Making Room for The Winter Months

I would not be exaggerating if I told you that winter lasts a good six months here in Minnesota.  It really does.  I have been putting off getting ready for it as long as possible because it just plain sucks.  I’m no fan of winter, but somehow every year it sneaks up on me and I wish I had been more prepared.

So, this year, because I’m married and newly-domestic (ha, yeah right), I decided to do a little to make room for winter clothes.  Mr. Converse Sneakers and I are not ones to put our “winter” clothes away in storage.  In Minnesota, we could have a cold front come through any day during the summer, so having all kinds of clothing at hand is sometimes crucial.  Plus, I like to layer my clothes, so I end up wearing most of my wardrobe throughout the entire year.  Unfortunately, we do not have a lot of room for clothes.

Don’t let the idea of two closets fool you (and yes, they are two different heights with handles that don’t line up – just another joy of apartment living):



I had more closet space all four years of college on my own than I do now, and now I have to share it with my husband.  The semi-nice thing about the closets is that one already has built-in shelves and one has a rod for hanging clothes.  We added another rod to the closet on the right and have done our best to keep all the folded clothes organized on the left.



It doesn’t always look like, this however.  Our clothes get pretty cramped, and when I go to find a pair of jeans, I don’t like to spend time neatly folding them all back up, so it can get pretty chaotic.  We only have enough room to comfortably fit one hamper (so we switch it out half way through the week) and can fit most of the shoes we don’t wear regularly in the little nook in the right corner (peeking out in the photo below).



I have always liked to hang most of my clothes up to save them from wrinkles (even jeans), but I don’ have that luxury now.  All of my nicer tops get crammed into the top half of the closet and my dresses get smooshed in the very back.  Mr. CS’s clothes graze the floor as well, which makes this less than ideal.  We have a tiny bit of space for his hats and our belts, winter hats, and scarves above the rods.



We used to have absolutely no room in our room for coats.  I have 2 fall/spring jackets, three winter jackets (two are dressy and one is practical), and Mr. CS has about the same.  We also have a couple rain jackets and fleece zip ups for layering.  We were keeping them in the upstairs living room coat closet, but everything got cramped in there and we are rarely in that room, so we would rather have all of our clothes right where we need them when we need them.

We have put a lot of projects on hold, but when I was at Target this weekend, sans-husband, I decided to check out the coat hooks.  I picked up this white one for $20.  We have the perfect space behind our bedroom door that fits most of our coats easily (and my purse that normally floats around the basement), and when the door is open (which is most of the time we are home), no one can even tell there are coats there.



Score!  It’s so nice to have an organized home.  We have a long way to go, but we’re getting there slowly.

I can’t wait to tackle the other half of the room: the office area.  I’ll keep you posted!

What little-used area of your home is ready for a new purpose?