Young House Love

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How To Organize A Craft Closet

So it turns out I’m Monica Geller. I get questions like those pretty regularly:

  • Q: “I was hoping you could tell us how you organize your crafty supplies…mine seem to be spread all over the house!” – Chris
  • Q: “Can you give us a peak at how/where you store your craft stuff? Is it obvious that I’m kind of hoping you have a secret Monica Geller closet?” – Katie

And my answers are usually all strained and sputtery like this:

  • “Our craft closet is a GIANT mess (and it’s in the guest room so they can peek in there and scream). Everything is piled into a few baskets, and there are even some paper grocery bags going on, so I should probably get on that. I’d love to organize it and share the details with you guys!”

But ladies and germs (oh my gosh, I just turned into my dad for a second there), I finally got annoyed enough to do something about it. So here’s how I tamed the previously untamable chaos that was “the craft closet” (*cue the spooky sound effects*). Here’s my shameful but kind of hilarious before shot of the guest room closet. I swear I didn’t mess this up to have a better after, it actually looked like this for months.

Craft Closet1

And here’s the “how you like me now” after. In the always applicable words of Jay Z… “GET YOUR DANG HANDS UP.” Ok, you might be at work, so I’ll just wave mine around for you.

Craft Closet9

Why are my craft things in the guest room closet anyway? That room has the prettiest view in the house, along with gorgeous afternoon light – so I’d love to creep in there and sew/paint on Sunday afternoons. I’d also love to eventually bring in a dresser or desk that can accommodate my sewing machine so the room can truly multi-task (we do host guests occasionally, but we love using rooms more often if we can).

Let’s get a little closer to the chaos first though, shall we? Does it not look like The Rolling Stones stayed here and trashed it like a truly fabulous hotel room? Except with more hello kitty.

Craft Closet 2

This is the view if you stepped into the closet and turned right (there’s a little alcove in there that got just as full of floor-covering junk).

Craft Closet 3

Not to mention all the craft supplies that had collected downstairs on the dining table (which actually looked a whole lot messier, so to see the true before shot of this in 3D you can check out this house tour video).

Craft Closet 4

The first step of any organizing project of mine involves chocolate. So I had a few Hershey’s Kisses (dark, don’t try to tell me that milk chocolate is as good as dark chocolate because we’ll get into it) and then I got down to business. First I dumped out the paper bag that had a ton of craft supplies in it since our move 7 months ago. Yeaaaahhh… it was time.

Craft Closet 5

Next, Clara helped me assemble one of my two secret weapons for this closet: a Raskog cart from Ikea. Initially I had planned to buy a bunch of those plastic bins and drawers at Target, but I realized that buying two larger and more substantial (not to mention cuter) items might help me keep things under control better for the long haul. Storage areas like garages and attics tend to spiral out of control for us – especially if we use a bunch of cheap plastic systems that can get overfilled, jammed, and broken, so… know thyself.

Building Raskog

Then I took a few days off the project (painting the nursery jumped to the top of the list) but eventually I turned my focus back to The Closet Of Doom and brought in this folding shelf that we’ve had for 8+ years (it’s originally from Bed Bath & Beyond I think) for that alcove on the right. I figured going vertical instead of spreading things out all over the floor made a lot more sense.

Craft Closet 6

The other Ikea item we bought was this white five-drawer cabinet, which I spotted in the as-is section for 25% off. I totally played it cool you guys. Just kidding, I sprinted over and grabbed it like the hamburglar making off with some tasty treats. The fact that it had five awesomely smooth (read: non-plastic) drawers of various heights made it perfect for supplies like paints, brushes, sprays and paint pens – and the already assembled thing was a total bonus. I actually think it’s cute enough to be out of the closet, along with the cart – so perhaps down the line if I get a little sewing desk going on the other wall of this room I can slip the cabinet under it with the cart next to it or something.

Craft Closet 7

The rest of the stuff in the closet are things we previously had – like that hanging fabric cubby thing (from Ikea years ago) and that ceramic planter where I shove all of our wrapping paper and tissue paper. And as for the rolling cart…

  • the top bin has various art notebooks and pads along with a few canvases and a rolled up placemat that I’d love to use as a stencil someday
  • the second bin has wood items (dowels, wood plaques, various pieces of scrap wood, and even a few wood slices for future projects)
  • the third bin has all of my heavier crafting artillery (staple gun, glue gun, various accessories for them like staples and glue sticks, nailheads, etc)

Craft Closet 10

The hanging cubbies are devoted to gift wrapping stuff, like:

Craft Closet 11

And the wooden shelf thing that I shoved in that corner alcove is now housing all of my fabric in old Ikea bins from a few years back (yes, I have TONS of fabric thanks to Clara’s photo project, even though I’ve made her a quilt, a birthday banner, a table runner, a beanbag, and all sorts of other random things… so… I smell more projects). Most of it used to be piled in the storage room but it feels so much more organized and accessible right here. There’s also room for the sewing machine to sit on the floor in front of it, but I thought I’d leave that in the guest room for a hot second because I’d love to set it up in there to encourage myself to actually sew with it. So we’ll see if I can figure something out soon. If not, it’s back in the closet for him.

Fabrics

But let’s get to my favorite part. The drawers of our slick little white cabinet. The top drawer is full of various acrylic paints (along with some small containers of varnish/sealant, and some ceramic paint).

Drawer1

The second drawer houses all of my brushes, stamping tools, paint pens, and colored sharpies.

Drawer2

The third drawer contains various test pots of paint (I use these guys surprisingly often for random projects like this, this, this and this) along with a few larger cans of spray sealers.

Drawer3

The fourth drawer has all of my art store supplies, like my oil paints, watercolors, watercolor pencils, charcoals, and a few random things like a small set of markers and clothespins.

Drawer4

And the fifth drawer is where I have stampers, ink pads, stickers, decals, washi tape, and other supplies like twine or string.

Drawer5

Oh and that top shelf of the closet has a wire bin (from Target about 3 years ago) full of fabric pouches. Apparently I have a hoarding problem with those, but I love them for keeping Clara’s toys contained (all of her plastic animals in one, all of her tiny legos in another, etc). They’re also sweet for “wrapping” various gifts for friends in two seconds flat (no tape or ribbon required). And the blue box up there has been my sewing box for years. It has thread, needles, extra bobbins, scissors, a seam ripper, etc.

Craft Closet9

I’m also planning to add a few hooks on the inside of the door so guests can hang things there since the bar is full (we rarely host anyone with things on hangers, so those should do the trick).

Yes I’m still waving my dang hands around. It’s pretty unbelievable that such a ridiculous mess of a closet is currently home to 0.00 chaos. But you might want to check back with me in a few months. These things can go one of two ways…

Craft Closet8

Does anyone else have tips for organizing craft supplies, gift wrapping paraphernalia, or tons of fabric? Who else is channeling Monica Geller with a closet full of insanity? Let’s commiserate.

Comments

  1. Sandi says

    Good work on the re-org! Unfortunately – you don’t qualify for Monica Gellar status until you’ve cleaned out SOMEONE ELSE’S closet.

    Reply

  2. Isabel says

    I was wondering what that cute blue thing you and Clara were building was! That might actually be really handy for storing all my knitting stuff in the guest/mom room closet… But my knitting supplies don’t come even close to the amount of scrapbooking supplies I have, I designated the small den next to our living room as the craft room. I’ve had a modular cube storage unit for a long time but last year I painted and configured it as a workstation with a nice, strong piece of plywood on top that I got at HD and then sanded and stained. For extra storage I have one of IKEA’s Expedit shelf units and some good old wall shelves behind the desk area where I have cute little tin and glass containers and baskets to hold my huge collections of flowers and ribbons and chachkis.

    Reply

  3. ErinY says

    Unfortunately we have a small apartment with limited closet space, so my art supplies are in boxes on the floor. And helloooooo paper crafting. I have yet to find a good way to store that so for now it’s just on one of those little ikea lack tables in a pile. You’re a lucky lady to have a whole closet for that stuff!

    Also, you can keep your dark chocolate! haha I never cared for the bitter taste, but I also don’t like coffee for the same reason so I guess they go hand in hand. *please don’t kick me off the blog please don’t kick me off the blog* lol

    Reply

  4. Gem says

    That looks so fantastic! I’m jealous. I can’t wait until I have space for crafty stuff. And wow, you have a LOT of fabric. If you do the photo project with the Barnacle (which I assume you probably will), are you gonna re-use the fabric or buy new for him?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We’re thinking of doing a different spin on the project for him, which might involve a lot less fabric but some other fun elements. We like the idea of changing it up a little.

      xo
      s

    • Gem says

      Oh, cool! I figured you’d be doing a similar project but wasn’t sure if you would be replicating it exactly. Looking forward to seeing how you put a new spin on it :)

  5. amy says

    It’s beauuuutiful!!

    My guest room closet hasn’t been touched since we moved and currently the door isn’t attached because it doesn’t fit since we did our floors.

    I organized all of my craft stuff before we moved in a few bins, but it’s not very practical. That new closet is amazing!! I bet it feels so good!

    Reply

  7. Chantel says

    LOVE the closet makeover! I actually referenced myself as a Monica Gellar when I mentioned our spare bedroom on my blog. I moved into our city condo with my now husband a few years ago and, well, stuff just gets dropped in there! Heck, I’m still trying to sort through some beloved wedding decorations. Out of sight, out of mind, right? :)

    Reply

  8. Miranda says

    My gift wrap supplies were nicely organized inside a box, but a move and Christmas pretty much ruined that… And my “Monica Gellar” closet is currently %50 of my whole house… =) I was looking at that Raskog cart and thinking I would order one to use as a cleaning supplies cart. I might even hack to add some hooks or handles to it for added function….

    Reply

  9. Hannah says

    Ahh that closet must make you so happy! I bought two of those sets of drawers (I think they’re called Alex?) second hand for £30. BARGAIN OF MY YEAR. Got them second hand from a wedding dress shop, so they were very sparkly and clean. And best thing about getting them already assembled? Not having to put together ALL OF THE DRAWERS. They do glide surprisingly nicely, don’t they? We have a big IKEA table top balanced between ours to make a nice long desk :-) Congrats on your organising! Hope you can make the closet stay that way (I would not want anyone to look in our drawers now, 10 months after buying them! Hehe!)!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Such a bargain! I love that you got two of them. I can’t even imagine how exciting two would be when I’m this smitten with one. And yes, they glide like buttah!

      xo
      s

  10. Laurie says

    I am laughing….if that’s all your craft stuff, you are lucky! I have an 8 x 15 free standing studio that is crammed full and that’s not even all of mine! I love having everything I need if the mood strikes me in the middle of the night (read no stores open for supplies) and ya know, we might get a freak snowstorm here in Cali (not) that would keep me from going out to get that one last item I might need (it’s never just one thing)….anyway, good job…my studio is on my list this year…

    Reply

  11. Britiney says

    I have a craft room in my basement that I lovingly refer to as my crap room. I could def spend some quality time down there organizing and purging. Great job tho and I agree that if we could bottle the end-of-project rush we’d be basquillionaires!

    Reply

  12. Kaija says

    Yes, I have craft mess area, only it’s not a closet, it’s my whole office! Iiiiikkk! It will be fun to get it organized, though.

    The cart is on my IKEA list too. I have fairly little cabinet space in the kitchen, and I’m planning to stash all baking supplies in this cart to make space. I rarely bake myself b/c of my low carb diet, but my daughter is really into it. It will be easier for her to just pull out the cart whenever inspiration hits her.

    Sherry, how about a pull-out hanger bar for the “hanger” guests? Like this:
    http://www.amazon.com/John-Louis-Home-JLH-739-12-Inch/dp/B001TJRLSK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391010637&sr=8-1&keywords=pull+out+closet+rod

    Reply

  14. Heather says

    Love it!! Doesn’t it feel good when it everything is organized??!! Also, I am a dark chocolate fan all the way!! Can’t wait to see you guys in a few weeks at the Home Show.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Wahoo! We’re so excited! We were supposed to do a little live news show about it this afternoon but we’re snowed in. Maybe next week. So glad you’re going to come out for it!

      xo
      s

  15. Laura says

    You honestly just inspired me to organize my kids toys/art supplies and my art supplies and tools….We have lots of storage for each thing but they have become kind of all over the place and I think we could do better. I am seriously started making a list while reading the post! So thank you for the inspiration! Looks great by the way!

    Reply

  17. Jamie says

    I am inspired! My 10 year old daughter is off at camp for the week with school and I have been slothing around the house not knowing what to do with all my free time in the evenings….I will be turning my guestroom closet into my craft storage (freeing up my laundry room shelf, hall closet shelf and various other nooks and crannies where I have things stashed and have to go on a Easter egg hunt to do Anything). No Lifetime movie channel tonight!!! I am inspired!

    Reply

  18. Lil says

    I have a ROOM that looks like that closet looked. I have big plans, but I also have a full time job, and a toddler! I would scare you if I shared a picture…it scares me every time I open the door.

    You gave me an idea with the hooks on the back of the guest room door thing…now I have something to keep my eye open for at Marshalls/Home Goods.

    Looks great. Thanks for sharing the good, and bad! (John’s post about Clara bouncing on the seat at the symphony was refreshing too!)

    Reply

  19. Miranda says

    Great. You made me reach for the Ghirardelli. Milk chocolate, though.

    p.s. closet looks nice! I’ve been eyeing the blue ikea cart, but just have no reasonable place for it!

    Reply

  20. Emily says

    That’s great!

    For those gift bags, you can get a giant coat hook and put inside the wall to the right of the door. They can all hang off of it. It is easy to pick the one you want, take the ones above it off the hook and put them back on. That will free your rod up for guests to use or for more hanging craft organizers! The other thing I’ve seen people do, is hang one of those wire, mesh, magazine holders and put the gift bags inside. If ont is too big to fit, they fold it over again and then it fits w/o a problem. :)

    Also, – this is the sewing table that I’m dying to have. I need to refinish my office before I buy it, but I’m dying for it! My office will also double as a guest room so I love that it hides away and looks like a classy table but inside will hide all of my unfinished sewing projects. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sauder-Sewing-and-Craft-Table-Multiple-Finishes/15690337

    Reply

  21. Margie says

    I was a bit surprised that with 1.8 children in your house you store sharpies and paint at a kid accessible height. Does the main door to that room stay shut all the time? Having had a sharpie/crib incident at our house, we minimize those around our house.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Clara has been amazing about that stuff (we leave wet paint out along with sharpies and she just knows not to touch them since it can be messy and she has her own coloring supplies and paints) but we never know how the bun will be. So we’ll definitely be putting one of those child-deterring knobs on the closet door (which always stays closed). That should keep everything in there locked away nicely.

      xo
      s

  24. Sarah MC says

    I am a total sucker for a well-organized space–your guest closet reorg made me happy-sigh looking at the “after” pictures!

    Can’t wait to see what you might have in store for your crafting/guest room multi-tasking! I am trying to figure out how to get what we’re calling the “sun room” (the third bedroom on the back of the house) to multitask as my office/a craft room/seasonal storage/possible extra guest room. The room as 4 windows, a long closet, a small built-in, and is long and skinny, so I don’t want to push all of the furniture up against the walls, but I’m stumped. In fact, I’ve been working up the gumption to send y’all pictures…

    Reply

  25. .:karen:. says

    I love that little drawer unit. I picked one up for myself last Fall for my office. If you were using it for actual office storage, they have a nice gray divider that fits the whole length and can be cut to size for it. Score. But it holds a ton of stuff! Wish I had found an as-is unit. Good find. :)

    Reply

  26. Erin says

    I love the raskog cart! I’ve got one that’s rolled from my living room to dining room and is now my bedside table. It’s such a cheerful turquoise to open my eyes too… makes me so happy! Much like I imagine Mick and the boys feel when they see Hello Kitty bags waiting in their hotel rooms

    Reply

  27. Heather P. says

    Great job getting everything wrangled together! Closets can be so awkward for storage sometimes, but you have some great ideas here that most of us can work with!

    Now, to organize my own closet…

    Reply

  28. Mary Kaye says

    I just saw that IKEA cart on Pinterest yesterday and it was loaded with baby things: diapers, shoes, clothes, etc. I thought about how cute that would be in your new nursery too!

    Reply

  30. Alison says

    So this is completely off topic but I was going through your archives to peruse the temporary fixes you did to your first kitchen. We’re buying our first house and the kitchen is a similar lumberjack retreat… Anyway, the post about the hardwoods put such a big smile on my face. There is a sentence that talks about being glad you decided not to install the hardwoods yourself because you don’t have ANY of those crazy tools! So funny that just a few years ago you were nervous about doing things like installing hardwoods yourself and now you’ve conquered that, and so much more. You are such an inspiration!! Bravo guys, bravo!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Isn’t that funny?! I was just thinking this morning about how little we knew back when we started this blog. We still have a ton to learn, but it’s hilarious to look back and read things like that!

      xo
      s

  31. Sarah says

    Ha! My house is super big but low on storage and function, so a shower on the main level has been acting as a storage closet for me. I don’t think that’s channeling Monica Geller, but the good news is it’s getting better and I have it almost all cleaned out!

    Reply

  33. Angel p says

    It looks awesome! My own crafts need to be reorganized again so maybe I should get on that. My tip for storing gift bags is to fold them all down flat and then place them inside of the largest gift bag (which is open). Then it only looks like one bag in the closet. It is still super easy to find the one I want but it looks nice and neat.

    Reply

  34. Kelly says

    Just wanted to say thanks for the blog. Since I am in Denver, each new post goes up before I get into work. It’s nice to start the day with a look at what you are up to and was esp. needed this morning as I had to work too, too late. Keep it up. I love it.

    Reply

  36. Annegirrl says

    I love my craft room! I even blogged about it a little. We’ve slowly purchased bits and pieces of the closet system by ClosetMaid and are still 4 drawers short of a full system. In the shallow drawers I added little plastic bins that snap together to hold all the little bits and bobs you have when you craft. Things like misc. nails and screws, stick-on felt pads of various shapes and sizes, those mini super glue tubes, glue gun sticks, bits of ribbon that are long enough to keep, but not long enough to justify keeping an entire spool, and so on. The little bins keep everything from just shuffling and commingling when you open and close the drawers. I store all my gift bags inside the largest gift bag organized by occasion. We have open shelving (part of the system) to hold all the fabric, wreath making supplies, stencils, and so on. Did I mention how much I love my craft room?

    Reply

  37. Nicole L says

    Oh I LOVE that Ikea cart that has been popping up all over the WWW. SO CUTE! I sadly have two plastic 3-drawer towers, a 3-drawer wood dresser, mason jars all over the bookshelf and a few other boxes and big totes to cover my craft supply habbit. It’s bad, and it will never be pretty (I’d rather spend the $ on more supplies!).

    We also have a very ugly, 5′ plastic drawer tower in our dining room to house the kidlet’s craft supplies. I hope to move some into the buffet we are getting, but there is too much to fit it all in there! Yikes!

    How about how do you keep the craft supplies to a manageable amount and not let them take over the house?!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      That’s a good question because I’m terrible at throwing things away that I think I might use. I mean look at that giant box full of ribbons and the fact that I have that many gift bags! I guess my only tip would be that I go through and purge non-working/empty things (dried out paint pens, empty paint containers, etc) and I also tend to buy just what I need as I go whenever I can (ex: if I need one foam ball and three dowels I only buy that many items, use them, and then I don’t have extras to store).

      xo
      s

  38. Megan says

    Two thoughts over the title of this post: 1 – she has a secret messy closet or 2- did she put a frame over her peep hole? Funny the things that stick with you.

    Looks great and I bet you are more excited to slip in there and do a little project here and there. And yes, that first step was the most crucial in the project…eat dark chocolate.

    Reply

  39. Richelle says

    I have a craft room/office. And a library/craft room (you know, for the fabric/needlework crafts that don’t belong in the office, obvs).
    I may have a slight problem.

    Feeling very inspired by this post, but mostly, I am dying to know where you got the bins that you keep the fabric in? They seem kind of perfect for that purpose!

    Also: if you do go to Trader Joe’s, one thing to look for – dark chocolate mini peanut butter cups. I have to hide them from myself. They are that good.

    Reply

  41. Abby M says

    If you have guests you could just take the hanging gift bags and your little blue rolling cart out and viola!… room for clothes to hang. Nice job! Looks very zen and stress free in there :)

    Reply

  44. Leah says

    How have you kept Clara out of your craft supplies over the year? I’m having my first here this summer, and my friends have made me paranoid about everything in my house. Some of my friends can’t even leave a single pen sitting out lest their kid color all over everything. Any tips there?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I just think all kids are different. We fully went into parenthood expecting to put those locks on every lower kitchen cabinet door and drawer – only to have a child who never (I mean never) went in there. Seriously, just like Burger is only interested in human food scraps (he doesn’t eat plants or walk through our paint, etc), Clara seems drawn to her own toys and play-things (she could care less about our boring grown up stuff). But you never know what kind of offspring you’ll have, so I’d just see what you get! The Barnacle might be a whole new ballgame…

      xo
      s

  45. Sandie says

    I have 2 under the bed containers in our guest room that I use for gift wrapping stuff, one christmas and one for all other occasions. It works except for the super long rolls of wrapping paper.

    Reply

  46. Haley says

    Cheap an easy way of making sure your sharpies don’t roll over you paint brushes roughing up the bristle is to use old cereal boxes. Take an old cereal/oatmeal/whatever box and cut off the top 2/3 or as much as needed to fit in the drawer. Then paint/cover with pretty paper/duct tape and organize. Things move around after so much opening and closing of drawers it is nice to have things sectioned off.

    Reply

  47. Amanda @ Rhody Life says

    I bought an old Library Card Catalog off of Craigslist for all of my art and craft supplies. Each drawer will have a different item in it – paints, paint brushes, green thread, orange thread, sewing needles, knitting needles, zippers, markers, etc. and each drawer will be labeled, old school style. I searched for almost a year for a card catalog in the style that I wanted (mid-century!) and now it’s sitting in my living room waiting to be rehabbed and then placed in it’s permanent home in my craft room!

    http://www.rhodylife.com/2013/11/and-its-mine-mine-mine.html

    I’ll also have some more posts within the next month about how I will be organizing the rest of my craft supplies – yarn, fabric, and other fun things!

    Reply

  48. robyns says

    I love the alex series…I have the cousin of that drawer unit, the wider one with casters that is currently housing half of my ribbon stock. I need another one. It’s so awesome to open the drawer and see immediately what I am looking for. At least half of the time anyway. I also love the smell of ikea furniture. Or maybe that’s the sweet smell of organization. Either way, I’m breathing deep!

    Reply

  49. Caitlin says

    Thank you for this post, its inspired me to actually tackle my craft chaos, instead of just shoving it back into our storage closet! I’m going to channel my inner Monica Geller this weekend :)

    Reply

  50. Jessica M says

    Ooh I just organised my closet over the weekend (clothes only, but it still feels soooo good to be able to open it and not worry about doing myself a head injury from a pile of clothes collapsing on me!)

    Just one weird question though, if this room is upstairs then why is the closet at an angle. Like you can see the little triangle of white wall by the top corner of the door going up at a slope.

    Does this mean you have a stairs over this closet going to an attic, or do you not have any attic space and it’s actually the shape of the top of the roof?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Yes, we actually have a walk-up attic, so there are steps in the unfinished storage room that lead up to a full height (actually it’s lofted, so it’s extra tall) attic! We love having stairs instead of a drop down ladder (our first two houses had that setup).

      xo
      s

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