Our New ELFA Closet Drawer System

If you follow Everyday Organize on social media (Facebook and Insta) then you know that the hubs and I have been in the process of ditching our two big, bulky dressers and moving all of our clothing into our closet. And TODAY…I want to reveal our new custom Elfa closet drawer system and how we made this happen!!

Like most people, spending SO much time at home in 2020 really revealed that, while we love our open floor plan home, it doesn’t leave any space to “escape” when you just need a little time to yourself. So my husband and I decided we would love to create a sitting area in our bedroom where we can get away and drink together.

And the most natural items to go to make room for this are our two big dressers. Why? Because while it does help me reach my step goal each day, it’s super inefficient to have half our clothes in the closet (on the other side of the master bath) and the other half in dresser drawers in our bedroom.

No brainer. Put it all in one place.

Problem #1: Where Will We Fit All of These Clothes?!

So I purged. Other things are hard for me, but purging isn’t one of them. I decided that if I hadn’t worn it in the last two years I wasn’t gonna wear it. And I politely, maybe with a little push, encouraged my husband to do the same. And suddenly I realized we had an entire hang bar space open now!

So I measured our space and then met with the amazing closet planners at The Container Store. They worked with me to figure out what product worked best in my budget and with the look of our closet. And we ended up choosing the Elfa Decor drawers in white with birch accents.

Why did we choose Elfa?! I’m so glad you asked. We love the flexibility of the Elfa system – so if our needs change down the road we can easily switch drawers for shelves, or whatever other function we need it to serve. We also love how easy the Elfa system is to install – it literally took us just one evening to get it up and ready. And…for the price, I think it’s an amazing value and quality! And nobody paid me to say that…but maybe they should.

I picked up all of the materials myself – this is it!! So easy. Did I mention that The Container Store includes all of the brackets and hardware you need to install this? Nope, I didn’t. So there you go. They also included a sketch of our plans and step-by-step hanging instructions so we could more easily follow along.

We got out the power drill and I went to work on the top track…the only Elfa item you really have to drill into the wall. We removed the old hang bar brackets and determined the shelf had enough support without brackets there. And that brings us to…

Problem #2: Our Janky Wall

Is that even a word?! It’s been part of my vocabulary since high school so it feels like it is. Anyways, in all transparency, it was not all flowers and rainbows…there was something weird behind our drywall that made it hard to drill through. We worked past it.

Then we realized that the wood bracket supports made our Elfa standards (long vertical pieces) not lay flat. The hubs came to the rescue with a quick visit to Home Depot for some trim pieces that extended them all the way down.

Problem #3: How Do I Want the Spacing?

What I love about Elfa is the customization. But that’s also what makes it like a puzzle…that’s where my organizer brain comes into play. We puzzled it around until we found the perfect configuration for our space and clothes.

And then we got a little fancy and added the birch drawer frames.

And the mesh drawers.

And we went ahead and moved all of our stuff over!!

I like to file fold clothes in drawers so I can see what I have, and fit more in the drawer. Here’s what the end result looks like…

Problem Solved!

We absolutely love our new Elfa closet drawer system. Isn’t it funny how long we will live in something so dysfunctional and not make a change?! We waited 3 years after moving in and every day since this update we talk about how much we love having everything in one place. And we make fun of each other every time we accidentally go back to our room and look in the empty dresser!

Want Help Making Your Closet Functional?

I would absolutely LOVE to help you make your closet more functional! And I won’t make you purge if you don’t want to. One of my super powers is being able to walk into a space and visualize how it could be improved.

Reach out and let’s schedule a FREE discovery call so you can show me your space and we can chat about what it might look like to work together.

And go ahead and take a look at our work.