretty regularly. Clearly I need a more seamless purse organization and storage system that would make it not only easier to swap out my purses, but also easy to see what I have.

The remainder of my office closet just became a home for things I didn’t want out in the open. Perhaps you’ve heard of the phrase, “out of sight, out of mind”? That phrase took on a whole new meaning with this closet. Plus, I was also using it to store Christmas ornaments and more.

Organizing a Small Office Closet 

At Amy’s suggestion, the first step to organizing the closet was to find a new spot for my ornaments. That way I could use my office closet specifically for my business needs.

When Amy returned for our organizing session, we jumped right in. We pulled out everything from the closet and found new homes for my computer boxes, because even though they’re never used, they’re one of those things I know I’ll need as soon as I toss them. We threw out any trash and junk, and made donation piles for things I no longer wanted or needed. So with a fresh slate, we could begin the organization process.

First, Amy got the Elfa Over the Door system setup. Meanwhile I went through all my purses and decided which I wanted to keep and which to part ways with.

What I personally loved about Amy, was that she didn’t ‘force me’ to part ways with anything. She understood how I might have sentimental feelings to some of my items, such as my ‘first designer bag’ or a ‘gift from my late grandmother’.[one_half][/one_half][one_half_last][/one_half_last]

We used a shoe rack to better utilize the floor space and get rid of the ugly and non-functional over the door shoe hanger. We also tackled the clothes rack.

I already had these Hyacinth storage baskets on hand, and they were perfect to organize my purses on the shelves. Amy worked on this process, color coordinating my pieces as well as grouping together similar sizes – totes, shoulder bags, etc.

Before I knew it, the closet was super organized! My purses were color-coded and organized by type. Within the Elfa door system, my clutches and smaller bags were organized. We ended up opting to stuff each of my bags with their original dustbag, to help keep their shape. Previously I would store each of my bags inside their dustbag, which obviously made it difficult to see which was which.

Truly, simple ideas like stuffing the bag with their dustbag, was something I had never thought of. And albeit it, not rocket science, Amy offered me tips and tricks that helped to simplify.

We used my preexisting wall hooks to hang a few of my larger totes for trips or boat days on one wall and hats on the other.

The After

And viola! After a little more than two hours, I went from a closet looking like a bomb went off, to an overly organized space, that I can actually walk into! Even though my closet door usually remains shut, there’s something about knowing that behind the door is a super organized space. I no longer feel an overwhelming anxiety when I walk into my office, too.

Words can’t really adequately express how it feels to have a completely disorganized space, fully reorganized and functional. Having those feelings of anxiety and stress that the space brings you, be washed away when it’s complete… it feels life-changing. And honestly, seeing how the stress melted away when we completed our organizing a small office closet project, just makes me want to keep up with the organization! I’m so thrilled to have finally tackled this project. Now on to the next one!