I Have a Closet, I Have a Closet, Hey, Hey. Hey, Hey!!

I've had a closet for several months, but this is what it looked it.  Just a big, blank, box and I was having trouble figuring out how I wanted to arrange my new closet.  

Enter Google Sketchup.  I was able to use some of its simpler 3D modeling to create some layout options.

Option 1

Option 2

Option 3

I actually settled on the layout several months ago but was having trouble deciding what type of storage system I wanted to use.  Option 3 was the ultimate winner because it gives us shoe storage right inside the door that Andy and I will share, a section of double hanging for shorter hanging clothes, a section for  longer hanging clothes, and four shelves along the back wall.

Lowes and Home Depot have several closet organization systems but every time we would go to the store with the intent of buying one we would leave empty-handed because we either couldn't justify the cost without looking at other options or there were things we just didn't like; for example, I don't like the hanging bars that have support brackets that prevent you from sliding hangers the full length of the bar.  Instead, you have about 12" until you have to pickup the hanger and move it to the next section.

After much debate we finally settled on creating our own system with wood shelves that we would cut and paint.

First, Andy mounted the brackets for the hanging rods with the help of his laser level...

Once everything was checked and leveled he installed the adjustable rails (in the corner) to the side wall for the shelves.

While he was working upstairs I setup all of the cut shelves in the garage and primed and painted them.

These didn't have to be the best paint job in the world...just sealed and smooth so I used a foam roller.

I started with two coats of stain-blocking primer.  We never used this brand before but we were pleased with the results.

After two coats of primer and one coat of paint they dried in the garage for a few days before they got installed in the new closets (some of these are for the new bathroom closet).

And here is the relatively finished product.  It still needs a better shoe storage system that we are working on and some organization but after almost a year all of my clothes are once again in one location.  I got so used to walking down the hall for shoes and the guest bedroom for my hanging clothes that it took me a few days to readjust. 

The Crash of 2012

RIP Hard-drive....we will miss you...

We recently suffered a hard-drive crash.  Luckily we backup our files frequently but we still lost some recent pictures and files and it is taking awhile to get the new drive setup, the old files restored, and get back to normal operation.

We had been using Adobe Photoshop Elements to organize, tag, and export files for the blog.  We had over 10,000 total photos and about 1,500 of them were of the new house.  I literally spent hours taking photos, downloading, sorting and deleting, and then tagging with people, locations, events, etc. so that I could locate them easily in the future.  We still have most of the files but not the associated tags and organizational information.   I was so sad to open Elements and see a blank screen with no photos or keywords tags.  We are on the search for a new way to store and organize photos so that we don't have to do this again!