Carving Out More Storage Space

We all have THE STUFF.  You know, the stuff we want to keep but don’t know where to store it.  Whether it’s extra home decorations you don’t want to part with but aren’t currently in use, or heirloom teacups handed down from your grandmother, it takes up valuable space in your home and finding the proper out-of-the-way place to store it becomes an issue.
 
When evaluating storage situations for THE STUFF, a few things are important to address first:
            Did you pull all THE STUFF and sort by “like items”?
            Did you purge what you could?
            Have you looked in each of the rooms in your home for the “hidden storage spaces”?
 
After you address these three questions, finding storage solutions should be fairly simple.  Let’s walk through these three steps in a little more detail….
 
Did you pull everything out and sort by “like items”?  This step is always first, no matter what you’re organizing.  It helps you visualize everything you have, and helps you see your space in a new way – empty and free of all belongings.  Be sure to look all around your house and pull out anything else that fits THE STUFF category.  Stuff you’re not using, that’s taking up space and doesn’t have a home.  If you have THE STUFF shoved here and shoved there, you need to pull it all out before doing anything else.  This step is important in order to truly see what you have and how much storage space you will need.  Sometimes, it’s not until you do this step, that you see just how much you actually have. And seeing how much you actually have is crucial to step number two.  

By pulling everything out, you can visualize what you have and sort by "like items" (it gets messy, but it's an essential step)!

​Did you purge what you could?  Often times, when we pull things out from the back of the closet or under the bed, we didn’t know we still had it!  Or maybe we didn’t realize we had 12 of those!  That’s why pulling everything out, and sorting by “like items” is so essential – you can see that you have 6 bags of white tissue paper, or 3 day planners.  It helps when deciding what to purge, as well as where its “home” will be. Be critical when it comes to what to keep.  The space in your home is valuable, and plays a big part in how you feel when you’re at home.  If you don’t need it, donate it or toss it.  If you have too many of one item, pass the extras along to a friend or family member.  Deciding to get rid of extra items frees up space and makes you feel more in control of your surroundings.
 
Have you looked in each of the rooms in your home for the “hidden storage spaces”?
By now you have all of THE STUFF sorted in piles of like-items.  You’ve purged excess or things you don’t need/want.  Now you’re ready to find a home for it all.  But there’s one last step before you put it all away.  Walk around your home, trying to look at your storage options in a new way.  Do you have space in the top of a closet – perhaps a top shelf that’s hard to reach?  If you can only access it with a ladder or step stool, you aren’t going to want to put anything there that you want access to frequently.  Therefore, it’s a great home for THE STUFF.   That same solution might be perfect in your laundry room, too.  Do you have tall cabinets that are difficult to reach, especially above the washer/dryer?  That would make a great home for THE STUFF.  Look around your home, taking inventory of your hard to reach/out of the way spaces that would not be good storage for everyday needs, but might be great for THE STUFF.  Other overlooked areas are under the bed, in the guest closet, in the attic, the top shelf of a laundry closet, or a crawl space.  

The top of the pantry is not easy to reach without a step stool, making it a perfect space to store items not frequently use.

The top shelf of this hall closet is difficult to access, making it a great space for THE STUFF.

The top shelf of this laundry room cabinet is hard to reach, making a great place to store THE STUFF.

​When you’ve looked through your house, come back and look at your piles again.  Visualize how much space you will need for each pile, and which areas might make the most sense to store certain piles.  For example, those super tall candle sticks might only fit on the top shelf in the hall closet.  Extra picture frames might be able to stack nicely on a top shelf in the laundry room.  Perhaps the safest and cleanest space for extra throw pillows is in some dust bags under the guest room bed (too bulky for cabinets or closets, and they need to be protected from dust and dirt).  Try to find homes for the entirety of each pile.  You don’t want to separate like-items… then you won’t be able to find them readily.  
 
Keep in mind that organizing is a bit like playing tetras…. It requires moving things around, putting them in different spaces, until you find the best fit.  It’s all about how to use your space most efficiently.  Happy Organizing!