Good storage changes how your home feels. When you get it right, it makes rooms feel calmer and look more beautiful. And that, according to one study, has a positive effect on emotions and your sense of well-being on top of helping create a spacious, pleasing living environment.
Storage Benefits
Top benefits include saving you time, as you don’t spend as long moving items from place to place. Your possessions also last longer since they’re not crammed in on top of each other or constantly bumping together.
Getting your storage organised can be a bit tricky. It might be helpful to think about who will be using the space and how they will be using it. Also, how often do you find yourself moving things around? If you are always searching for something, it might be worth checking if it is in the right spot.
Once you have the answers you can choose storage solutions that last.
The First Declutter
One of the first rules when decluttering is that you can’t (or mustn’t) store what you don’t need. ’Need’ can be quite a loose term. Maybe you don’t ever need to use an item, but you need it in your life because it holds sentimental value or has family history.
One way of dealing with sentimental items you don’t have space for is to use low-cost self storage. Your precious things are tucked away and safe without taking up space at home.
Tackle one room at a time, especially if there is a lot of stuff to go through. You can narrow it down even further, doing one cupboard at a time. The idea is to not get overwhelmed with it.
Another helpful rule is to be decisive. When you’re on the fence about something, earmark it for self storage as a kind of half-way-house until you can make a final decision.
Maximise Vertical Storage
Your walls are golden in terms of storage. You can fit shelving high and low to meet lots of different needs.
When you want to keep more of the floor clear, use tall cupboards rather than wide ones.
For moveable storage, use clear, stackable boxes to simplify finding and moving stuff to where it’s needed. These are great for hobby items or kids’ collections of small toys.
You can also use hooks and rails all over the house to keep things off floors. Or get a couple of over-door organisers so you can add storage without drilling holes. Use magnetic knife strips in the kitchen. They look great and help keep sharps out of drawers.
Invest in Multifunction Furnishings
You could:
- Swap frame beds for divans with drawers
- Use Ottomans for bedding and other household linens
- Choose side and coffee tables with shelves
- Put a rack or bench in the hallway for shoes or bags
When choosing furnishings, make sure they fit the room. Always measure the space before you buy. Oversized items waste space and make rooms feel cramped.
Create Zones in Rooms
Having distinct areas for different activities helps everyone keep those areas tidier as it’s clearer what belongs there and what doesn’t.
Ideas for zones include:
- Reading, storage or media in the living room
- Food prep, cooking and pantry in the kitchen
- Homework (desk area) and sleeping in an older child’s room
- Office space, eating, and best crockery storage in the dining room
These are just ideas of course. You know best how you’d like to organise your home. Choosing and using zones, though, does save time hunting for things and it’s useful for families.
Use Clear Storage and Labels
Whenever you need to corral small items or groups of larger similar items, clear storage containers are the way to go.
They’re useful all over the house, but particularly in the kitchen when you need to save pantry space. Decanting packets of flour, pasta, lentils, dried beans or cereals, for instance, into space-saving containers not only keeps food fresher, it’s easier to locate the ingredient you want.
Label everything clearly, particularly items that look the same. You don’t want to confuse your bread flour with your self-raising. It can be helpful to put labels on lids as well as on the sides of containers.
Learn and Use Seasonal Rotation
When living space is at a premium, it makes sense to keep what you’re not using somewhere out of the house.
Seasonal rotation is an excellent way to maximise every inch of house space.
While lots of your seasonal storage needs are likely to be fairly generic, it’s possible your location creates specific needs. As an example, if you live around Brighton and love water sports in summer, local Brighton self storage would be ideal during the winter months.
Always remember you can kit out your storage unit with free-standing hanging rails, drawer sets or good boxes and containers to help with organisation.
Eco and Budget-friendly Storage
Try to reuse and recycle as much as you can to find easy storage solutions. Give old supermarket jars and bottles a good wash and use them again in the kitchen or to keep small things like buttons and nails safe.
Before you get rid of older furnishings, consider possible alternative uses. Just because something was once a cupboard doesn’t mean it can’t live on as a desk with a bit of refashioning, for instance.
Buying second-hand from charity shops or online marketplaces is a fantastic way to find affordable shelving or drawers. Sometimes, items that are almost perfect can be transformed with a fresh coat of paint or a bit of sanding.
Before you think about getting any new storage for your home, perhaps give your current stuff a good tidy-up. Sometimes, just rearranging what you already have can be a great way to save money!
Ongoing Maintenance
Once you get the house the way you want it, try and keep it that way. A short tidy is always easier than a big clear out.
Just a quick ten to fifteen minutes each day to put things back where they belong can make a big difference. And it doesn’t have to be all at once! Small things like putting empty cups back in the kitchen or dirty clothes straight into the laundry basket can help keep things tidy.
Try and get everyone at home involved in keeping the place tidy and using their storage regularly. You might need to pester just a little bit to start with, but everyone will soon see the rewards and benefits.
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