Improvised Broom Closet

As I have mentioned before, we have less closet space and concealed storage in this house than I would like. We actually have one less closet downstairs in our 2200 square foot 4-bedroom colonial than we did in our 1300 square foot 3-bedroom town home. I was so spoiled, and I certainly miss the storage!
We also have laminate flooring and tile throughout our first floor. With a toddler in the house (messes and crumbs galore), the broom and I have developed a very close relationship. I needed a good way to store our broom, mop, and the like where I could reach them easily throughout the day.
I was Pinspired by this beauty of a pin. Cleaning is probably my least favorite part of household management, but looking at this broom closet simply makes me happy. Crisp, clean, organized... it almost makes me want to clean - almost!

source

Maybe someday, when we re-do our kitchen, we could add something like that. But until then, I needed to come up with an easy-access storage solution. My attempts - shoving them in our coat closet or hanging them on nails on the basement wall - weren't cutting it.

I had broom closet envy, but what do you do when you don't have one? A few months ago I was at Target in the Dollar Spot and noticed an over-the-door hook rack for $3. It wasn't until I got home that I realized it was the solution to my broom closet dilemma! We don't go to Target often, and Dollar Spot items don't usually last, so I wanted to seize the opportunity. Thankfully, a friend was going there the next day, so she picked one up for me. Thanks, Beth!

Since most of my sweeping jobs happen in the kitchen, I chose to hang the hooks on the inside of the basement door, right as you enter the kitchen. It's been in place for a few months, and it's working perfectly! Here's my new "broom closet" in action.

From left to right we have a $1 handheld broom and dustpan from Target's Dollar Spot, a broom (I think it's from college), a lint brush to get the cat hair off the couch with a baggie of Swiffers behind it, my Rubbermaid Reveal mop, and the cleaning pads for said mop {affiliate links}. The empty hook normally holds an old Swiffer-style broom, but the kiddo was playing with it while I took the picture. He loves to sweep!

(Oh, and please disregard the scattered toys on the floor and general 

mess behind the door. He makes messes faster than I clean up!)

As I said, this is an old project. This "broom closet" has been in place since the spring. I chose to post this now because the hooks were back at the Dollar Spot when I was at Target a little over a week ago.
I can think of so many other uses, and for $3, it's a very affordable organizational tool! You could hang scarves or baseball caps on a closet door, pans on a pantry door, towels in a bathroom.... Makes me want to go out and buy a few more!
How would you use hooks like this in your space?

I linked up at:

Easy-Access Recipe Cards

When it comes to recipes, I'm not afraid of trying new things every once in a while. But for the most part, we stick with what we know and love. There are several meals that are in our regular rotation, and we almost always have some sort of quick bread for breakfast (it's a great way to bribe encourage the little one to eat his eggs and fruit).
All of our favorite recipes are on recipe cards. Many come from Pinterest, and while I do have some cookbooks, I don't like taking up valuable counter space while I'm cooking. If a meal from any source is deemed a "keeper," I write it on a card.
Storing the cards in a box is great in theory, but I found that the recipes I used regularly ended up in a pile next to/on top of/underneath where they were supposed to go. Not organized at all, and the clutter was starting to get to me.
The solution came to me one day when I was cleaning off the fridge. If Pinterest has taught me anything, it's that just about anything under the sun can be re-purposed. I was planning on putting a magnetic picture frame in the yard sale pile until I realized it could hold a few recipe cards. So, I gave it a trial run with a few of my favorites, and I was very happy with the result.
Since it worked so well, I decided I could use a few more frames to store different categories. I could have bought more at the Dollar Tree, but I put a out plea on Facebook first, and sure enough, my friend Sue gave me some that were taking up space in her house. Win-win! 
The only problem was, my favorite recipe cards are a bit loved...

Not exactly pretty... These great labels from Better Homes and Gardens were just what they needed. I used a similar label for our pantry storage, and I love how they make even the simplest project look pretty! All I did was print the labels on some computer paper, adhere them with clear contact paper, and voila!

Here they are at home on the side of my fridge with my cooking reference sheets, grocery list, etc.

They may not be something you'd find in a designer kitchen, but they're practical, pretty, and free. I count that as a success!

Making the Most of Our Closet

We recently moved to a new (to us) house. Now that it's almost July, we're very thankful for the central air conditioning in this home. However, since our home was not built with central air, there are a few places that duct work has been added. Two are in our son's room, and one is in our master bedroom closet.
Our closet is a walk-in, but it stores less clothes and accessories than the his & hers closets in our last home. And since the duct work was placed in the corner, we lost some hanging space. Observe:

It even takes up an entire shelf!