Small Space Organizational Challenge Completed!

I've been working on two projects for Laura who writes at I'm An Organizing Junkie. This challenge was a month long. I chose to tackle my kitchen closet and the basement. This post in about the closet. When I complete the post about the basement later today, it'll be here.

So, Laura's asked us to answer the following questions in our finale:

1. What was the hardest part of the challenge for you and were you able to overcome it?
Well, honestly? For this one it was finding the time when the kids wouldn't be "helping". This closet contains a lot of cleaners and "kem-cals" as Flicka would say. I had the baskets. I had the labeler. It was just a matter of DOING it! LOL

2. Tell us what kind of changes/habits you have put into place in order for your area/room to maintain its new order? The biggest thing for this closet was instituting the "like with like" concept. Once I sorted everything, the mess immediately "looked" smaller. So, the trick will be to keep that up. I haven't thought ahead to what to do if something new comes in but doesn't fit the current categories of "plastic/tin foil", "light bulbs", "cleaning supplies", and "misc. supplies".

3. What did you do with the "stuff" you were able to purge out of your newly organized space?
For the most part, it was thrown out. This space has a kid-proof doorknob so often when toys are taken from the kiddos for a time out, this is where they end up. So, there were a few toys that needed to be "relocated" back to their rooms.

4. What was the biggest lesson you learned from this experience?
LOL - to quit just throwing stuff in here without thinking about where it goes because I don't have to "see" it. The biggest motivator for doing this closet is that it has our attic access door in the ceiling of it. So, I also needed a quick, easy way to move all this stuff when Da Hubby needed up there. Containerizing solved this problem perfectly!

5. Now that you have completed the PROCESS, do you think having and keeping your space organized will make a difference in your life?
I think it will maintain some marital bliss when Da Hubby can easily and quickly do what he needs to without me having to stop what I'm doing, clean off the kitchen table, and empty the closet every time he needs in the attic! My ability to unload the closet quickly means less time for him to get distracted and doing something else! *wink*

Now the unveiling! I actually have several pics: a before series, an after when I did it 2 weeks ago, and a today!

The before: the closet half empty and the other-half pile on the kitchen table:



The "first" after that day:



This morning: