TRICKS FOR HIDDEN STORAGE
If storage is piling up around your house, then it's time to do something about it. It can make you feel cramped, trapped, and closed in to be surrounded by your possessions. It can make you feel like you need a bigger home or that there's no use organizing it because there's just too much. Well, there are ways to get your area clear without having to get rid of everything you own. Use these tips to find hidden storage areas around you home and take control of your space once again.
1) Do you have tables or bookshelves that are holding a lot of knick-knacks or framed photos? This is a huge waste of space that can be easily remedied. Shelves that are affixed to the wall give you the same space for displays that do not take up any of your floor space. You can use the space above doors for shelving, too. If you have a lot, think about consolidating photographs from many frames into one collage frame.
2) End tables and coffee tables often do not have any storage. If you can replace these with bedside tables that have drawers or chests that give you lots of room, then you'll have some space to store things. Magazines, remote controls, blankets, pillows, your cross-stitching, and other things that you like to keep close at hand while lounging around on the couch can all be kept hidden away. Taking little things and putting them in containers where you can't see them all at once will instantly make the space seem cleaner, neater and emptier.
3) Does your closet look ready to explode? Closets are the first place that we store things, so if you have storage all around your house, chances are your closet is packed to the hilt. Since this is the first place that you started storing things, it is very possible that the things stored in there haven't been seen in years. Studies show that people keep storage items for an average of ten years without using them before they finally decide to throw them out or donate them. I would say that a good rule of thumb is a year or two. Every year that your storage items sit there it becomes exponentially more likely that you will never use it again.
When you clear out what you can, use specialty clothes to organize the items that you do use. Cascading hangers allow you to coordinate clothing and outfits while flat hangers let you save space all around. With just a few adjustments, you can have your closet back to usable in no time.
About the Author: Jo Granville is on the staff of Only Hangers, a leading online resource retail store clothing hangers and hangers for the home.