The spare room closet used to be overflowing with luggage, wrapping paper, gift bags, and a jumble of miscellaneous items that needed to be cleared out so the space could become a true playroom and storage spot for Clara’s things.
We emptied everything out (keeping the photo albums and yearbooks on the top shelf) and, as if by magic, it disappeared from the playroom.
Okay, not really—most of it ended up in the guest room closet.
It actually makes sense. We’ve been in this house for three years and haven’t had guests use that closet, so putting our overflow there felt practical. There’s still a little hanging space left on the bar if we push the bags to one side, so if we expect company we can make room quickly. For day-to-day life, though, spreading the gift bags out where I can see them makes grabbing one fast and easy.
And with the door closed, guests don’t have to see the storage behind it.
After adding a few of Clara’s items, the closet in her “big girl” room is now useful for both games and some outgrown-but-not-quite items of clothing. It’s tempting to paint the closet walls a playful color—coral or teal would be fun—so that’s a possible project for later.
For now, we added a friend or two to help with the closet ambiance—like her monkey, who enjoys hanging out.
Just a few toys turn the closet into another mini play zone. Clara already spends a lot of time in her big girl room—playing with her kitchen, hosting stuffed-animal tea parties at her little table, and taking pretend naps on the daybed—but the closet gives her another cozy spot to sneak into and play.
On the floor are a few items I picked up for the thrift challenge we took on—the old $1 chair that was a faded yellow-brown and a small cradle that had burns, scratches, and a musty smell.
Now they look and smell much fresher.
Both pieces were revived with cleaning, priming, and fresh paint. I used Valspar Gloss in Classic Red (paint and primer in one) for the chair, and Rust-Oleum Universal All-Surface gloss white spray paint (also primer-included) for the cradle.
I have a few more ideas for the cradle, so it won’t stay plain white for long—stay tuned for updates.
Even though the cradle is only partly finished, the cleared closet is getting plenty of playtime.
I’ve noticed that as Clara grows, it’s helpful to create several discovery zones around the house instead of keeping every toy in one big basket in the living room. Moving toys into different rooms provides variety and keeps her engaged, and it also reduces the amount of cleanup in any single spot. By assigning toys to a few designated areas, most of them tend to stay where they belong, so tidy-ups are smaller and more manageable.
That’s the story of our quick closet overhaul. Have you been reorganizing any closets lately? Do you keep a guest-room closet empty for visitors, or do you use it for everyday storage since guests are infrequent? We recently realized we only have five closets in our four-bedroom house—our old one-bedroom apartment had four—so it’s a small miracle we ever had an empty one at all.