Home Storage Solutions

Friends and family members often purchase toys for your kids for any holiday or occasion. That leaves you with a problem: Where do you put all of this stuff? There are many home-storage solutions for kids’ toys. Does this Spark an idea?

My Great Home says to “look for furniture that serves more than one purpose. …” (See References 1) Footstools with a removable top, cabinets that can double as a cubby and end tables with drawers are some great options to store toys out of sight.

Adding shelves to your home is one of the best ways to increase your home storage. Adequate storage will keep your bedroom, bathroom, office, craft space or garage tidy. Shelving is affordable, easily installed and well-suited to traditional, modern or casual spaces. Experiment with unusual shelf solutions to make the best use of small or awkward spaces. Does this Spark an idea?

Shelving in a storage space is all about function. If you are looking for a purchased home shelving solution, consider inexpensive and sturdy metal shelves. Look for shelves that are wide enough to hold plastic storage bins or other large items and can bear enough weight to handle your needs. A track-style shelving system is another possibility if you need to store smaller items. Install tracks at regular intervals and use shelf supports to place shelves where needed. Inexpensive board lumber can create basic shelves to hold holiday decorations, out-of-season items, or anything you might want to store. If you have exposed wall studs, consider using these studs as a support for a simple and cheaply built shelving unit with wider oriented strand board (OSB) or plywood shelves. Finally, the classic student shelving solution also works well in dedicated storage areas: Use board lumber and cinderblocks to assemble small or large shelving units.

If you are like most people, there are areas of the house that seem to get cluttered faster than others. The home office is one of these places, especially if you work from home. After all, there are only so many places in the house to store books, supplies, papers, computers and its accompanying equipment, and sometimes, despite our best efforts, the home office is soon buried in clutter. Organizing the home office will help you stay on top of tasks, provide a nicer work environment and make you feel better. Does this Spark an idea?

Purchase plastic or wood containers to store papers and documents you don’t need at a moment’s notice. That’s what a filing cabinet is for. For extra paper, ink, completed jobs, old billing statements and so forth, label containers or tubs, organize that stuff and then stack them in the closet or against one of the walls of the home office in a neat and tidy manner. If you prefer filing cabinets, choose one that will grow with you. It doesn’t do any good to buy a small, two-drawer filing cabinet if you’ll fill it all at once. Instead, save your money until you can buy a three or four-drawer cabinet instead. Tall, narrow filing cabinets are great for smaller offices, though wider cabinets are good for “desk space” for printers and fax machines also.