Shh… come closer… I have a little-known organising truth to share. Just between you and me.
Very often Storage Solutions are not the answer.
Have you ever bought a beautiful box to hold your stuff, only to find your stuff doesn’t all fit inside, or the box doesn’t fit where you wanted to put it? That’s probably because the box came along too early in the organising process. Storage “solutions” should come towards the end.
Or perhaps you bought a beautiful container for something you use all the time, but find putting away in the container just never happens? That’s probably due to the wrong type of container for your needs.
What looks good in the shop or online or in a catalogue may not work in reality for so many reasons. It basically boils down to unsuccessful generic solutions for specific problems.
Very often I’m invited to help a client with their clutter, only to find that “storage solutions” are part of that clutter problem. I wish I could rewind the clock and tell them the truth so they could save their time and money.
So here are some tips to help you save time and money before committing to storage solutions –
•First, declutter and sort as much as possible.
•Look at the whole situation. There may be things you have on hand which could be repurposed, or different ways of using the space.
•Determine your patterns, i.e. are you likely to return things to boxes, or do you prefer to have things on display?
•Measure and research both your spaces and the options.
•Allow “wiggle room”. That is, to avoid outgrowing your new storage applications, allow extra space for future growth.
•It’s worth waiting for the right solution, rather than spending only to regret later.
Storage can be both beautiful and useful when properly designed. And it needn’t cost the earth. But first things first.
And that’s the truth about Storage Solutions.
Great advice – thanks! Unfortunately, it’s sometimes that “backwards” approach that gets us motivated to organize. The cute container beckons its potential contents. 🙂
Guilty I have to say, although I hope that is not the case at the moment – I’m contemplating getting proper cupboards in my office!
Thanks, Eva. I know, the call of the pretty container is strong. But we can still enjoy them – just after deciding on the style, size etc we actually need.
Great to hear you’re giving your storage some serious thought, Emma. But don’t forget to go through the same process whether it’s portable and pretty storage or solid and serious, like built-ins. Consider things like height of shelves, depth into the room, access (eg. would it be better to hide the contents away or have instant access via open shelves?) and placement before committing to storage. The more you spend the more important it is to make the right decision.
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