January 11, 2011

How Twelve Little Drawers Saved My Relationship With My Daughter . . .

You are looking at a photograph of something that makes me truly happy. I am weird, I know.  But one week ago, this closet was a huge nightmare of hanging clothing tripping over itself in an effort to see the light of day and shelf space shoved tight with memory boxes, hand-me-downs and cast off stuffed animals. In essence, it was a freak show. 

Hannie B., you see, has one tiny dresser with three drawers into which she stuffs every last blasted thing she owns.  What doesn’t  fit in the dresser gets thrown on a hanger or on the closet floor to be forgotten by the girl or washed by the disgruntled mother even when it isn’t dirty.  Uncool.

Hannie’s closet was one long stretch of hanging rod with awkward dead space at either end – you know, that space to either side of the doors but behind the walls where things get lost.  We decided it was time to put that dead space to use. After a trip to Ikea with the Queen {I wish you could all do this at least once – she’s a riot} my girl now has twelve – YES! TWELVE! new drawers and six extra shelves. 

What on earth could a girl need so many drawers for, you ask?  Why, to contain her sock-scarf-underwear-tank top-pajama-tee shirt-slipper-shoe-sweats obsession, of course.  Then her three drawer dresser could be used for all the shirts and pants that used to crowd her closet, causing her closet floor to be seen again for the first time months, resulting in the proper alignment of the stars and elements, which in turn would affect the turning of the Earth on it’s axis, finally restoring balance in the world of her mother who swore she could not utter one more time, “Daughter, this closet is a pit of despair and doom!” {Cue birds singing now.}

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All is harmonious in the room of Hannie B. And I’m happy to report that since Saturday, it has been as neat and tidy as these pictures. 

Of course, it’s only been three days, but a mom can dream, right?

12 comments:

Kasey said...

It looks great. Way to go!! Smart use of space.

MelancholySmile said...

I need some magical drawers! We are in the midst of trying to teach Little Miss C to keep her room tidy by herself. So far it is a losing battle. I'm a total minimalist, but she seems to have inherited her daddy's attitude of 'everything has memories and is vitally important, even gum wrappers!" Drives me crazy.

I love when you post pictures of your house. And we are kindred spirits in enjoying an organized closet. Neat + clean = all is right in the world.

Apis Melliflora said...

Ah, visual peace in the closet world. Lovely.

Tobi said...

Very clever use of space. Now come do my house. =)

Also I will add go to Ikea with the Queen to my bucket list.

TracyS. said...

SO beautiful.

AllisonK said...

having never been to ikea, I think a trip with you and the queen is on my list.

I am the same way abut clean and periodically I get my girls to tow the line, but my current strategy is just to close the door and not look in.

The Nerd Mom said...

We did the same thing w/Maddie's dead space (which was all on one side!). She now uses those deep shelves as her dresser b/c her room just isn't big enough for a double bed, desk AND dresser. We even removed the doors and hung funky tween tab-top curtains instead so we wouldn't need to worry about the clearance to open them. Now her closet feels like her own personal dressing room. A star is born!

Brenda Gore said...

Love it!!! I need to do that with the closet 2 of our girls share! My mom is here visiting we had a trip to Ikea planned, I will be adding drawers, lots of them to my list!
Thanks for the inspiration!!

Brenda Gore said...

Love it!!! I need to do that with the closet 2 of our girls share! My mom is here visiting we had a trip to Ikea planned, I will be adding drawers, lots of them to my list!
Thanks for the inspiration!!

Digiscrappy said...

I love it! My daughter was highly organized... until about 3 months ago. Trying to get her back on track now, especially since she just discovered Justice and keeps requesting clothes, clothes, and more clothes.

The Queen Vee said...

I never had enough clothes at Hannie Bs age to fill a closet and a 3 drawer dresser, she's one lucky organized girlie. Looks fantastic.

Aiketa said...

That closet looks amazing. I wish mine was as organised at Hannah's! Mine's absolutely needs some work.
As I get older, and also left my parents' house to go to university, I have become more organised. Looking at something I just organised makes me absolutely happy! Weird but I like it. I'm not as good as you in organization yet (I hope one day I will).