Storage Tips to Help Make the Most of Your Space

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We’ve all got a bit of the hoarder in us. We like to collect things and save things. Often, it’s because those things have history and give us a sense of time and place, or a feeling of nostalgia through happy memories.

But when you start running out of cupboard space and it feels like everything is on top of you, it’s time for a bit of a rethink. How you approach storage and find ways to make it better or more effective is up to you, but here are some ideas.

Increase Home Storage

Find ways to incorporate some extra storage space into your living area.

You could do this with storage furnishings such as tables with shelves and drawers, or bring in trunks or chests that could also double as seating. You could refit alcoves with a few extra shelves or use the wall space more effectively.

Lots of us neglect the vertical areas in a room. You might not want another shelving unit running from floor to ceiling, but what about a single shelf around the perimeter at picture rail height, or decorative but functional shelf above a doorway?

You can get more out of wardrobes too with a bit of creative adapting.

• Try doubling up your hangars with connecting rings.
• Add hooks or a rail inside the door.
• Install an additional rail if most of your clothes are short.
• Use a plastic craft drawer in the bottom for a little extra storage of folded items or accessories.
• Add a shoe rack to help keep the bedroom floor clear. (Shoe racks are also handy anywhere else people leave shoes, such as hallways or by the back door).

Declutter and Simplify

Clear surfaces throughout the house help make the place feel spacious and clean, even if the cabinets are all full to bursting.

If you can, have designated spot for random little things like keys. If there’s nowhere specific to put things, there’s too much temptation to drop them anywhere and clutter up the surfaces again.

When you’re trying to declutter an area, arm yourself with a few boxes and go room by room through the whole house. Fill the boxes with things you don’t use very often but want to keep. Maybe you’ve got a huge collection of photos going back generations, perhaps your hobby gear is taking over the dining room or your spare room is full of furniture you don’t use but can’t bear to part with. You can’t put furniture in a box, but you can make a mental note that there’s something not being used, so you can deal with it later, such as by placing it into self storage until you need it again.

Bulky appliances you rarely use can also be saved in self storage for when you want them again. Bread or ice cream makers, food processors, coffee machines or countertop ovens and fryers might all have seasonal uses. When you’re not using items, don’t let them take up precious space gathering dust. Chess Move Delivery can provide a man and a van to get all your possessions safely to a storage unit and back to you again when you need them

Make it a Family Project

When just one person is trying to organise storage and space to make life more comfortable, it’s hard to stay motivated. Try and get everyone involved if you can, so all the household feels part of the new order.

Don’t forget children too. Let them decide which toys they don’t play with anymore. Help them pack things away and encourage them by explaining about all the extra room they’ll have to play with friends.

Once things are sorted and organised as you’d like, encourage everyone to carry on putting things in their new, designated spaces. It might involve a change in routine such as always doing dishes or loading the dishwasher after a meal or snack. Kitchens are lovely when the surfaces are clear but are astonishing clutter collectors.

When storage is limited, which it nearly always is, a bit of selective jiggery pokery is often called for. Whatever doesn’t add function or beauty needs to go somewhere else, as we’ve all heard a hundred times. It’s true though, and that somewhere else could be a self storage unit. They’re perfect for streamlining your living space while still saving items that give your life meaning and depth.