Simplifying For Sanity (Closet)

I am linking up with Lynnette Kraft today and simplifying for sanity.  So, I've been at this for two weeks now and it really makes me feel good to be cleaning and de-cluttering. So this week (actually, today) I tackled my hall closet.  To some, it may not have been all that bad and it really wasn't.  But the constant clutter of disorganized gift bags, games and other junk made it something I disliked very much going into.  Here are some "before" pictures:

So I basically took everything, except the coats and the vacuum, out of the closet.  I wiped down and disinfected the shelves and swept the base.  After I had pulled everything out, here is what I actually had in there!

I must have had 50+ gift bags for all kinds of occasions.  I am cheap when it comes to gift bags.  I recycle them, as well as the tissue paper that comes with them, or I buy them at the dollar store.  I had my last baby 6 years ago and still had bags from that occasion!  But because everything was so disorganized in the closet, it was impossible to find the right bag when I needed it.

Here is what it all looked like afterwards:

So on the top shelf are canvass bags; you know, those bags you use at the beach or day trips.  On the second shelf are just two stacks of bags. The one on the right are "all occasion" bags, and on the left side are birthday bags.  Can you believe that I pared it all down to this (actually, I have some Christmas bags too, which are in a different picture).  On the bottom shelf are a few of my kids' games.  I think I will like looking into this closet now.

I decided to keep my Christmas bags, and the few gift boxes I have, in the house in the closet.  I am afraid if I put them in the garage with all of the other Christmas stuff, I will forget that I have them.  So I put all of the Christmas gift bags inside the larger bag and put them on the top shelf of the closet.

Lastly, I have some rolls of Christmas wrap, and some tissue paper in this picture.  Sorry for the bad photo.  I do have a gift wrap box under my bed, but when I pulled it out to use it for this, it was full of Christmas and other occasion paper I forgot I had.  My goal is to buy another gift wrap box and store them both in this closet.

One more thing tackled.  Looking forward to next week!