Lots of storage shelves can help reduce clutter all over the house.
Every home can be more oganized with well-planned storage shelves. Most homes have sufficient space within a garage or basement area for shelving. Creatively placed shelves inside closets can provide lots of extra storage room as well. By figuring out all of the items that can be placed on storage shelves, any homeowner can manage clutter much better. Shelves can be organized throughout the house, so that items can be quickly located, if very simple organizing systems are used. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Create a list of items that need to be stored on shelves in order to reduce clutter. Write down kitchen items, clothing, toys, bath products or any items that need organizing. Review home design books, magazines and websites to examine types of storage systems that involve using shelves.
2. Look for space in every room that can accommodate shelves. Make sketches to show where those shelves can be placed. Sketch shelves in a bathroom, for example, that will be placed in a closet or cabinet. Look for space to accommodate shelves, however, without making a room seem crowded. Use an entire wall for shelves from floor to ceiling, for instance, that will hold many shelves no deeper than one foot from front to wall.
3. Design closet shelves to reach all of the way to the top of the closet. Avoid leaving unused space near the ceiling that could hold many items. Organize the shelves to be spaced throughout the top and sides of a closet around a garment hanging rod, for example. Install premade shelves of wood or wire that are smooth and will not snag clothing. Leave plenty of room to reach inside the shelves, however, so it will be easier to retrieve items when they are needed.
4. Use shelving in a room for items that will be used in that space. Store car washing equipment and sponges in plastic tubs on shelves in a garage area, for example. Don't move these items to the basement where they will be hard to find. Use shelving in bedroom closets for clothing or bedding items only. Store kitchen items on pantry shelving, but avoid placing kitchen items on shelves in a hall closet.
5. Use a labeling system for closed containers on shelves. Include plastic containers for children's toys in a playroom closet to store art supplies, for example. Place a label on each container to plainly state what's inside or the storage shelves will only confuse everyone. Use color-coded labels for containers if children are too young to read.
Tags: items that, kitchen items, that will, accommodate shelves, containers children, hold many
