Home Storage Tips: 7 Ways to Find A Place for Everything

Learn 7 home storage tips to help you with organizing. If you’re struggling with clutter at home or wondering how long it’s safe to keep food, this article is for you.

Do you struggle with clutter at home or wonder how long you should keep food and perishables? Matthew Zajechowski is here today as our guest sharing 7 Home Storage Tips to help you organize nearly everything in your home.

Image credit: Next Door Storage

Benjamin Franklin once said, “A place for everything and everything in its place”, but he never had to deal with some of the unique clutter-related challenges of the 21^st century home.

As nice and concise as his old adage may be, it doesn’t explain how to organize and store everything from make-up to clothing to vinyl records in your home. Fortunately, it is still possible to find a place for everything in your home if you get creative and try some of these tips.

7 Home Storage Tips

1. Make the most of vertical space.

If you’re living in a small home with limited floor space, vertical space is your best friend. Add shelves or a tiered hanging basket in your kitchen if you don’t have a pantry, or put a shelf above your workspace in a home office if your desk doesn’t have drawers. Maximizing your shelving can help you avoid piling things up on counters, tables, or the floor.

2. Familiarize yourself with drawer dividers.

If you just start throwing miscellaneous items into the drawers around your home, finding them later can turn into a not-so-fun game of hide and seek. Organize items by type (such as kitchen utensils or smaller office supplies) and designate drawers for them, then further classify those drawers using drawer dividers. You can find expandable drawer dividers that work with just about any size space, and for smaller items, like make-up, you might try using old jewelry boxes.

3. Freeze next week’s food.

If you’re not already freezing the perishable food that you don’t plan to eat in the next week, you should be. Something like beef will only last 5 days in the fridge, but you can keep it in the freezer for 6 to 12 months. Chicken should only be in the refrigerator for 2 days, but can also last up to a year in the freezer. And if loaves of bread were “buy one, get one free” at the store, you should leave one in a bread box and put the other in the freezer, where it will last for up to 6 months.

4. Capitalize on cabinet space for your spices.

Try better organizing your spices by adding a spice rack to the bottom of one of your cabinets or, if space allows, on the inside of a cabinet drawer. Keep in mind that your spices need to stay sealed and dry in order to stay fresh. If you keep them in airtight containers, they should last 1-3 years.

5. Use a shoe organizer.

Over-the-door shoe organizers can be great for a lot more than just footwear. Hang one on the inside of the mudroom door for small items that your family may need when they head out, such as sunscreen, gloves, and hats. Hang one on the inside of your closet door and use it for everything from scarves to gift wrapping supplies.

6. Use a bookcase for your vinyl record collection.

If you’re a vinyl enthusiast, don’t just let your collection sit in boxes—show it off on a bookcase. You should always store your vinyl records vertically in record sleeves, away from any moisture.

7. Move items you rarely use (but want to keep) to a storage unit.

There may be some situations where you want to hold onto certain items (such as Christmas decorations or seasonal clothing) but just don’t have the space in your current home. Rather than parting with things that may have sentimental or monetary value (or both), get them out of the way by placing them in a climate-controlled storage unit. Check out this infographic from Next Door Storage to find tips on storing everything from furniture to ceramic dishes in a commercial storage unit.

Start implementing new storage strategies today to cut down on the clutter, find the items you’re looking for more easily, and spend less time stressing out about the appearance of your home. You may be surprised by just how much more you enjoy your home once you find a place for everything.

Matthew Zajechowski is an outreach manager for Digital Third Coast.  Connect with him on Twitter.

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You can also find these other Organization Ideas on Ideas for the Home by Kenarry® – 

• Toy Organization: 10 Easy Ways to Overcome Chaos
• Closet Organization: Three Ideas to Make It Easier
• 22 Insanely Creative DIY Home Organization Hacks
• How to Make Your Home Wheelchair Accessible