An important part of any home is the storage space. From seasonal decorations to spare linens, storage rooms, cabinets, and closets minimize clutter and keep everything organized. Just like most people though, occasionally designated storage areas become messy, overpacked, and chaotic as Christmas home accessories or summer sports gears gets tossed in without considering order. It requires a little bit of effort, but when you discover how to organize storage in your home, you’ll waste less time searching for items you need.

Take Your Time

If you, like most people, have let your storage spaces fall into disarray, set aside several chunks of time to tackle a complete overhaul. While it might not sound like the most enticing way to spend free time, two hours blocks spaced over four weekends will make a huge impact on how you organize storage in your home. Make it a group endeavor and ask the whole family to pitch in to get the work done faster.

Define Your Storage Space

Sometimes people divide a larger room into smaller ones, creating additional space for storage. If this is the case in your home, clearly define storage spaces to keep everything tidy and organized. When a room serves multiple purposes, for instance, storage and entertainment, clearly establishing the various areas maintains order and minimizes clutter. One of the best ways to define your storage space is installing modern barn doors (on sale now for 20 percent off with promo code SPRING20).

Empty and Clean Everything

Whether it’s a chest of drawers or a basement, remove everything from each storage space and clean them out. After you’ve sorted everything and you return boxes and cartons to their designed storage spaces, rest assured that these items aren’t resting in icky conditions. Plus, a tidy space decreases the likelihood of stored items incurring any damage.

Sort

Group items together as you remove them so that when they return to their proper location, similar goods are more easily found. For example, designate a specific closet or corner of a storage room to all holiday decorations. This is also an opportune time to declutter your storage space. Designate areas for items you want to keep, donate, and trash.

Use a system to organize the items you keep, for instance, color coding. Clearly mark boxed goods, so you don’t have to dig through container after container looking for a single item.

Outfit Storage Spaces

Once your storage spaces are clean and empty, determine what they need. Maybe some better lighting is required in your lower level storage closet. Extra hooks, shelves, or boxes may be needed to store everything properly. Equip your storage spaces with what they need so you can always find what you are looking for without mounting a full-day expedition.

Also, plan the layout for each storage space. No storage area, whether it’s a cabinet or a garage, should be more than three-fourths full. This allows room to move around without knocking items out of place.

As you organize your storage space, consider the environment. Basements tends to be cold and damp while closets on top floors are warm and dry. Keep dampness out with sealing plastic containers and a dehumidifier.

Think Creatively

Too often, people only use the floors to stack boxes in their storage rooms. However, walls and ceilings make excellent spaces for storing items. With the right hardware, transform your wall into a helpful storage display where you can quickly locate items like tools, craft supplies, and other smaller items. Hooks and hanging shelves on a ceiling are great in a garage for storing sporting equipment during off-seasons without taking up space needed for your vehicles.

Also, explore all of the different storage options available. For example, plastic tubs might take up too much space in your storage closet but plastic drawers and baskets might be the perfect fit. From bins and totes, to boxes and bags, there are dozens of products designed specifically to store almost every good imaginable.

Stay On Top of It

Don’t hastily throw items back into storage. You’ve worked so hard to organize storage in your home so keep it tidy and put things back in an orderly fashion. Tell everyone to do the same so that it’s not only your responsibility to organize storage in your home.