Storage Ideas & Inspiration

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Organization is a talent that I was definitely not born with, and that I still strive for. Whenever I walk into any type of home goods store, I always head to the storage & organization section first. While I dream of one day having built-in units in every room that will fit exactly the items that I need, that’s just not practical for me right now. This is not our “forever home” and it seems silly to install things that we won’t be able to take with us when we move in a few years. &With a young child, the items that we need to store are changing so quickly that I can’t commit to such a permanent solution.

My favorite storage solution that we’ve found have been canvas bins. We use these for toy storage in the great room & in Shane’s room, and even above our washer & dryer {see the before & after, above}. They work well to group like items, whether they’re small items like Shane’s Little People animals or big items like detergents & fabric softeners. &You can get them in many different colors, so they’re much better to look at than a cluttered mess.

Another favorite has been plastic shoe boxes, because they’re also very versatile and are great for small groups of small items. We first used these for our hallway closet, where we keep medicine & other supplies, and I’ve recently started using them to group Shane’s “school” supplies {one box has painting supplies, one has pipe cleaners & pom poms, one has crayons and colored pencils, etc.} I like to use these boxes for things that I need to be able to see {if I have a cold, I want to be able to check at first glance how much Dayquil we have left} but that will be tucked away & out of permanent view, since they do look a little more cluttered since you can see through them &they aren’t very decorative.

Despite using the different types of boxes to find homes for many of the things in my house, I still have plenty of items that are “homeless”. I’ve been searching organizing blogs & sites like HouseLogic for some inspiration & have come up with some great ideas for not only getting organized, but saving space while doing so:

-Store seasonal items, like wrapping paper, by hanging them from your ceiling! You can just install some wire & pop them up there- and then they won’t get ripped, either.

-Install pull-out shelves in your kitchen cabinets {or any cabinets, really} to make the best use of deep cabinets. Rather than keeping everything up front so you can grab it, you can put stuff all the way to the back when all you have to do is slide it out!

-If you need more storage room in your kitchen {who doesn’t?} consider adding a wheeled cart to hold some of your supplies.

-Use ice cube trays to store jewelry so that it doesn’t get tangled or get lost. If you’re feeling really creative, you could even spray paint an old {but clean!} cheese grater & hang earrings off of it!

-Use a thrift store spice rack to store your nail polish collection- bonus points if you actually hang it on the wall & use that vertical space!

-Speaking of vertical space, save some closet space by hanging an over-the-door shoe organizer. They’re {obviously} great for shoes, but can be used for so much more- I have plans to put one up in our office closet to hold office supplies like Post-its, pens, etc.

I have quite a few projects on my horizon, but I’m so looking forward to finally finding homes for some of the “stuff” that’s been floating around, getting moved from one spot to another. As you can see, there are tons of organizing ideas for those items out there, you just have to know where to look!

HouseLogic is a free source of information and tools from the National Association of Realtors^® that helps homeowners make smart decisions and take responsible actions to maintain, protect, and enhance the value of their home. HouseLogic helps homeowners plan and organize their home projects and also provides how-tos, news, home improvement advice, and information about taxes, home finances, and insurance. Learn more at www.houselogic.com.

Note: Compensation was provided by HouseLogic via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of HouseLogic