How to Find the Space to Store Your Stuff

If you look around your home, it might occur to you that you simply have too many things. While paring down is a great first strategy when you have item-overload, the fact is that sometimes you do need to find places to store necessary items in your home. Some homes are blessed with large, not-too-damp basements or attics, or they might have a lot of closet space, a huge garage or maybe even an extra room that can double as a storage area. Particularly if you have a small or older home, though, these popular storage spaces might not be options for you. If that is the case, or if you have simply used up all of the traditional storage areas in your house, here are some tips on finding extra space.

If you are dealing with paper clutter, there is a fairly simple solution: Switch to a paperless home office by going digital! Arrange for your creditors and utility carriers to either send you bills via email or to simply withdraw the appropriate amount directly from your checking account each month. Take a weekend and scan old tax forms, receipts and other papers that you’ve been saving, and put them on your hard drive as well as on an online or offline backup program. Enroll in e-banking to eliminate bank statements being delivered to your home. Storing whatever you can by using technology will go a long way in helping you to open up some space in your home.

If you need to store seldom-used items in cardboard boxes or large plastic bins, label everything. Be as specific as possible. For example, instead of scrawling, “outgrown kids clothes” on a bin, separate the kids’ clothes by gender or size, and label it with the specifics. This goes for smaller containers, too; if you need to store your shoes in opaque containers, label the end of each one with what’s inside, so you’re not tearing the lids off of everything in an effort to find the pumps that go with the outfit you’re planning to wear to that business meeting.

You don’t necessarily have to use space the way you think it’s meant to be used. If you have extra kitchen cabinets, you can use them to store hand towels or washcloths if you don’t have a linen closet. An extra closet in the guest room could hold small kitchen appliances or canned goods if you don’t have a dedicated pantry. Maybe your shoe rack would be better used holding toys in your child’s closet, or you might choose to store seldom-used china in the bottom drawer of a dresser. Try to be open to every possibility when gauging the space that you have.

Sometimes, you’ll need to store items in plain sight instead of behind closed doors. Do you have small closets and a large purse collection? Set up shelving in your bedroom and put them on display! Books should go in a bookcase, of course, but you can also make room on the shelves for old records, your DVD collection or stacks of magazines that you want to keep. If you’re an avid knitter, find pretty baskets to stow your yarn in, and let them lend a homey touch to your living room. Place things like pencils, pens, paper clips and other school supplies in glass mason jars and let them decorate a counter or bureau if you don’t have room inside your desk drawers.

By using your imagination and considering all options, you should be able to find somewhere to store everything that you need to keep in your home. If you’re really having trouble, invite over a well-organized friend or even a professional organizer to help you make sense of what you have. Once you have a place for everything, it should be simple to keep everything in its place.