I failed to post a Small Space in May, but June is a feature of my favorite Small Space in the entire house, so it can count for both months.  Unveiling, right here in the Year of Small Spaces, the greatest of all household designs: THE MOMMY CLOSET.  When I found out I was pregnant for Kelly, Greg’s immediate reaction was to say, “We need to finish the basement”.  Wha?  The cold, grey concrete space that isn’t even plumbed for a bathroom?  I was thinking…NURSERY.

Greg, as usual, was dead on.  We put in a guest suite with a full bathroom, a great room, a finished out storage area under the house, and my only request: a closet for me, only to be entered by me, to store the equipment needed to be a #1 Mommy.  This closet is the key to everything I do; all the crazy projects you see me attempt, all the STUFF I pull out…it’s all organized here.  No digging, no searching.  Cardstock?  BAM.  Thank you note? BAM. BAM.  Halloween costumes, Easter baskets, linens, scrapbooking supplies, leftover party supplies….all here.  Easy to reach, grab, use, and put back.  Ahhhh, sweet organization…kiss me you devil.

The keys to my Mommy closet are as follows:  First: high shelves for breakables.  I don’t keep many things out of reach of the girls, but the dessert dishes I hauled back from Paris…OH NO THEY DON’T:

Second: The Stationery Chest of Drawers.  I have a problem with paper.  When my dear friend Gypsy Lydia spent too much time picking out her Xmas card, she emailed back stating, “REALLY?  Because you have an ENTIRE BUREAU dedicated to stationery!”  The repurposing my childhood bureau into a stationery station was simply a dream come true for me:

Finally, The Shelves.  Greg put in the shelves as part of the basement project, and they have brought me much joy.  Joy from shelves?  Oh yes.  Shelves that are just the right height, can hold anything, including rubbermaids.  Deep and wide shelves that my husband put great thought into constructing, as he took the time to measure ALL MY JUNK before putting them in.  These shelves are an anthem to marriage.

I wish this closet upon all Mommies everywhere.  I wish for you a label maker, baskets, drawers, and shelves.  This space becomes completely impassable about once a quarter, I drag it all out, and start over again.  Tonight was that night.  I will sleep less tonight, but better, knowing that the plastic Easter eggs are right where they should be: inside the gigantic Halloween bucket, to the left of the punch bowl and to the right of the Christmas candy supplies, as God intended them to be.