Been Hanging Around

Now I have the Counting Crows song “I’ve Been Hanging Around” stuck in my head.  Sweet (she says sarcastically).  At least it’s a good song that reminds me of my high school days.  On second thought, maybe that’s not such a good thing.  Anyway, we’ve got a new kitchen closet organizer hanging around these days thanks to some quick and easy closet tweaking.  What’s it been…like four days since organizing the kitchen closet and I’m already making changes?!  I was looking for a better way to organize and hang my scarves, since I was finding it a bit difficult to find them at the bottom of this pile:

My solution…an embroidery hoop scarf organizer.

It’s probably the quickest and easiest project I’ve completed to date.  It cost a whopping $3.38 and took about five minutes to complete.  And now I can see all my scarves at a glance and can easily grab one that matches my outfit (very important in girl world) and go.

Let’s get down to the nitty gritty on this project.  First off, when I started organizing the kitchen coat closet back here, I was kicking myself that during my recent Ikea shopping trip I didn’t pick up this Komplement organizer:

And since the nearest Ikea is about 6 hours away, I decided to DIY my own version of it.  I didn’t really have a game plan to recreate the Ikea Komplement hanger other than I needed rings of some sort.  So off to the craft store I went to walk aimlessly around the store looking for rings.  Then I stumbled upon a whole mess of embroidery hoops.  Ding ding ding…we have a winner…come on down!

I chose the 5″ hoops and deemed them purrrr-fect for this project.  Ten of them made their way into my basket for $1.69 each for a whopping $16.90.  I ended up only using two of them to make the hanger for a total cost of this project being $3.38.  The other 8 I have a Halloween decor project planned.

Putting the scarf hanger together was super simple.  So easy even a caveman could do it.  You just remove the inner hoop and unscrew the outer hoop to loop it around the closet rod:

And then loop the solid, inner hoop around the open outer hoop to create a chain of two.  Then close up the first ring so it’s solid again hanging off the closet rod.

Then to add a second pair of hoops, just repeat the process to create a chain of four, using only two embroidery hoops.

Then just hang scarves from the hoops until they cascaded down the organizer.

I’m completely smitten with the new, embroidery hoop scarf organizer.  It’s unique and simple, can expand or contract with my scarf collection, and was CHEAP.  I actually think I like it better than the Ikea Komplement organizer.  No more kicking myself in the rear for not picking it up.

My only concern with the organizer is whether or not the hoops are durable enough to stand the test of time.  They’re cheap hoops and seem a little on the flimsy side.  I keep waiting for one of the hoops to snap.  But it’s been hanging tough for almost a week now.  So far so good.  And if it does break, there are slightly more expensive and stronger hoops available at the craft store.  Now that I know how much I adore this organizer, it may be worth the investment later on.  And by investment I mean upgrading from a $1.69 per hoop price to a $5 per hoop price.  Whoa big spender!

Pssst…How about you guys?  How do you organize your winter gear?  Or any other crafty uses for your embroidery hoops?  Do share!

4 Comments

  1. Neat!!!! By the way, I forgot to show you my new closet organization when you were here. Remind me next time you stop by.

  2. I’ve seen my idea recently in a magazine, but for many years I’ve had one of those plastic hanging shoe holders on the inside door of my coat closet. The trick is to use a clear one. It holds gloves, hats, scarves in abundance. Each child can find his or hers at a quick glance. In another closet a shoe holder keeps school supplies organized: extra pencils and pens, all kinds of tape, glue sticks, you name it. Everyone can find what they need right away.

    1. Oooooh…that sounds awesome! I love that you can SEE everything…so key! Do you think you could hang something like that from a closet rod too? I might have to try that!!! Thanks for sharing!

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