Mrs. Furious ... Recipes, Rants & Reality: The Cleaning Continues

Sunday, February 17, 2008

The Cleaning Continues

BEHOLD!

Before:

After:

(sorry this is sideways)
Before:

After:

(again sorry)
It might be hard to tell how much cleaning out went into this closet makeover... but it really was a major overhaul.

41 comments:

Anonymous said...: Okay - we have a similar bathroom in our small, 1200 square foot house so I have some hints for you. (Oh, and by the way, it's our ONLY bathroom. Ahem.

We put one of those covered wire racks on the closet door - it looks very similar to this:

http://www.meijer.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=45149

We use this for our personal toiletries - my tall husband uses hte top few shelves and I use the ones that our closest to my height. The good thing about this is that it keeps medicine, face wash, deodorant, etc. in a relatively small row so that you can see everything. The very top shelf and the very bottom shelf holds stuff we don't use that often, like tampons and extra bottles of shampoo, etc.

Then, one shelf of the actual closet is used for other "toiletry" type stuff - one big basked holds my hairdryer and brushes, another holds my make-up, and another holds that stuff that doesn't fit on the wire shelf. I just take out the basket when I'm doing my make-u- and put it on the sink. When I'm done, it goes right back. We have to use the other shelves for linens, etc. (which I know you don't), so you'll have even more space than us. GOOD LUCK!

Maryann; February 17, 2008 at 1:11 PM
Mrs Furious said...: MaryAnn,
thank you for the tips :)
I'll go to Meijer this week and see if that will work. I really wish I could get the "everyday" stuff off the shelves since deodorant, hair gel, etc is just bound to get knocked over and start a pile. And around here piles attract more piles! Since the shelves are permanent I have to see if they can fit with the door shut (a must since it might not stay company ready indefinitely!); February 17, 2008 at 2:58 PM
Deb said...: FABULOUS!!!; February 17, 2008 at 3:05 PM
Anonymous said...: We live in a 1400sq ft house built in 1906. It only has 4 closets...one in each bedroom that is the width of one small female shoulder to shoulder, and an even smaller one in our upstairs bathroom. We also have 2 full bathrooms, but our downstairs tub doesn't work (and we dont have the $ to fix it right now). Our scenario is that we use the upstairs to shower in, and the downstairs one to get ready (hair, teeth). This is because a)there is more room under the sink downstairs for our stuff, b)the bathroom closet upstairs barely fits towels, and c)its easier for me to get ready downstairs and watch the kids. We ended up putting a hamper in our dining room corner because we end up with so many dirty clothes downstairs (mainly towels from drying hair). Mind you, it is a NICE hamper (dark wicker, rectangle, blends away into the corner) but none the less it is a hamper IN OUR D.I.N.I.N.G. R.O.O.M!! But this is what works for us right now! Aaahhhh...the luxury of a house with many closets and bathrooms... Of course, then I would probably just have more stuff and perpetuate the problem!

ps..we have those SAME mini shampoos and soaps from walt disney world in our upstairs bathroom. dh would grab all the leftovers every day and put them in our suitcase. this was over 2 years ago and we have yet to have the shampoo/soap drought that would require us to use them!!; February 17, 2008 at 3:08 PM
Mrs Furious said...: Marie!!!
"We ended up putting a hamper in our dining room corner because we end up with so many dirty clothes downstairs"
LOL we do too! Seriously. I started that this fall since I figured it was better than having misc laundry strewn all about.
And I'll be posting on this sometime this week.... but we just brought a dresser downstairs in place of the bookcase at the bottom of our stairs. It's still a dark stained antique so it goes (a little big for the spot but whatever)... because enough is enough. The kid's clothes NEVER make it back upstairs to be put away. Let's see if keeping them in the living room helps!; February 17, 2008 at 3:18 PM
Mrs Furious said...: Deb,
thanks! It did take me all freaking day... but I knocked out 4 episodes of 30 Rock while I was doing it.; February 17, 2008 at 3:20 PM
Amy said...: I liked Maryann's ideas and have a few myself. I think I "qualify" to give advice since I have lived in many houses similar to yours and indeed still do even if it is bigger and has more storage than previous homes. These recommendations are strictly for your closet issue:

1) perhaps putting a little stool that takes up hardly any space, like a kid's stool, just on the floor in the closet will help you get to higher shelves. never move the thing - it will always be there when you need it, and that's where it goes! I've learned that sometimes habits don't change - we just have to work around them.

2) instead of using that 2nd shelf for a hamper, just stick a basket there so you feel better about how it looks and it's more functional. No, it's not a waste of space since you need somewhere to put your clothes obviously. A basket would control some of the chaos.

3) I put all my tampons and all that period crap in one big shoebox with a lid. I can stack on top of it and its all in one place. Put it up high when you're not...needing it...and put it lower for the few days you need it. either way, you're not staring at the open box or things falling everywhere.

4) Medicine: i feel your pain! I have a large copy paper box lid laid out in my large cupboard like yours. If all of our medicine is starting to overflow over the sides, then I clean it out. Otherwise, it's contained and I'm alright. There's nothing worse than "loose stuff" in your cupboard. I like to comparmentalize everything so it has a "for sure" place where it belongs. Labels even make this idea more permanent.

Anyway, sorry to ramble on so long. I love organizing closets...call me weird.; February 17, 2008 at 3:39 PM
Sherry said...: Kudos to you! My house is disgustingly gross. I need to hire a maid. I should post pics of my train wreck. Eekkk. Good luck cleaning. I cleaned off a countertop last night only to put more stuff on it. I think the Brooks' house is similar to the Furious house.; February 17, 2008 at 3:54 PM
Dinahsoar said...: I just checked out all the "after" pics (today's and previous post)...AWESOME JOB!!!! It looks great and you've accomplished so much in such a brief time. You deserve tons of credit!!! Way to Go!; February 17, 2008 at 5:13 PM
Mrs Furious said...: Amy,
Yes I stumbled upon how useful I stool would be while climbing/clinging to the shelves like a monkey today!

I would love to have someone come organize them for me... if only you were close enough to drop in!

Sherry,
"I think the Brooks' house is similar to the Furious house."
I feel for you ;)
We have gotten quite a few things in order but let me say the other rooms have taken a drastic turn for the worse in the process....; February 17, 2008 at 7:14 PM
Mrs Furious said...: Dinah Soar,
Oh thanks! :); February 17, 2008 at 7:14 PM
Anonymous said...: Verra verra nice! You know what might be a good idea is those little tiered shelves that people get for spices .. maybe you could put the medicines on that or something.

Or maybe install sliding baskets, so you can fill them and still be ables to see everything that is towards the back.

Hm, yeh, I don't know. If you could see my closet in the bathroom you would be like .. uh, dude, who are you to give me advice. lol.

So, I'll leave it alone and say YAY Mrs. F!

Jennifer; February 17, 2008 at 7:40 PM
Deb said...: So I just watched the video. First off, love the tile work and colors in your bathroom. Our decrepit mansion was built in 1928, and even though I have a "master bath", it's the size of a shoebox. I wish I had the money to gut the bathrooms, but that's not happening unless a winning lottery ticket comes our way.

Anyway, in our last house, we ripped out the deep shelves in the linen closet and installed these weird little U-shaped shelves that covered three walls. At first, I thought the closet installer was an idiot, because wouldn't deep shelves hold more? It turns out that because you can't see ANYTHING on a deep shelf, crap goes AWOL and gets messy. With these narrow little shelves lining the walls of the closet, I could see everything, and it was truly organized. I really need to make that happen in this house, because my linen closet is starting to look a lot like your "before". Time to hit Storables. Thanks for the inspiration!; February 17, 2008 at 8:20 PM
wootini said...: Way to go Mrs F!!! It looks great!

Having spent much of my life in small living spaces (including NY apartments), I have come to believe that divining ways to creatively deal with stuff in small homes builds character. In a way that having a home with massive closets and storage space never will.

Small comfort I know.

We do have 2 full baths, though the 'master bath' has ZERO storage space. Why? Why??? I guess I'll be grateful that the plumbing works. : ); February 17, 2008 at 8:22 PM
Anonymous said...: It did take me all freaking day... but I knocked out 4 episodes of 30 Rock while I was doing it.

Um, probably why it took you so long...just sayin...

And as for the "don't buy that crap" propaganda that there was a bunch of my stuff in there—you showed practically ALL of it, and you just bought that lotion for me yesterday!

that closet was at least 75% NOT me.

But it looks great now. Good job.

As for the "competition" I did the kitchen yesterday, and the coat closet today, so I am ahead 2-1.; February 17, 2008 at 8:50 PM
Nutmeg said...: Mrs. F I totally feel your pain. Our house is about 1000 square feet and is also a craftsman style built before 1912. Upstairs we had a non-function 1/2 bath and downstairs nearly the smallest bathroom I've ever seen which was in really cruddy shape. We redid the upstairs made it a little bigger and put in a shower stall. Most of that bathroom actually extends into the eaves of the house. We have a small built in cabinet that goes into the eaves. That cabinet is a living mess. Downstairs has been under renovation for 2.5 years. There is a cabinet under the sink and that is IT for storage. We have a linen closet in the "hallway" outside the bathroom but we took up half of the space in there to put a full size (5') tub instead of the 4.5 ' tub we did have. So now we have shelves that are 6 inches deep. It's amazing how much you can put on those shelves though! All of this would have taken less time if we didn't do it all ourselves outside of mark's crazy work hours.

Anyway, that was all to say I GET IT! You should be really pleased with yourselves! You've inspired me to tackle the Office closet which is seriously the biggest closet in our house and is half coat closet and half Nightmare.

I think I see a small amount of purging in my future!

YAY FURIOUSES; February 17, 2008 at 8:53 PM
Anonymous said...: As for the bathroom...don't let the wide angle lens fool you—it is small! That full bath is converted from the original ice closet for the house. The sink has to be a pedestal so you have a place for your knees when you're on the toilet!.

Thanks Deb, that bath was my first extensive DIY experience. I gutted and re-did it myself. The only holdover is the tub, and the closets—and the pink floor tiles! there was a box of em in the basement so we kept that look... Mrs F picked out the sea foam wall color, and adding the wainscoting was worth the effort.

It's starting to sound like the nine months it took me wasn't so bad compared to some others...though Mrs F (pregs at the time) might disagree.; February 17, 2008 at 9:01 PM
Anonymous said...: I will say this though...that bathroom is palatial compared to the baths Mrs F and I had in NYC. Both of had sinks that were wall-mounted jobs that looked like they belonged next to a dentist's chair.

At least you could reach everything in the room from the toilet. Literally.; February 17, 2008 at 9:16 PM
Mrs Furious said...: Mr F,
shut it.

anything that isn't "yours" is "mine"... as in anything that is for universal use is "mine", any kid stuff is "mine" and all of my stuff is "mine".

hmmm....

keep it up and you are going to find yourself in a world of pain.

I can confidently say 75% of the stuff in the coat closet wasn't mine so I'd say we are even on that one. And while you did that... I made your dinner.; February 17, 2008 at 9:20 PM
Mrs Furious said...: Deb,
"little U-shaped shelves that covered three walls"
That is genius! That would really help us in most of our closets and pantry cabinets. Our cabniets are all ridiculously deep and it is true that it just ends up being cluttered/wasted space.; February 17, 2008 at 9:22 PM
Mrs Furious said...: Nutmeg,
"All of this would have taken less time if we didn't do it all ourselves "
um yes... we live this nightmare ALL the time. Something is always being renovated or non-functional while we get around to renovating it. I love living in an old house but the amount of money we sink into it every year is mind blowing.; February 17, 2008 at 9:26 PM
Mrs Furious said...: Jennifer,
funny I think I bought spice shelves for the closet a few years back... whatever happened to those?!?

and thanks :)

Emily,
And yes be thankful both bathrooms function ;)
Our upstairs bath hasn't worked fully for the last 5 years!; February 17, 2008 at 9:30 PM
Mrs Furious said...: Mr F,
"It's starting to sound like the nine months it took me wasn't so bad compared to some others...though Mrs F (pregs at the time) might disagree."

Yeah spending my entire pregnancy without a downstair toilet was a little inconvenient!; February 17, 2008 at 9:33 PM
Nutmeg said...: Mr. F you've got our procrastinating respect. It feels like it's taken nine months just for us to tile the stupid niche I decided I needed to put in the tub surround.

HAHHA Mrs. F... we also had no downstairs toilet while I was pregnant. Then I was on bedrest and had to stay upstairs alone with nothing to do all the time because that is where the bathroom was.

SUCK!; February 17, 2008 at 9:54 PM
John Howard said...: We had one of those automatic shower cleaners, but I didn't notice any difference with it. And those refills don't last any time at all.; February 17, 2008 at 10:04 PM
Mrs Furious said...: Nutmeg,
that does suck!

John,
Tell me about it! That thing is a useless piece of crap. You will note that there is a different brand of daily shower spray hanging from the shower door. That automatic one doesn't even spray ever since that refill bottle was put in... it is hitting the road!; February 17, 2008 at 10:15 PM
Kelly Olexa said...: Mrs. F ~~~ LOOKING GOOD!!! I will tell you, coming from me, a major OCD neat freak organizational nut that puts everything in bins and plastic containers and labels it all~ once you tackle all this stuff, you will end up having more time and you'll probably save money too. I used to have clutter and stuff EVERYWHERE and once I got OCD nutty, I'm telling you, I saved $$ on hair products, makeup, skincare, food, alcohol etc. because everything was in ITS place and I knew what I had, instead of guessing at the store only to come home and find out OOPS I already have two large Sam's Club Size Shampoos....ugh.

I COMMEND YOUR STELLAR WORK!!! YOU GO GIRL!!! WORK IT!!; February 17, 2008 at 10:35 PM
Julie said...: The bathroom looks great! We only have 1 1/2 baths so the whole family shares the full bath upstairs so I get it.

What about a medicine chest either over the sink or if there is any other space on a different wall in the bathroom. We actually have something kind of like this in our bathroom one of the walls: http://www.potterybarn.com/products/p7338/index.cfm?pkey=cbthcabcab

We have a 100+ year old village colonial farmhouse...we got rooms with 5 freakin' doors, people...it's crazy. But the people who lived here before somehow made closets in the eaves of the house so we have a lot of closets upstairs. Strangely, we have one faux closet downstairs...it has a door, but you open it and is only like 8 inches deep...so I shove board games and random stuff in it.

Do you have a laundry basket on the bottom area of the closet in which you throw your dirty clothes? If not, that could work well for a hamper down there. You have to do what really works for you on a day to day basis and not just to make it look pretty. If it is not convenient, you won't be able to keep it up.; February 17, 2008 at 10:57 PM
Kiki said...: I do not have a problem with storage for my bathrooms...they are fine but I hate cleaning them...the tile grout, the shower walls, the toilet...disgusting!!! So I was noticing while watching the video that you have one of those things that cleans the shower after you get out of it...how does that thing work???Does it really clean??? Then I noticed the beadboard??? and the paint color....so fabulous!!! Then the lights, looked like Restoration Hardware...Who cares about the mess, your decorating was distracting me from noticing anything else!!! Loved it!!!

Nephew had a seizure last week...6 months of no seizure down the tubes...he wants his permit so badly, its heartbreaking.; February 17, 2008 at 11:09 PM
Danielle said...: It looks great! Now, how do you keep it that way? That is seriously my problem. We get things looking "great" around here and then a week later, it's a dump again. It seriously smothers me and makes me SOO crabby. We have a pretty small house (1600 SQ FT) that to accomodate 5 people. How is it supposed to stay organized!?!; February 18, 2008 at 1:18 AM
Mr Furious said...: Kiki-

I too hate cleaning the bathtub/shower. Thankfully Mrs F rises to that challenge. Mrs F can elaborate, but I'm pretty sure that automatic shower thing sucked (but God knows it's still hanging there!). Might help stave off cleaning a bit, but doesn't actually clean for shit. She is using a spray from Method™ now.

The beadboard came out great. It's a kit from Home Depot. The upper wall color choice was Mrs F.

The light is from Restoration Hardware or Pottery Barn Home. I don't remember which. Either way it was discontinued in the next catalog. I love that light, and seeing it in the video made me smile.; February 18, 2008 at 10:12 AM
Mrs Furious said...: Danielle,
thank you.
Well after one day there is a small pile of bibs and dirty wash clothes by the sink.
Another small pile of a used ziploc bag (?), a cookbook to give away, and a bowl of v-day candy at the end of the counter.
There were significant crumbs left out on the cutting board and a small spill of flour in the pantry.
That is after ONE day.
While that is near perfection I do know that one small error or tiny pile multiplies before your eyes!
We'll post pics next weekend to see if we could maintain it.; February 18, 2008 at 10:17 AM
Mrs Furious said...: Kiki,
what we lack in cleanliness we do make up for in taste ;)

okay the shower cleaner will work (and do a good job) in a small glass doored shower stall. Anything else, curtain, full sized, etc.... do not bother.
also this one turned out to be faulty.
The first one actually did work well and keep everything clean. It's also not a green cleaner and I'm trying to switch over completely cause of the kids.
So that's my review. It can be good it depends on your shower.; February 18, 2008 at 10:23 AM
Mrs Furious said...: Kiki,
oh and I am really sorry to hear about your nephew! :(

Kelly O,
"instead of guessing at the store only to come home and find out OOPS I already have two large Sam's Club Size Shampoos....ugh"
yes that's how I got into the tampon situation!; February 18, 2008 at 10:27 AM
Mrs Furious said...: Julie,
oh yes I know exactly what type of house you have.
we do have medicine cabinets in both bathrooms. The downstairs one is Mr F's crazy domain. The upstairs one is a no man's land since we don't actually use that bathroom.
And yes that little fabric basket is holding all my dirty clothes... I really don't have a lot. And I'm going to just bring all my clean clothes up folded in another one when I'm done with laundry and take out the going up stairs (or in reality going down to the laundry pile) out of the equation.; February 18, 2008 at 10:29 AM
Unknown said...: Wow! It like makeover story for closets and cabinets :-); February 18, 2008 at 11:08 AM
Mrs Furious said...: Cara,
hey thanks :); February 18, 2008 at 12:19 PM
Brenda said...: We live in a small cape which up until a few years ago only had one bathroom, downstairs. We were always on top of each other, trying to get ready for work, and then the boys fighting about who needed to use the bathroom more/first! Organization just wasn't happening. We did bite the bullet and add a small bathroom onto our "master" bedroom, and while it is far from a luxurious oasis (smaller than the original bathroom), it does give me a place to put my personal stuff. But I hear you on the small rooms and lack of closets. Our hall coat closet (in which we store dresses and suits) isn't even deep enough for hangers to fit properly, which I just can't understand. Did they make narrower hangers back at the time when our house was built? Anyway, your progress is amazing, and it must make you feel great to have gotten through so much. You totally rock!; February 18, 2008 at 2:23 PM
Mrs Furious said...: Gigs,
"Did they make narrower hangers back at the time when our house was built? "
interesting point. We have closets that just barely fit hangers. And I happen to have some very old hangers from my great-grandmothers house with some vintage/heirloom things and YES the hangers are smaller. Clothes too as people were... um... thinner in general. And they had less clothes.; February 18, 2008 at 4:23 PM
Nutmeg said...: I would like to add to what Mrs. F said about the shower cleaner. My mom got it for us for christmas since it's so hard to clean the corner shower unit we have (you basically have to take a shower to clean the walls of it)

It seems unlikely that no matter how low you hung it, that it would actually reach the bottom of the enclosure, which happen to be the part that has the most soap/hardwater build up.

We use it every couple of showers and spray the method shower stuff (liberally on the bototm sections). Using this method (hah) I have not had to clean the walls of my shower unit since christmas, which is an immense improvement... but I think it's mostly the Method.

In summer, all bets will be off, since that bathroom is about 4 x 5 with a slanted ceiling and no windows or airconditioning. It gets moldy in there in the mid-atlantic summer.

I highly recommend a squeegee. Chemical free and helps a lot.; February 18, 2008 at 10:53 PM
Mrs Furious said...: Oh yes I love my squeegee. And if you have a daily shower spray and then squeegee it down (we've got glass doors) the glass it leaves a clean and streak free door!; February 18, 2008 at 11:14 PM

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