I love seeing your closets!! We have his and hers closets in the master, and I'm not satisfied with them (and we haven't even moved in yet). Our trim carpenter suggested a simple layout for rods and shelves, which looks great. Then I asked for shoe storage like rows of cubbies (meaning get more shoes in less space). He put in a slanted shelf along the baseboard. He was so proud of it, I didn't have the heart to tell him that it wouldn't meet my needs. Now, I'm kicking myself because I'm too wimpy to insist that he rip it out and redo it. Also, the floors have been finished now. I'm to the point where I have to pick my battles. Anyway, our best storage plans for our master are to de-clutter before moving in and to keep as much as possible in our huge cedar closet (for out of season clothing and shoes).

I forgot to mention--there's a company that makes "ready to assemble" cabinets to CUSTOM sizes and is apparently not too expensive (when compared to kitchen-cabinet manufacturers). Folks over at the Kitchens forum have had good experiences w/ them. Scherrs.com They do mostly kitchen cabinets, but they also do wall units, etc. It's basic carpentry, and they don't care what the size is. You can buy them unfinished, or finished. They come flat in a box for you to assemble (it isn't very hard, apparently), and can therefore be shipped almost anywhere. The company is in D.C., so shipping closer to them might be cheaper. It's really easy to get a bid from them.

It's important to know that a majority of cupboard customers all choose essentially the same thing, so that if you are looking for an oddball design, be sure that you're a good match with a custom shop. I have touted the shop we're working with and have no particular reason to think that the cupboards won't be good, but I can definitely say that I anticipated more customization from them than they can deliver. We priced the same bank of plain "shaker" cupboards from one of the better brands at Menards, Thomasville at HD, a semi-custom company I can't recall name, and two custom local companies. This shop met the HD and Menards on roughly comparable product but with much better drawer construction. Then together we started changing the plan somewhat. One of the best things in our new plan is that this shop has decided to create a large box instead of the two smaller boxes in the position each side of the range hood, plus incorporating the spacer area between the box and the wall, giving us an extra 8 inches within the box to the side of the second door. This will allow us to put more large items and irregularly shaped items into the cupboards, esp. the top shelves where less-used stuff is stored because there won't be a divider panel between the two sections on each side. From the floor, it will look like the two sets of cupboards are symmetrical. All four doors will be hinged on the side away from the stove so that there is no door that smacks against the range hood. Yes, I know that the shelves inside will be very wide, but I'm not worried and I doubt that I will do much custom repositioning of them anyway. Another good thing is the willingness to include four (yes, count them! four!) custom pullout cutting/bread boards. The shop knows how to do this in such a way that the cupboard frame will be able to handle the meat pounding and other downward pressure that I know will be applied by moi and DH. The contact man has a lot of on-the-job experience so he says "I've done that" or "that usually doesn't work so good" and it helps me understand. He is very patient. When I walked in with the items which I wanted to embed into the stove-side countertops (knife unit and utensil tubes) he understood and counseled as to how to work up two shallow-depth drawers to compensate. His software doesn't seem to be as fancy as the big company software, so I don't have lots of printouts of elevations from various perspectives, but he does email me a PDF with the latest changes in it, always b&w. But... He is best at the most common styles. I suspect he can rather easily set up a router to make custom designs on slab cupboard fronts. But the custom applied trims on the inside of various doors that I see in catalogs and store displays are not ones that he frequently makes. These things put him out of his element and is discouraging me from making them. He is best at doing the most common things in a custom way. This does not bother DH at all but it has disappointed me. Also, he says that he has trouble making a toekick drawer that really works well, that these don't always work out as being up to the shop's standard of quality, so he's reluctant to give it another try. On the positive side of things, he has a KD client on the other side of town (he keeps her name anonymous) who has set a standard of quality that he constantly quotes. "The KD would say that here [fill in topic] I should [fill in solution]"and I find is almost always good advice, which I am tapping without extra cost. Both of the custom shops that we approached had been enjoying the lush years of the pre-recession building boom. They did a lot of stuff for condo units, stores, etc. Now, out of necessity, they're going after small projects with homeowner contractors in order to give their employees some work. It's a new thing for them, I think, especially the part of the story in which they let the amateur contractor pick up part of the work, esp. the finishing and the planning. They're going to have to learn how to listen and how to give advice gently. To rookies who are just starting on this journey and are talking to such a local shop, be sure to watch out for... 1) whether the bid includes sales tax, transportation, storage, wood finish, deadline date, hauling into the house and dodging damage to floor, and the exact cupboard style you think you have stipulated 2) whether you will do part of the installation, the finish, the countertop and if so, how much they will counsel you or help set you up to succeed 3) what their web of local contacts is...who else do they scratch backs with, such as designers, glass people, finish people, drivers, wood suppliers, etc. 4) whether you or the shop will buy and install the custom inserts such as lazy susans or specialty drawers and whether these are in the bid 5) the quality of the hardware: closure device, rails, knobs if they're provided 6) the drawer box construction 7) the amount of guidance in design and advice you will need 8) how the shop proceeds with the bidding process, including when the money is due and whether it's by check or what 9) how the shop will deal with decreased personnel in this economy--fewer drivers, fewer specialists, fewer people to answer phone or respond to email, more demands on each individual's time, even the complication of an obscure address for the construction site, etc. [These shops don't have dedicated delivery staff who know the entire city because they do this day in and day out] 10) their understanding of your top priorities: deadline? color and finish? trim? kitchen design? or whatever Pay attention to the way they court you and answer your queries, etc. If they are slow or seem eccentric in the beginning part, what does that tell you? Do you have the kind of personality who can be understanding of this? Also, take a look at yourself and how you present your side; in these almost intimate interpersonal situations, you have to think of things from their pt of view--Have I scared him so he won't make suggestions any more? Does he understand that I want/don't want his input? etc. When we were near to shaking hands on the deal, I asked, "What should we do if there is a problem?" We also shook hands on the answer to that. Basically, he said that he would address and fix the problem. Not long after that, he arrived for a remeasure that uncovered a 9-inch measuring error in the computer diagrams. The diagram was too short. He gulped, said, "we'll still honor the quote" and we readjusted the plan. I am not sure that the big box companies would do that. A bonus because we look to be good to work with: He has offered us a chance to be guinea pig on a new product for $100, a new kind of plywood that has birch instead of plastic for the insides of drawers, etc. We said yes, we'd try it. His publicity person has indicated that they might want to use our kitchen for advertising. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Stay tuned.

I don't have everything under control but it was a wonderful day when I put a laundry basket beneath the small desk in our entry way. When mail comes in, I put all standard monthly bills inside without opening. I now have added a zip lock bag to the laundry basket and store all receipts/maintenance for the house in that laundry basket. At the end of the year, I pull out the zip lock bag and put that in my file cabinet for the house filed by year. The rest of the stuff in the laundry basket goes into a kitchen trash sized bag with a stickup label on the outside that has the year. I store the bag in our loft which we use for storage (could put it in an attic or closet, etc.) At the beginning of the year, I make sure the laundry basket beneath the desk is EMPTY. This location is handy because I can sort my mail quickly. I have two or three times needed to go into this basket in the years since I've been doing this. Once I remember I needed a water bill to show I was a city resident and could use the dump for hauling trash. I found what I needed within 10 minutes. I have added a second ziploc bag to the laundry basket labeled "Annual bills/invoices/records" such as when I get our health and home insurance statements, (can't remember what else goes in there. ) This is still a work in progress but I LOVE having a place to immediately file. (I have another small pot I use for storing tax related stuff that comes in starting in January) and since we itemize, I have a small box close by for medical receipts that are kept file yearly. (Haven't figured out where or how or when to store blood test results, etc...work in progress) Trick for me is to make it EASY to file immediately. I have a box for junk mail that I use for tossing, don't even open. Then I take whole box (when it fills up) to Office Max store where they charge modest amount to shred. I don't even have to keep a shredder anymore. As a result of this thread, I think I will change and find a new "Pot" for "IMPORTANT" and save and store on a yearly basis and don't throw away periodically. I think filiing immediately and trying to avoid sorting until you must find something is a good strategy. As a result of remodeling, I will have a new fairly nice sized closet near the entry way. I plan to put my "pots" in there. However, I don't think I will move the laundry basket. It has been such a life-saviour, I don't want to mess with a good thing.