Closet Extras.....

My husband. How he would love to live in a house that isn't really lived in. A showpiece for him alone. That isn't going to happen. Not in this lifetime. I would probably also love to have a place where everything is neatly tucked away and appears to be perfect. But. Our home is just that. Our home. A place where everything is used. A lot. Because I have 5 kids I need to stay on top of things like appointments. School meetings. Church activities. And all the other bajillion things I need to attend. When Shawn was a second year medical student he made this magnetic board to hang on his office wall. He lived by that thing. Then once he became a resident and our home became a place where he'd just drop in every once in awhile, I confiscated it and hung it in my kitchen. That magnet board served it's purpose and did it well. And he did a really good job making it actually look nice instead of tacky. Perfect. When we moved here into our rental, it went back on the kitchen wall. I depend on that thing. Without it I'm totally lost. Once we moved into our new house it got put in a back closet because I didn't have a place for it. A few weeks ago I found a wall that I perceived as being the perfect location. I even went to the paint store, bought black paint, and painted it as to match our decor. When Shawn came home and I asked him to help me hang it you'd have thought I asked him if I could paint the cupboards pink. He refused. I also wanted one coat hook per child lined up down the hallway leading to the garage. Nada. Nope. Not happening. "It's so messy looking. All those papers and calendars and junk". Hmmm. I reminded him of the 3 doctors appointments I'd missed in the last month because all that "junk" was stuffed on the catch-all counter and got lost in the shuffle. And showed him how in order to stay organized my kitchen counters were becoming a giant bulletin board. Ridiculous. So. He came up with a plan. I wasn't too thrilled at first. I admit it. Actually. I was irritated. Why can't I live in my house and use space that makes perfect sense to me? But. I relented and let him try this little experiment. To my surprise, it turned out pretty awesome. I love it. Well. I will love it once I get some magnets to use, and once the file shelving is actually purchased and hung.

This is Before:

Just your typical coat closet with the wooden rod to hang coats on. This type of closet never really gets used like it should in my house. So. This is what Shawn turned it into:

Each kid has their own hook with their name above said hook. And the hooks are child height. Then a small shelf above that for things like pencils, envelopes, or whatever the heck I feel like that will fit on a 3 inch shelf. The entire back wall is sheet metal. A new magnet board for me to clutter up. And then on each side will be a filing system for incoming/outgoing mail, bills, kids papers that I feel obligated to hold on to, and anything else that suits my fancy. I'm also willing to admit when Shawn turns genius and fixes our dilemma to where we're both happy. This time he was successful. Now. I just need to find a place to stash all the extra coats that were once living in this closet.........