With Fall making its grand entrance this week, we're in a mad rush to get ourselves organized before the holidays arrive, and with that, find our homes still in a complete state of disarray. Regardless of the size of a house, we all have those moments of having too much stuff or not enough aesthetically pleasing storage options.
Luckily for you, this is our area of expertise! We're here to take the guesswork out of tackling six common storage problems with a combination of space-saving decor and techniques that will have you doing cartwheels in your laundry room in no time!
A Mountain of Blankets
A large mountain of bedding suddenly accumulates in an empty corner of your space. It's what happens when you have many blankets and pillows strewn around your house and no place to put them. The usual plastic storage containers, though useful, are not visually exciting, so people want to hide them away in an attic or closet. Blankets and pillows are not to be stored out of sight but kept close at hand for chilly evening snuggles.
Decorative ladders take up minimal real estate and can hold several wool cable-knit blankets on their rungs. A few styling ideas include leaning against a wall in a living room or hanging on a wall for a vertical storage option that saves space.
Large jute, bamboo, or cotton baskets set near an armchair or couch give easy access to your blankets and pillow when most needed. A vintage-inspired metal and wood crate can create a cross-over of Americana Farmhouse with global influences. Loosely folded blankets draped in a basket or rustic crate with a pillow symbolize an inviting, cozy home.
Wading through a Sea of Suds
When planning and shopping for home organization accessories, containers, and decor, we tend not to think about the laundry room. Things can get quickly out of control in this room if you're not careful. You know how it is, used dryers sheets and piles of dirty clothing on the floor, with multiple almost empty laundry detergent bottles leaking onto the washer or dryer.
Let's take care of that growing mound on the floor, first by discarding the old dryer sheets in a waste bin and then putting the ready-to-wash clothing in a spacious woven cotton canvas laundry basket. Cotton canvas is a porous fabric, so smells and dampness have a chance to dissipate while waiting to be cleaned. The dripping detergent bottles need to come off the dryer, and you can combine a few of them.
Vertical storage is on-trend, especially for small spaces. Ornate or minimalist floating shelves are stackable and perfect for holding all of your laundering needs. Rustic whitewashed wood and metal hanging storage cabinet with shelves and hooks serve a two-fold purpose; 1) Keep the suds out of sight, and 2) you can use the hooks to hang damp clothing. Also, use your decorative ladder as an alternative to drying delicate clothing. Just hang your pieces on the rungs.
The Disruption of the Dewey Decimal
You turned your den into a makeshift home library complete with an alphabetizing system primarily because of the sheer amount books you've accumulated over the years. But the original plan backfired a little because you need more storage.
The two bookshelves you purchased earlier this year are at capacity. Your awards, trophies, plants, magazines, and not yet purchased books now need a place to live. If you have the space, pick up an antique end table or two for knickknacks and plants because nature and mementos help with concentration issues and relieve anxiety.
Wall-mounted wood cabinets with sliding doors are great for displaying treasured accomplishments and degrees with pride or concealing private things that you don't want people to see. Hang floating wood shelves adjacent to a corner for leaning extra books and add another on top or below for future books.
Multiple magazine subscriptions are excellent for educational purposes, but they add up fast. A vintage-style metal and wood magazine rack has a single deep pocket that keeps publications from curling and bending waiting to be read, given away, or sold.
Maybe it's Under the Bed?
Photo Credit: Onlyeasy Store on Amazon
The underside of all beds must come with some kind of built-in magnet or vortex. Objects seem to gravitate and disappear for months or years under there.
Surprisingly, the area under our beds can give us a lot of space for storing seasonal clothing, bedding, and books. Before sliding any storage units under there, perform a thorough cleaning to find missing items like jewelry or pet toys. Our tried and true air-tight plastic containers and foldable clothing bags come in handy for storing sweaters or clothing that we don't wear daily and keep them safe from critters like moths.
Books multiply without us even realizing it. Reading in bed is the best activity to do at the end of a long rainy or snowy day, which means we'll spend a lot of time reading during cooler weather. For a person with a lot of wall art, hanging shelves may not work as well as bookshelves that slide under the bed.
Organize your books in the same manner that you would for a stand-up bookcase. The two other benefits of this bookcase are easy access to your novels and neater coffee and end tabletops.
Mudslide in the Mudroom
Photo Credit: CHAMPS Store on Amazon
In some homes, the mudroom and laundry room may be the same, but not always. For those of you who don't have one, the mudroom is another entryway into the house where the dogs and kids can enter to remove dirty shoes and clothes after they've stomped through the wet grass and mud puddles.
A mudroom can turn into a mudslide without any level of organization. As you can tell, this is a room that must have a broom, mop, bucket scrubbing brushes on hand for rapid cleaning. Each of these items can fit in a wall-mounted organizer. Snap the mop and broom into place and hang your bucket on a hook, and, voila! Instant space saver!
Wipe off muddy shoes and dog toys and place them in a plastic or metal basket. Hang your furball's harness and rain jacket on a dual floating shelf with hooks. This year is the year you won't lose your hats and gloves. The minute you step inside, place them on the rack above your puppy's harness or drop them into the slots of a wall organizer before making your way to the fireplace.
The Sounds of Out of Tune Music
When the music room is disorderly, everything sounds flat and out of tune. CDs are missing, the extra needles for the turntable are probably where all the missing socks go. What should be an enjoyable afternoon becomes frustrating.
Vinyl records warp over time and need to be stored like our magazines from the library. We're excited to say that the hanging metal magazine rack is broad and deep enough to safely hold some of your most valued albums.
Farmhouse-style cabinets are not only for showing off snow globes and storing books. You can organize and stack your CDs in this unique piece as well and give it your own decor twist. Music rooms can have a specific design, but each unit can mesh well with any style.
Another easy-to-style display rack is a three-tiered pocket wall organizer. Place your digital or vintage electronics in this well-designed rack, like your 1980s Walkman or one-of-a-kind sheet music from a local musician.
We hope we've helped shake up your creative juices by giving you some practical and decorative product ideas and tips on getting more space out of your home.
