IDEAS FOR MAXIMIZING YOUR STORAGE
Is your home cluttered because your closets and usable organizing spaces are filled with long-term storage items? Use this guide for ideas on how to minimize your need for storage by reducing, reusing and decluttering your closets and other storage areas of the home.
1) Improve your laundry room storage. We often neglect this area and it gets cluttered with things that never get put away, old empty laundry detergent bottles, ironing supplies, and things that we collected out of pockets. Getting a little organization going here can help you to create a more efficient and organized laundry routine. Consider using an ironing pad on top of the dryer and eliminate the need for an ironing board. Use a rolling cart that fits between the washer and dryer for necessities. Remove the one long shelf from above the washer and dryer. Then replace it with cabinets or more efficient storage space.
2) Make storage where you didn't have it before. Put your bed or couch on risers so that you can store more underneath. Using baskets or bins on shelves in your closet will free up dresser drawers to store photos, craft supplies and other things that may be laying around. Moving hanging rods up higher creates storage areas underneath the hanging clothes. Use chests and benches around the house to store blankets and keepsakes.
3) Update your linen closet so that you can keep more in it. Most have a couple of shelves that get cluttered really quickly. Adding some extra shelving in here can make a big difference. Consider using a hanging bar at the top for sheets, blankets, quilts, table cloths and sleeping bags. Shelves down each side of the linen closet are great for towels and sheet sets. Use bins for pillow cases and wash cloths so that you don't have to worry about the folded stacks falling over causing a mess in the closet.
4) Hats end up laying around the house getting bent up and dirty. Install hooks down the sides of your closet walls so that you have a safe place to hang them. Hang nicer hats in grocery bags to protect them from the hooks and dust. Purses, backpacks and tote bags can also be hung here to reduce clutter around the house.
5) Use space saving hangers in all of your closets to free up more space that you didn't know you had. These hangers keep clothes from slipping and make them fit closely together so that you have extra room for other things.