There’s something comforting and nurturing about clean and tidy surroundings, but in the hectic buzz of modern life it’s an ideal that’s hard to maintain. If you want to make tidying up super quick and easy, these useful storage tips will help you get things sorted and keep them that way.
Top Storage Tips for a Calm, Relaxing Home
Only Keep at Home What you Use
If you’ve got more possessions than house room, it’s time to rethink how you’re using the space. Everybody has a few items they only use for part of the year, even if it’s just the winter clothes not worn through summer.
Most of us, though, have far more items we only use during certain seasons. The rest of the time they’re taking up valuable space that could be used better. Common seasonal use items might include seasonal sports kit and equipment, big luggage items, garden furnishings or children’s outdoor playthings like paddling pools or bikes.
Self storage units are excellent for helping you control what’s in your house, so you fill your living space with the things you need today, not the things you’ll need in a few months.
You can also use self-storage for furnishings you don’t use often, such as a guest bed if it would help you get more use out of a spare room. Or for good baby equipment and children’s items you’d like to hand down to younger siblings.
Simple Storage in Every Room
When your home is filled only with things in use, it’s easier to organise home storage:
In bedrooms
- Have bedside tables with drawers so the surface doesn’t get cluttered.
- Choose bed styles with storage, such as ottomans with a lifting mattress or a divan with drawers. If you have a bed frame, invest in some underbed storage tubs on wheels.
- Organise your wardrobe so it’s easier to choose outfits in the morning and put clothes away at night. You can fit extra rails, add hooks on doors or put a plastic drawer tower in the bottom if you need more space.
In bathrooms
- Add a shelf over the bathroom door if you’re short on space. It’s unobtrusive, but a good place for baskets of products or rolled up spare towels.
- Fit a vanity unit around or under the sink to hide cleaning products.
- Add capacity to a medicine cabinet fixing extra hooks behind the door. You can do this by fixing a small magnetic whiteboard inside the door, then using magnetic hooks to hold small grooming items.
In Living Rooms
- Group furnishings around the focal point, whether it’s the fireplace or the TV, helping keep the room feeling cosy and connected.
- Use storage furniture as much as possible. End tables and coffee tables with shelves, drawers or lifting tops are brilliant for hiding clutter. So are footstools, decorative chests, ottomans, or toy boxes.
- Use natural, pale colours on walls with splashes of accent colours in cushions, throws or rugs. These things help a room feel light and airy, making the odd bit of clutter less overwhelming.
In the Kitchen
- Use revolving trays inside your kitchen cabinets to organise spices or tinned goods.
- Clear out of date items on a regular basis, so everything in the larder or fridge is good to eat.
- If you have a pull down faucet, here’s how to clean a pull down kitchen faucet spray head.
- Keep your worktops clear. If you have larger appliances you want to keep but rarely use (bread makers, pasta machines, deep fat fryers, slow cookers) these are also excellent candidates for your self storage room.
- Keep coffee and tea making things together. Have a cabinet or a shelf near the kettle for mugs, coffee maker or tea, and sugar.
Calming Strategies for Peaceful Living
Having got storage under control, a couple of small lifestyle changes can maximise a sense of calm:
- No-tech times. Ban mobile phones from the dining table to open up time for distraction-free family catchups.
- Bring flowers into the house. A vase of fresh flowers freshens the atmosphere and lifts the spirits. Some suggest keeping a vase in every room, but that might be a bit much if you don’t want to end up with a house full of wilting stems. One vase in a prominent place in the living room will brighten the atmosphere. If you like the idea of flowers in each room, try taking single flowers from a bouquet and placing them in tiny vases.
- Have a ‘clutter zone’. We’re never going to get rid of all the muddles life creates, so create a special place for those items that must be dumped somewhere. Examples include a tray for letters or other papers, a basket for hats, scarves or bags by the door, or a hamper in the living room for quick toy tidy-ups.
Most storage and decor ideas work in all the rooms in the house, with just a few changes depending on how the room is used. The stressful effects of too much clutter are well known, so it’s worth grabbing back as much harmony as possible.
Last Updated on June 22, 2023 by Lucy Clarke
