How to Organize Your Storage Closet
*EARNS COMMISSION*
We’ve all got one right? Whether big or small, the storage closet in your home is the central location for the family’s operations. So the question is presented of how to effectively make these spaces functional! Let’s assume for the sake of this conversation that your home does not have a garage space you can utilize in a similar way.
To create a “command center” of the home, you first need to consider what types of items are used by the whole family. These items may include:
Tools, hardware, and batteries
Back stock toilet paper, paper towels, and cleaning supplies
Stationary, wrapping paper, and office supplies
Vacuum, mop, and broom
Clean linens
Games and crafts
Any other similar items!
Now you’re likely saying to yourself, “Yes I have all of those things in there already, but it’s in a huge pile and I can’t find anything!!!” And there is a reason for that! Likely being that you do not have appropriate zones setup and are under utilizing the space available.
To get started organizing your storage closet, follow these steps:
Remove all items from the space.
Sort the items by category (try thinking in the context of buckets laid out above).
Map out specific zones for each of the buckets you have items in. (Try dedicating shelves to similar zones like clean linens near the backstock cleaning and house supplies as this creates a “grab n go” section that needs to be refilled when low)
Obtain products that confine “like” items to each other (We will touch on this below).
Place the items in their designated spots.
LABEL!
Seems easy enough, right? IT is! That said, choosing the correct products is a key factor in lasting organization and systems. For example, simply setting your back stock bars of soap freely on a shelf will not enable you to put the next batch neatly in the closet. You need a labeled bin to hold these items together!
Here are some product suggestions for each zone/category:
Tools, hardware, and batteries
Back stock toilet paper, paper towels, and cleaning supplies
Stationary, wrapping paper, and office supplies
Vacuum, mop, and broom
Clean linens
Games and crafts
So make sure once you select your products, and complete the organizing project, that you maintain it by following labels and holding yourself accountable to the extra ~5 seconds it requires to place items back where they belong. If there is overflow, you must make the tough decisions to only keep what can fit in the space. Ask yourself - what do I value more? That extra 6 pack of fancy hand sanitizer? Or having a neat and systemized command center of the home? That choice is up to you!
