Christmas came early

This past summer, I presented Tony with my list of home improvement "requests," aka "let's get these things remodeled because its driving me crazy now that I'm home all day." Old homes are charming, but they are not always functional for a modern family -- particularly when it comes to closets and storage space. I wanted a real pantry, shelves in basement closets, and our bedroom closets modernized. And while we were at it, I wanted a sink in the laundry room with a counter and cupboards underneath.

Be still my organization-loving heart! Here are the before and afters.

We had an oddly shaped broom closet that is now an L-shaped pantry...with a light! Now nothing falls on me every time I open the door, and I can see everything that is in there. Sometimes I just walk by, open the door, turn on the light, and look at it.

Our bedroom closets. Note the regular door and the bar that holds your clothes runs only the depth of the closet (rather than the width). We can now fit twice as much stuff in them!

(The girls' closet)
(Our closet)

Random closet in the basement... Now we can store our cans of food on shelves rather than on a pile on the floor.

And the old laundry room sink gets an upgrade.

While we probably won't be featured in Better Homes & Gardens any time too soon, I am loving the changes. There is a bit more order in the house, and I like it.