When we moved, we suddenly had the storage space we were lacking in the old house. I had intended to immediately unpack each object into its new perfectly permanent place, but.. life happens and like most folks after a big move, I went with the whole “throw that stuff in a closet and I’ll get back to it soon” attitude..
My kitchen has a small pantry. But outside the kitchen, there is an additional closet where we store all the evidence of our Costco addiction. Light and added organization were must-haves, but I also wanted to have some fun with this redo. Instead of wallpaper, my daughter and I decided to save money with a quarantine stencil project. I’ve seen a couple of jungle leaf patterns I really like. I wanted something similar. After we removed the shelves and patched and painted the walls, we were ready to get started.
Before- Yikes! 
Look at all the Wasted Space 
Working the Putty 
Fixing the Walls
I chose three different leaves stencils and three shades of green paint. The paint does better on a matte wall because it will slide on a slippery gloss. Stenciling was easier than I thought. I used door and cabinet rollers. After trying both heavy paper plates and plastic paint tray liners, I decided plastic paper plates would work best for this job. I secured each stencil onto the wall using blue painter’s tape. I also used a bit of Elmer’s Spray Glue on the back side to make sure the stencil was tacky, but I wasn’t impressed and would skip that step next time. After rolling it into the paint, we rolled the roller on a paper towel to remove any access paint. We carefully painted all three stencils, each with it’s assigned color, then moved each stencil in the order that they were painted. The timing worked perfectly as it gave the paint enough time to dry just enough. When we made mistakes, we dabbed them with an alcohol soaked Q-tip to remove the rogue paint from the wall. In addition, we began in an area where we would have shelving so that if we messed up, it would be inconspicuous. The process did take the better part of a day, but we put on a few good movies and took our time.
Set Up 
Excess Paint on Paper Towels 
Rolling 
Few minutes of Dry Time 
Almost Done 
Tricky Corners Last
After the paint was dry, we reinstalled the MDF shelves. For a more finished look, the hubby rounded the edges with the router and I primed and painted them white. We picked up a bathroom bar light on clearance from Home Depot. Luckily the closest had a outlet, so we wired a plug to the light. We had to paint the cord white to blend in and then we tacked the cord to the corners of the wall to connect it with both the outlet and the switch.
At first, I planned to only use white and gold to accent the closet. However, the wall stenciling gave the space more of an “old lady” look than I was going for. So I decided to add some black to ground it and give it an edge no granny would dare use. I bought a wire door organizer but spray painted it black. The organizer allowed me to fully utilize the side wall space while still allowing enough room to get to the back shelves easily.
Black Door Organizer 
Adding some Charm
Next I decided to use black fabric cubes to organize some of my food. I wanted to label them using my cricut and iron on vinyl. My first attempt was an utter nightmare. I purchased a six pack of cheep fabric covered cardboard cubes from Amazon. I knew I had to be careful using a hot iron on polypropylene. I created the iron on words: “Snacks”, “Sweets” and “Treats”. I tried to be so careful, using a towel between the iron and the cubes. But I could never seem to find the sweet spot where the iron was hot enough to make the vinyl stick but cool enough to not burn holes in the fabric. After burning holes in 3 cubes, I’d finally reached my own boiling point. Frustrated, I went ahead and purchased the Cricut Easy Press. (I better label lots of cubes in lots of closets to justify the cost of that sucker!). When it arrived and I prepared new vinyl labels, I was ready to start my second attempt. I loved how the Cricut Easy Press Website gives specific directions on preheating the fabric, which temperature setting to use and more specific directions on peeling off the protective plastic based on the type of material you are adhering it to. The second time was a charm. The cute labels add playfulness to the organization.
Hide Clutter with Cuteness
I love the closet. I enjoyed filling it up. I know that I will constantly be adding more organization as I go, but for now, I smile every time I open the door.
All Done!! 
TaDa!!