The first is actually the closet we had installed. It used to be the door that led down to the basement, but once we pulled the stairs off it became our only storage closet on the first floor. I envisioned a coat closet that would allow me to store my coats, but once I started looking around the house at the various stuff I decided it would be better used as a utility closet.
The second pic is how the bedroom ended up after the move. Once we got the split box spring delivered on Tuesday, though we’d started sleeping in the room it was pure chaos. Couple that with the fact that on Friday the rod in the closet broke and the whole room needed some TLC.
Have you ever watch HGTV and thought to yourself “I too could convert a whole unfinished basement into a rentable unit in one weekend”. Well you shouldn’t. HGTV is not in real time, because in real time here is how long something as simple as setting up a utility closet and cleaning up your bedroom after a move takes.
Saturday we wake up and make a list of what we need to purchase in order to set up the utility closet and set up the master closet for all our clothes. Here is what we had on the list:
1. Dry wall anchors for hanging a coat rack like thing I’d purchased from Target, that for some reason came with screws and a disclaimer you needed to get anchors because they would not be provided.
2. Some type of storage rack/shelves.
3. Some type of wall hanging thing that would hold the mop and broom.
4. Hooks for aprons.
5. Hooks for dogs leashes.
6. Metal rod holders for master closet (might as well get one for spare bedroom also)
7. Pantry (for basement, since we’re out)
8. Some type of tool for fixing the thermostat (more on this later)
9. Shoe racks (need to take them back to the container store since I figured out where I purchased the original racks from).
10. Some type of closet rod or rack to put in basement closet.
11. Something to hang the iron/ironing board.
So at 11:30 we left the house with our list, first stop Pottery Barn because it was next to the Container store and Crate and Barrel. There was an end table I wanted Jedd to see since we’d seen it in the catalogue and it’s what I was leaning towards for the bedroom night stands (vetoed immediately as being too silver). Since it was next door we went to William Sonoma because we’re also interested in getting some table place mats and Pottery Barn didn’t have any. William Sonoma was a bust so we go over to Crate and Barrel because their catalogue had come and if I hadn’t actually gotten the shoe racks from there instead of the Container Store, thus making the 3 separate trips to various container stores in Virginia, DC and Maryland all worthless. Purchase 1 shoe rack because that is all they have. We then proceeded to leisurely walk around the store looking at various options knowing we need to get apartment size couches and that we didn’t have any measurements for said couches, but hey we have time to waste. Go to the Container store to return shoe racks only to discover in the bag are two of the hooks on my list that I had actually already purchased. Score, so I cross them off the list. We also realize they have an excellent system for organizing closets that might be the answer to our problem. While Jedd sorted it out with the tech I grabbed a whopping two items on our list:
The thing for hanging the iron/ironing board and the thing to hang the broom and stuff. After checking out Jedd tells me we have 30 minutes to burn so we go to Haverty’s and Pinkberry.
I had never been to Pinkberry and it must have been my day to go because their system was down so we got our ice cream for FREE! I got a twist of the salted caramel and the chocolate. I loved it, but if I had to do it all over again I’d just stick to the salted caramel and a mini, the small was a lot.
So now it’s 2:30 pm and we pick up our closet storage system from the Container store. We travel from Virginia to Maryland to go to the one place in the world that has got to be what Hell is like IKEA. I loathe IKEA, and I loathe it even more at 3 pm on a Saturday. As we circle the parking lot I’m basically whining about how we should come back on another day. We bit the bullet and “run” in for the basement pantry we decided on, vowing to get in and out. A hot dog, coke and split bag of chips plus one hour of our time later we leave and head towards Home Depot. At home depot we purchase dry wall anchors, a masonry bit (needed for the new closet organization system we purchased), laundry detergent for the new washing machine (it takes a special kind), a nifty tool for fixing the thermostat, and the metal ends for the closet poles. In and out and its 5 pm. One last place to go, Target, because none of the other places had the closet shelves I wanted and as I informed Jedd “the only thing I absolutely had to do today was organize that closet”. Finally at 5:45 pm we get back in the car on our way home.
At 6:30 we finally arrive home, because of course there was some type of traffic issue, we walk the dogs, eat a quick dinner and get started on our various projects. I decide to tackle the utility closet because “It’ll be quick”. First I pull out the gazillion coats:
I put the paint that ”we’ll never use but hate to waste because that has to be like $100 sitting in there” in first.
Jedd installs the nifty coat rack thing that I purchased from Target and the shelves together.
And the bedroom upstairs looks like this:
It amazes me how long things take. What did you do on Saturday?
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