Three Storage Habits to Create a Calm and Organized Home

It’s no secret that having an organized space has a significant impact on how we feel in our homes. When our space feels chaotic, it impacts both our stress levels and how we function in our space. Being surrounded by stuff and having to rummage through things all the time can create an underlying sense of irritation when we’re in our homes. By implementing a few storage habits, it’s possible to manage our belongings in a way that feels visually decluttered, easy to access, and easy to find when you need it. 

Organization and Home Design 

I’ve personally experienced the stress from that one closet that was stuffed with items that I couldn’t even recall anymore. Trying to find things in it was such a nuisance that I avoided it when possible. I remember feeling irritated every time I opened the utensil drawer because I’d have to dig through piled up items just to get to the spatula. This often made daily activities, like cooking, feel more tedious. 

One of the major resources that helped me rethink my storage habits was Caroline Winkler’s video, “You’re Doing Home Organization Wrong”. I began to see the link between design and organization, and how they can work together. Over time I implemented many of these tips, while also learning some of my own lessons along the way. Not only did this impact how I functioned in my space, it also helped me create a more beautiful home. 

Maintaining an organized and functional home comes down to the systems we create. A previous article talked about organizing your home to suit your behaviors, instead of trying to change everyone’s behaviors. Now, we’ll tackle how we can rethink our storage habits to maximize for three primary qualities: Visual Declutter, Ease of Access, and Visibility. 

Storage Habit 1: Declutter Visually

The first storage habit is to reduce visual clutter from surface areas. Clutter weighs on you mentally, so find ways to store items whenever possible. Utilize closed storage such as closets, drawers, and baskets. 

Keep open shelving to a minimum and use them very intentionally. If you are keeping something on display, group objects together and unify them with a tray or book. This will help make it look more intentional and less scattered. Just be careful not to overdo this one. Even beautiful things become overwhelming if there are a lot of items and your eye has no chance to rest. 

Find ways to use unconventional spaces in your home and turn them into storage solutions. Look for awkward gaps and hidden corners in your home that don’t seem to serve a purpose. Then, ask yourself how you can use the space. Hooks, hanging baskets, and narrow sliding carts are great tools to help you make the most of these spaces. Here are some examples of how I’ve leveraged awkward spaces to maximize storage in my own home: 

• To close the 5-inch gap between my counter and refrigerator, and create more storage space, I used a narrow rolling cart to store dried goods and kitchen items.
• Command hooks on the inside of my utility closet keep mops and brooms lifted. I also store our vacuum in the awkward corner gap in my laundry closet.
• Most of the entryway items in my home are behind closed doors where I use hooks and baskets to store regular-use items. For things kept on display, daily-use items are kept contained within a bowl and anchored on objects like books.

Storage Habit 2: Ensure Ease of Access 

Next, when you store things, make sure that frequently used items are easy to access. Reserve your drawers and your lower shelves for daily use items. If you have deep cabinets, invest in storage tools to keep items within arm’s reach. For example, I keep my cutting boards in an over-the-door hanging basket in my cabinet. Many of my daily breakfast foods are kept in a Lazy Susan. This way I no longer have to reach deep into my cabinets and knock over half the items to try to find my peanut butter every morning. 

Difficult to reach spaces should be reserved for things that you don’t use often. Think about items that you use once every few days, weeks or months and store those in upper shelves or the backs of deep cabinets. This may seem obvious as most of us do this to some extent naturally. However, if you take the time to look at your current storage habits, you may be surprised to find how much of your “easy-access” space is taken up by things you rarely use.  

Storage Habit 3: Make things Visible

For the things you store behind closed doors, try to arrange things so they are as visible, and as pleasant, as possible. This is especially important in storage spaces that hold many items – such as kitchen cabinets or utility closets. The less things hide in forgotten corners, the less likely you’ll forget what you have when you need it. Here are several tactics that you can use to easily maximize your storage space and keep things visible:

• Invest in Tiered Shelving – Tiered shelving helps you maximize the horizontal space you have. The shelves elevate each row so you can see everything at once, while also making each item easier to grab. Spice racks are a common example of this. 
• Subdivide – Use sub-dividers to keep your items clearly sorted. This helps you see at a glance exactly what you have. Plus, it’s much more calming to open a drawer where everything has a clear spot rather than being chaotically piled on top of each other. You can use drawer dividers like these bamboo utensil dividers or small boxes to keep things in appropriate containers.
• Leverage Boxes & Labels – Boxing and labeling things have two functions: 1) You know what you have and where it’s stored, and 2) it helps others in the household learn how to navigate the storage spaces you’ve created. I do this in places like our utility closet since it has a lot of miscellaneous items.  

Iterate and Take it Slow

Creating maintainable storage habits in your home is key to managing a space efficiently and ensuring that your home serves you. It reduces the stress and frustration that builds up when you feel you’re constantly battling your space. As with most things, it doesn’t happen overnight, and it’s helpful to tackle it slowly over time. Experiment, move things around, and learn what works for you. As you begin to implement these storage habits, you may even find that how you interact with your home changes and you enjoy the spaces you previously avoided.