Storage Ottoman Makeover For My Closet

My closet is a complete and total mess. Having enough space isn't the issue. It's a nice size for an old home with about 42" of hanging space on either side of the door. I have access to it from my room and then can walk through it to the master bathroom. Unfortunately, it is completely unorganized and I have all sorts of junk on the floor. I added a second hanging bar on one side, but that is all I have really done recently. The woodwork needs to be painted and I'd also like to paint the walls something other than white. I have a lot of shelving but because I am so short I can't reach it so it is currently wasted space.

As a first step to make my closet more usable and organized  I decided to make it easier to access my shelves. I had this little turquoise suede ottoman that I thought would be perfect to make into a step stool. I wanted to be able to move it around easily so I decided to put it on casters. I didn't want it to slip out from under me when standing on it so I bought two locking casters and two regular swivel casters.

To mount the casters I started by flipping the base of the ottoman upside down and prying off the small feet that were on the ottoman. I then placed the casters in each corner of the ottoman with the two locking ones in opposite corners. I predrilled holes and then screwed them into the base.

Now that the ottoman was rollable I decided to make the inside more useful as well. I have a lot of flip flops but no good place to store them and I thought this could be just the ticket. I used some black foam core, large cup hooks and black duct tape to make some partitions for my flip flops to hang from. I cut four pieces of foam core the width of the inside of the ottoman and 1/2" shorter than the height.

For the center I doubled up two pieces and put a piece of duct tape over the top of them to join them. I used a flip flop for a guide and determined that the hooks needed to be 2-1/2" from the top of the foam core. I then poked a cup hook into the foam core 3" from each side and 2-1/2" from the top. I repeated the same on the back side as well. I found that the hooks had a tendency to spin when I tried to hang the flip flops on them so I pulled them out, added a dab of hot glue and then replaced the cup hooks.

For the two end partitions I did the same process as above, but with a single piece of foam core and with hooks on only one side.

With all of my partitions complete I was ready to assemble everything in the ottoman. I placed the end partitions against the side and used duct tape along each edge to secure them to the ottoman. I then put the middle partition in the ottoman and taped it down as well. I finished by hanging some of my flip flops in the ottoman.

I moved my ottoman into my closet and it fit perfectly. I can also now reach my closet shelves when I stand on it which is really convenient. 

Now I need to find where the rest of my flip flops are hiding around the house and wrangle them in my new and improved ottoman.