Storage Solutions for Things You Can’t Live Without

Is your home larger than it was 30 years ago and yet you still don’t have a place for everything you own? Do you struggle to find a place for all the things you have to keep? Could it be you have too much stuff? My philosophy is to surround yourself with things you like, you love, you use and you need. Don’t keep things around you that don’t make you happy and feel good. One way to reduce clutter in your home and in your life both physically and emotionally is to get rid of things that don’t light you up.

Jill had a roommate (we’ll call her Tina) in college who was horrible to all the roommates. When Tina moved out she left her iron. Jill had no way of contacting her to return the iron so she kept it. Every time Jill would use this iron, which was a perfectly good iron, the bad feelings about Tina would come back. After a few years she bought a new iron and donated the old one. This made a big difference in how she felt about ironing and she let go of those negative feelings.

Store things where you use them. You will use them more often and the easier it is to put them away the more likely it will be that you will put them back which will reduce clutter in your home.

Always put like things together and this includes items you store. Put seasonal decorations together in the same place. In a clothes closet hang likes together like pants, shirts, skirts and other clothing items.

As a professional organizer I had organized a man’s side of the closet and he asked his wife where all those pants in his closet had come from. Just by putting them all together he could see what he had. When they were all mixed up with his other clothes he didn’t know what he had.

Think in terms of premium space when deciding where to store things. In the linen closets (and other closets and cupboards) put those things used most often on the shelves one shelf above eye level down to about knee level. This is the easiest area to see and reach. Remember the easier it is to get something out, the easier it will be to put it away. If you have to reach or bend over very far it is harder to put it away.

If you don’t have space for everything you are going to keep, add expandable shelves, use a shoe rack on the back of the door for shoes or in the bathroom personal items. Make use of hidden storage like spaces under a bed, behind a couch or a door.

Maximize existing storage places. Many bookshelves or cabinets have adjustable shelves and by raising or lowering shelves this can create more useable space. Or use freestanding shelves, under-shelf hanging baskets, stepped shelves and double-decker turntables.

When storing items in bins that are placed in a storage room or garage for long term storage label the container so you know what is in them. If there are several items per bin, label the bin with a number and in a notebook to the corresponding number write down what is in the bin for future reference.

When looking for storage places first consider if you need to reduce clutter. After doing this be creative in finding ways to store what you use, love and are going to keep.