I probably shouldn’t set the bar so high, but this is by far my favorite project & post to date!
We started with two problems in this closet. First, it was getting too difficult to find things in my soft-sided bins. I was losing track of what I already owned and what I needed to stock up on when there was a sale. Second, it’s B-O-R-I-N-G!!! Here’s a before pic: 
Can you imagine trying to find the right medicine quickly in this closet when you don’t feel good? Sick + messy medicine = cranky!
To get started, I cleared everything out of the closet and finally got to crack open my Pantone Radiant Orchid paint! It took two coats to cover the walls, but they are now gorgeous! I had a big fear of turning the closet into a cave, so I taped off a line at the top & bottom to leave a couple feet of neutral light reflecting space. The shelves got two coats of Valspar Ultra White paint AND were edged with Rub ‘n Buff Antique Gold. Every room needs some Rub ‘n Buff! Have I made you wait long enough for the reveal photos? I think so too – here you go!
Let’s take a closer look at a few of my favorites. The top shelf has six photo boxes from Michael’s.
They were on sale 6 for $10 before Christmas so I snatched up a ton of them. They came with gold label holders, but I still rubbed a little Antique Gold over them to get a perfect match. I made the labels in PowerPoint, using the RGB code from Pantone for Radiant Orchid. The color match between the printed label & the wall paint is amazing.
I taped the same printed labels on our laundry bins.
I found some hanging baskets at Lowe’s for $6 each and used them to maximize space without adding an extra shelf. (You can also get them here on Amazon!)
It seems like towels always fall over when they are stacked side by side, so I separated them with a storage drawer.
The drawer was a perfect solution because it can hold the wash cloths & extra hand towels. So much easier than trying to keep a stack of wash cloths perfectly straight! The drawer handles were white until I got to them with my bronze Sharpie. It was an exact match to the shelf edges!
Cost Breakdown
Paint (2 samples Radiant Orchid + 2 Samples Ultra White): $15
6 Photo Boxes (Michael’s Sale): $10
Storage Drawers (Target sale): $14
Gray Baskets (Staples Clearance): $5
Hanging Baskets (Lowes): $13
Label Holders for Gray Baskets (Staples): $3
Total Cost: $60
Secret Decoder Ring for Labels
Smile – Toothpaste, brushes, & floss
His – His razors, shaving cream, & deodorant
Hers – My razors, shaving cream, & deodorant
Pretty – New makeup
Girly – Used once a month 🙂
Mini – Travel size shampoo, conditioner, body wash & lotion
Ouchy – Bandaids, aloe, ointment – basically stuff for flesh wounds
Icky – Liquid medicine
All the toiletries in the closet are the extras we buy when I can get a great deal. We save a ton of money by having a small stockpile instead of having to pay full price when we run out of something.
Now that things are organized, I can be more effective and stay on top of our stash. For example, if we have NO toothpaste in our smile box, I will grab a box if a sale/coupon combo makes it $1 per tube. But if I check and we already have 4, I wouldn’t buy any unless it was free after the coupon. I’m not a crazy stock-piler, but I love having a few of everything on hand.
Well, correction, I don’t PLAN to be a crazy stock-piler. It seems my messy stash before was hiding toothbrushes. Oops!
No more toothbrush purchases for a while!
How about one more view of all the shelves? 
Ready for another closet makeover? See how we turned out coat closet into a cleaning closet!
Stephanie @ The Styled Soul says
I’m such a scatterbrain! I just commented on part one of this post, then I found the after. Haha. I love it!! If only I could get this organized. Sigh… gorgeous.
melissa@polishedhabitat.com says
Ha! Glad I’m not the only scatterbrain 🙂 Thanks for visiting and your nice compliment!
Nicole says
I wasn’t sure I was going to like the color of the year, but I love it used like this! What a fun pop of color- and all the baskets and boxes look great against it. Visiting from SITS FB group 🙂
melissa@polishedhabitat.com says
Thanks Nicole! I couldn’t handle it in an entire room, but having it in the closet makes me smile every time I open the door. Thanks for visiting!
Kim says
I love how organized this is! Love the color, too! I doubt my husband would go for it lol
melissa@polishedhabitat.com says
Ha! Thankfully my husband is pretty easy going with the colors. Although it might have been another story if I wanted to paint the whole bathroom. 🙂
ninya walters says
i love THE COLOR!!! kIND OF A PURPLE JUNKIE HERE SO I LOVE IT IN ALL ITS FORMS. I WISH I COULD BE THIS ORGANIZED.
melissa@polishedhabitat.com says
Thanks Ninya! And don’t give up on being that organized. Just tackle one space at a time. Most of my closets look like the before picture, but I’m fixing them one by one.
Sarah E. White says
So cute. Great job. That purple really is pretty. (And hi from SITS!)
melissa@polishedhabitat.com says
Hi Sarah! Thanks for visiting!
Shelly says
That is quite a difference. So nice and organized. Right now I have banker boxes to store my extra items in. I really need to do something new. Great job!
melissa@polishedhabitat.com says
Thanks Shelly!
Nicole Williams says
Really love this! And very inexpensive too.
melissa@polishedhabitat.com says
Thanks Nicole! I love projects that have a small budget but big impact!
Lorrie says
that closet looks amazing now much better I think I’ll redo a closet soon you got me inspired
melissa@polishedhabitat.com says
Thanks Lorrie! It’s been a couple weeks and everything is still organized and looking good, so I think that is a testament to how important it is for everything to have a place. Now I just have to give the rest of my closets the same level of organization 🙂
Christina @ Juggling Real food and real life says
What a beautiful closet! I have never thought of giving my closets this type of designer look. I love it and now I hate my closets. I need to get to work on them. I love all of the extra touches. The sharpie on the plastic drawer is genius! It makes it look beautiful and it is much easier to locate the opening. I’m tired of everything falling on me. Going to get to work on this right away!
melissa@polishedhabitat.com says
Oh I know what you mean about hating the rest of your closets now!!! Thanks for visiting and the nice words!
Gabriella says
WOW! I love to organize – this is fantastic!
Thanks for linking up on HomemakingHearts.com last Friday – I’m glad you joined in and I’m thrilled to have a constant reminder on my site of this wonderful and creative post!
I hope you’ll consider linking-up again!
melissa@polishedhabitat.com says
Thanks for hosting & coming by!
Julie @Being home says
Gorgeous! Your closet makes me happy and then sad because mine is a mess. lol Love the gold and orchid color together. You are stocked up on essentials. I need to do that. Thank you for sharing and for letting me know where to get some of those hanging baskets. : D
melissa@polishedhabitat.com says
Lol, don`t be sad!!! Whip you closet into shape and then stock up. 🙂 You are right though, having a mini stockpile of essentials makes me almost as happy as the Radiant Orchid paint. We save so much money not having to pay full price at the last minute because we have run out. At least most of the time!
Lauren s says
i found your post from the link party at IHeart Organizing! I have to say I love these type of reveals and I love everything about what you did with your closet! Simply awesome!
melissa@polishedhabitat.com says
Thank you Lauren! I just went to check out your blog and I love it! So glad you stopped by.
cassie says
i love this! it’s so unexpected and so fun!
melissa@polishedhabitat.com says
Thank you Cassie! The walls in the rest of the house are really neutral. It was so fun to be bold in this small space!
Allison Rust says
Hi Melissa! I just linked to your blog through Iheartorganizing and, first of all, this project is awesome! Second of all, I also live in Oklahoma with a German Shepherd. Cool! I just added you on Bloglovin.
melissa@polishedhabitat.com says
First, thanks for stopping by! And second, that is so fun! I’m heading over to check out your blog as soon as I get home. I’d love a blogging friend in Oklahoma!
piathought says
Oh my! I can’t help but smile! I always want to do pretty, neat and organized things like these! Hope you can share how to start being creative! 🙂
Always,
Piathought of Piathought.blogspot.com
melissa@polishedhabitat.com says
If I knew the secret, I’d share it! Actually, I will say that when you use your creativity on small projects, it definitely grows and gives you ides for big projects. Just jump in and start something!