How to start decluttering and organising your home – Part 3
Storage Solutions
As a home organiser, a question I always get is: “Do I need to buy any storage items before your arrival?” The answer is no. And this little story, going back to my London days, will tell you why.
One of my friends moved in with her boyfriend at that time. They were both in their late twenties and came with a loooot of stuff. Unsurprisingly, trying to fit their entire lives into a tiny two-bedroomed flat became tricky.
Their approaches to decluttering, organising and storage were worlds apart, too. He was one of those people who liked keeping stuff “just in case”. Even if it was an object neither of them ever utilised. She was more of a sentimental keeper.
One of the possessions they disagreed on was the famed BBQ. It was a Christmas gift from his parents, awaiting an unspecified time in the future when they’d own a house in the countryside, have kids and host friends for lunch every Sunday.
He fully assembled it because he wanted to see it “in its full glory.” As you can imagine, the thing was quite bulky. So it rendered the whole balcony unusable, stopping my friend from having her morning coffee on the balcony.
From time to time, they’d go through the smaller stuff they owned, trying to free up some space. His approach was always: “Let’s just buy another chest of drawers or a shelving unit”. But my friend’s response was to either get rid of the forgotten belongings or stow them away more efficiently.
I honestly don’t know how on Earth he thought bringing more objects into their already limited living space would solve the problem. But his example is not isolated.
DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME
Very often, the reason you need to get your belongings under control again is quite simple. Underneath all the clutter lies a lack of organisation.
As brutal as it may sound, life itself can sometimes get in the way of keeping your home in order and your belongings in check. With all the daily errands needing your full and undivided attention, it doesn’t take long before everything becomes messy and untangled.
If it offers any consolation, just know that we’ve all been there at some point. So, the key to an organised home is not spending money on more storage solutions. It’s finding the time, energy and motivation (and sometimes professional help – wink, wink) to get organised again.
Once you start, however, watch out for another red flag.
In my work, I often come across clients who approach decluttering and organising like my friend’s now ex-partner.
They will look at everything lying around their home and immediately decide the only way to fit it in their space is additional storage. And I’m not just talking about modular IKEA boxes. They often seriously consider purchasing a new chest of drawers, a cabinet or… even a wardrobe!
That’s insane! It’s also one of the biggest traps you can fall into at the beginning of your organising journey. Because if you think about it, adding more things to store what you already have is counterintuitive.
The process is much simpler. The trick is to both declutter your home and work with the space and storage within it. You just need to find clever ideas and think “out of the box” (no pun intended!).
Luckily, I’m here to give you practical tips on how to achieve that.
THE TRUTH ABOUT STORAGE SOLUTIONS
Let me reveal an organised person’s well-guarded secret first. Each home has its own solutions within it. That space should be sufficient for all your possessions. Because the amount of stuff you own must reflect the size of your property. Period.
Interestingly, not everyone knows how to utilise that space correctly. Here’s an everyday example of that.
Many people tend to leave things in front of cupboards when they’re in a hurry. After a while, they forget those items ended up there temporarily. And soon enough, that space becomes those items’ new permanent storage place.
Consequently, everyone at home is led to believe the cupboard is already full. So if they need to stow away anything else, they’ll think: “We need to get another cupboard.” Nobody even checks if that assumption is correct.
Even worse – there’s so much junk in front of a cupboard that it’s no longer possible to access it. And when you finally open it one day, it turns out there’s hardly anything in it. Sounds familiar?
Let’s take this observation even further by looking at what lives in those storage spaces and how the contents are kept there.
A shelf of plastic bags, stained and worn towels, out-of-date medicine, unused cleaning products, a Danish Butter biscuit tin bursting with your sewing kit and a bag of buttons. How many of the things did I get right?
And that understairs shoe rack might actually “welcome” more pairs of shoes when you’re not using them. But both shoes should go together. They shouldn’t be randomly thrown on the levels where you see a potential opening for them or on the floor at the foot of the shoe rack.
Sure, all of us would like to store every pair like it’s a shop display. But very few of us can afford a Carrie Bradshaw-style walk-in closet – that’s a fact. So it’s all about working methodically and being organised instead. Try it! Those Tetris playing skills from your childhood could come in handy at the least expected times.
And does the camping gear really need to be spread around the whole home? Could you not ask your hubby to help you find a dedicated corner in the garage to keep it together? It will be much quicker to locate everything when packing for that next camping trip in Norfolk.
DO TRY THIS AT HOME
When I turn up to a client’s home, very rarely, if ever, I come with some storage solution that has been pre-ordered or pre-bought.
What I do bring with me is a fresh set of eyes. I can spot solutions you don’t even consider as storage.
Let me back it up with another practical example.
If I am working on a whole house for a client, most often, I start in the garage/shed/loft. This is the best storage of all. But it is always the one that is overflowing with unwanted stuff.
From paint to off-cuts of wood to the broken child’s bike they are unsure what to do with, and the forgotten memory boxes full of school work from the 19th century. See why creating space in what I consider the most valuable storage spaces is key?
During this first stage, I can guarantee I will come across several unused storage boxes or now empty storage boxes. Their contents have already been thrown away or stored better, but the client has forgotten all about it.
The chances of finding shelf and cupboard space are also quite high. That pile of belongings dumped in front of it seems to have been sorted a long time ago as well. But again, someone has forgotten to take note of it.
So now, you can stand back and wow at how much space and storage there is to play with!
The next stage is the house itself. If you wish to keep something used only occasionally, which doesn’t need to take up valuable kitchen cupboard space, you can now place it in the space you have made in the garage or loft.
I call this process “a conveyor belt”. Start where there is the most junk. Get rid of that junk to create space for the stuff you want to keep from the next room you work on. And so on. As you move along the conveyor belt, you will naturally find more storage and space!
So we’re back to square one – making a mess. (I talked about it in my last post.) Because it’s vital to understand what you already have at home, categorise it and start stowing it away in a smarter way this time round. The popular saying “Less is more” applies here 100%! And the biggest investment you’re making is the time spent analysing the storage options.
There might come a time in the future when you’ll need a new wardrobe or storage box. But please make sure it’s because the old one has seen better days, and not because your children’s toys are overflowing. That last issue can probably be fixed without spending money.
Finally, here’s the best news. I’m always happy to guide you in this tricky decluttering journey and prove your home already has enough space to store your precious possessions.
