Hi everyone, I’ve been busy today cleaning out the black hole that is my office armoire. I am so thankful to have this “closet” in my office because without it I would be so lost. I’ve talked about it here on the blog many times. It houses a wide assortment of things throughout the year including my party supplies, tissue, wrap and cards. It’s also my gift closet and a place to put products waiting for review. It is constantly changing and evolving and as a result ends up functioning as the place that I typically put something when I don’t yet have a proper home for it. You know what I’m talking about, we all do it. That place we use to stash and dash 🙂
What ends up happening though is that at some point it just starts making no sense at all. It quickly becomes a big jumbled mess. As I stash more things into it, items in the back get buried and then I forget what I’ve got back there. Right now I’m gathering gifts and treats to take back to Ontario with me in the summer and all that stuff was all over the place. It wasn’t consolidated neatly into one locale. You know how I love to consolidate. It just makes sense. So that’s what I did.
Here are the before shots:
This unit once served as a clothes closet two homes ago when our bedroom didn’t have a closet. I just left the bar up in case I ever need to turn it into a clothes closet again. You never know around here!
So I took everything out and went to work sorting and purging. You know the drill.
Well it turns out that once I found a proper home for most of the items, I was left with a ton of empty space. Whoot!! Gosh I heart empty space 🙂
The large two drawer bin on the bottom holds the party supplies (top drawer) and wrap and tissue (bottom drawer). The bin with the blue lid is where I keep my cards and the white bag on the left is where I keep all my gift bags. The three bin organizer on the right under the card bin holds odds and sods like my labels and paint swatches.
The fabric bin I added to the top houses all the gifts I’m taking back to Ontario. Now they have a nice tidy place to call “home”.
The thing I have hanging on the inside of the door is my clear pocket hanging organizer (available in my shop). I love using it here for office supplies. Sometimes I leave the door open just to stare at it because it makes me so happy.
Ahh I can breathe again! Wonder how long it will take before it’s full again? 🙂
So now it’s confession time. What area of your home do you use for the stash and dash?
Melissa says
I think I have several stash and dash spots. For smaller things (pens, batteries, misc junk) we have a junk drawer in the kitchen that I really do try to sort out every so often. But we also have four smaller drawers that are in the kitchen, but not IN the kitchen..which I’m sure makes no sense without a photo. Those drawers collect the most bizarre junk as well. I should really consider drawer organizers of some sort, to sort the batteries and whistles, and dog items and glue sticks, etc. I think I just realized what my girls’ rooms need also – closet organizers. A shelf and a pole is really just not enough of an organizational system for what they need. That’s going on my list. Thanks!
Annette Rawlinson says
What items do you store in the clear plastic pocket organizer? This looks like a great for my office.
Hilda says
I LOVE that armoire Laura! It’s even more beautiful now that it’s organized 🙂
Laura says
Oh my…… I so have a stash and dash area. It’s in my basement behind the stair and it ends up a mess as I keep dumping EVERYTHING there. I have just recently cleaned and re-organized it so I will have to do a post of the before and after when it has been a dumping ground for awhile! Great post!
Steven Smith @ Professional organizer nyc says
I love the way the above tools have been organized really looks great and well organized, good job…
Sydney rug cleaners says
wow!! you have organized the space in a very precised way.
Sabrina says
Love the photos! The over-the-door pocket organizer is great for home offices as well as dorm life. There is always at least two doors in a dorm that you can use these items. Plus, when you return from school, you can use them in your pantry or closet. =) Thanks for sharing photos!
Claudia says
Good job!!! I also love the over the door organizer. I have one too. 🙂
Claudia
Darci K Trumm says
I need me one of those armoirs bigtime…..
Renee says
I actually have an armoire that is very similar to this. I bought it at work (Walmart) on sale and previously used it for a morning vanity type area. We’re moving in the new year and I’ll FINALLY be able to have my very own office/craft room. I think putting this armoire into that room will largely benefit me for both extra craft storage as well as my morning vanity again. Now I’m super excited about my old piece of furniture! Thanks Laura!!