DIY Scarf Holder with Shower Curtain Rings

As we finish up our bedroom decor update, I've also been tackling the closet. I used to just randomly drape my scarves around the shelving. But in re-organizing the closet, I decided that my previous scarf situation just made the space look messy:

 

So I started looking for a scarf organizer. I eventually settled on this one from Target:

But when I loaded up the scarves, I didn't like how they ended up layered over the top of each other. This made the hanger quite a bit thicker than I anticipated it would be, making it take up more space in the small area where I wanted to hang it.

So I turned to Pinterest and found a few ideas for making your own scarf hanger using inexpensive shower curtain rings. On a Goodwill run, I happened to find 2 rolls of brand new rings for just 99 cents each so figured it was at least worth a shot!

 The first option was to just hook the rings on a hanger, filling the hanger full enough so that the rings don't slide around. Well, that didn't work for me as I wanted separate my scarves into two different color families, so there weren't enough scarves on the hanger to prevent sliding.

THIS DROVE ME NUTS WITHIN TWO SECONDS!

Of course, I'm not the only person who couldn't deal with those sliding rings, so some clever DIY people came up with the idea of positioning the rings across the hanger and duct-taping them together. You could make a scarf hanger with as many rings as you want using this method, but I only wanted one row so the scarves would not overlap.

It's easy to make a scarf hanger like this. Just cut a piece of duct tape about four inches long, cut a slit in the center of one end and tear the piece in two. (Duct tape is designed to tear straight -- don't try to cut it as you'll never get it straight!) Wrap these duct tape pieces around the shower rings to attach them to the hanger. Next you'll need to tape the rings to each other. For this step, I cut two slits in the four-inch duct tape strips, then tore the duct tape in three pieces to create slightly narrower strips. Be sure to squeeze the duct tape tightly so that it doesn't pull loose on the ends.

My first scarf hanger turned out pretty well and the scarves hang just the way I want them to, in a single row/layer.

Once I got the hang of wrapping the duct tape and keeping it straight, my second hanger turned out even better.

I hung the scarf hangers in the area of the closet next to my dresses and they don't take up much room at all. It's easy to remove a scarf and put it right back in place when done.

Time will tell, but I think this easy DIY scarf hanger will be a good solution for me! 

jp

Bedroom Update: Budget Closet Overhaul

As part of our current bedroom update, we desperately needed to clear out and freshen up the master bedroom closet. The closet is actually off of the master bathroom, so we probably could have tackled it at the time we remodeled the bathroom but truthfully, that might have put me right over the edge. So we sealed off the closet with plastic and entered in and out of it for months via a little slit in the sheeting. 

View into one part of the closet:

View from the closet into the bathroom:

 During the bathroom project, as one might expect, dust managed to filter into the closet (not that it was dust-free to begin with...). Following the bathroom project, I cleaned out the closet as best I could, knowing it was on the list for a major freshening up -- new paint, new carpet, better hangers, etc. This will be a low-cost overhaul, but I'm anticipating that small changes will make a BIG improvement in this space!

Saturday was the big day. First, I cleared out all the contents of the closet (which I won't scare you with here). Trust me, it was like going on a journey to the center of the earth. Have you ever read this book? Yeah, it was just like that.

 This is just the luggage that came out of the closet. 

POP QUIZ: How many people live in this house?

ANSWER: TWO! 

FOLLOW-UP QUESTION: Considering that we hardly ever travel -- and when we do, we never even check luggage -- HOW MUCH LUGGAGE DO TWO PEOPLE NEED? (Not a trick question!)

ANSWER: Not this much! 

I kid you not, the amount of stuff in this closet boggled the mind.

  Once I could see what I was dealing with, it was pretty bad. Notice the sad state of the carpet, which will be replaced -- and not a moment too soon.

On the plus side, the space is large and there's a nice amount of shelving (wire shelves are not my favorite, but a complete closet makeover is not in the budget). Unfortunately, the space has been filled with a lot of stuff that we don't need so it looked a lot smaller than it actually is.

 When I could finally see the walls, they weren't a pretty sight. After 22 years in this house, the walls of the closet had somehow taken a beating, I guess from hangers, shoes, suitcases, and the like. I was embarrassed that they looked this bad -- but in my defense, I couldn't even see them with all the stuff in there!

Spouse went to buy paint, then I set to work taping everything off. He will paint the baseboard at a later time, so I didn't worry about that.

I was closely supervised during this entire process...

After taping, I used a roller to paint the entire closet. I could not believe what a HUGE -- I repeat, HUGE -- difference a simple coat of white paint made. Other than falling off the step stool and nearly impaling myself on a wire shelf, the painting process went smoothly and only took a few hours.

 The pictures certainly don't reflect the vast improvement!

Once Spouse paints the trim, it will be even better. And when the new carpet arrives, life will be good. In the meantime, our task is to SORT THROUGH EVERYTHING and bring back only the items that we need and use. Everything else will be donated. 

Stay tuned for pictures of the completed closet!

jp