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Storing Small Things in a Small Home

Living Room

Lots of little things tend to pile up in the living room. Remotes, games, mail, magazines and more may be making your living area look more like a dumping ground. Choosing furniture with storage is a great way to get these little things out of sight while keeping them handy for everyday use. Choose a coffee table or ottoman that opens up to reveal storage. Choose end tables with drawers. Even nightstands do great in the living room. You can even get couches and chairs that have storage areas hidden underneath the padding of the arms.
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Creative Storage Areas in your Home

Saving space in your home can be a challenge. Most people have trouble managing their belongings and finding room for things we need to store. Use these ideas to get started on organizing your home. Having a plan for how you are going to find creative storage areas around your home will help you to stay on task and find the storage that you never knew you had.
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Keeping Things Organized

There are many things that we do every day to create clutter around the home. Learning how to create storage and places for common items will help you to keep your home from getting messy and cluttered. We all know that once clutter starts to accumulate, it becomes a bigger and bigger task to handle. Keeping it to a minimum on a daily basis, changing the habits of ourselves and our families, and making a quick run through every day to make sure things stay in order is helpful. Make the commitment to keeping your home clutter free by following these easy tips.

1. Mail is a big source of clutter for a lot of people. Make a place to not only toss the mail when you come in with it, but also a place to recycle paper items, shred personal items, and trash things that you don’t need. Designate an area for bills so that you don’t lose what’s important. Keep a magazine organizer near the door so that you can toss in magazines that you want to look at later. Keeping the mail organized will help you to keep flat surfaces around the home clear.

2. Make sure that you have a place for everyone in the family to charge their cell phones, hang their purse, toss their wallet, empty their pockets of change, and put their keys. If you put the charging station near where you want everything else to go, everyone in the house is more likely to put these daily use items where they go. Teenagers especially are not going to let their phone go without a charge!

3. Keep your couches and chairs looking nice and neat by keeping pillows, blankets and cushions to a minimum. Keeping these areas clean makes you whole living room look nicer. Instead of a traditional coffee table, you can use a trunk or table with storage for extra blankets and pillows. Some ottomans can open up to reveal storage.

4. Keep closets organized by using space saving hangers, like velvet hangers. You can get all sorts of specialty hangers to be sure that everything has a place to go. The velvet surface of slim hangers grip clothes so that they don’t end up on the floor. The slim design makes room for shelves or containers that can be used to organize other items from around the home. Finding hidden storage areas in your closets can make it easier to organize your entire house.

About the Author: Rick Miller is on the staff of Only Slimline Hangers, a leading online resource for velvet hangers which are space saving hangers, non slip hangers and slim line hangers. For more information, please visit http://www.onlyslimlinehangers.com.

A Small Closet Doesn’t Have to be a Big Problem

Living with a small closet can become a big problem if you don’t get it under control. Organization is a must. There are lots of ways to maximize the little space that you have and make the most of it. There is no room for clutter in a tiny closet and sometimes there isn’t even enough room for your clothes. Using tips like these can help you make the most of the space.

1. Rotate your clothes.

The best thing to do if you have a small closet is to set up a wardrobe rotation. There is probably no room for a winter and summer wardrobe. So, you’ve got to get a plan. Figure out where you have space around the house. If you have room under your bed, you can invest a small amount in large, shallow containers that slide right under. Some are even designed to work like a drawer so that you can quickly get what you need if you happen to need to get in there. If your bed is not high enough, use risers to lift it. Your dust ruffle or duvet will cover the space and you can make a lot of room for your off-season clothing.

2. Be careful about storage containers.

Don’t make the mistake of buying a whole lot of storage bins and expect to organize the closet. If everything is stored, then it becomes hard to get to. In a small closet, you have got to have everything efficiently organized. This means you can’t just buy any closet organizer. You really need to specifically plan for the things that you own. If you have a hundred pairs of shoes, then shoes will be your focus. If you have too many clothes hanging, then shelving will be your main concern. Many shirts do not wrinkle bad and can be neatly folded into a stack and placed on a shelf. It’s easy to see what you have and the space that they take up can be minimal.

3. Find hidden space.

Utilize the vertical space. You can install a small shelf above the closet door on the inside. Here you can keep valuables and things that you don’t want children to get into. You can put corner shelves all the way up the front two corners of the closet. You can use a hanging shoe rack on the door, or any other over-the-door organizer for keeping track of everything from ties and belts to gloves and scarves. Take a look at the space that is wasted near the ceiling. Most people have a good 40-50 square feet just empty up there. Your suitcases are only so tall. Consider moving that shelf up higher and store things like blankets and duffel bags inside of your suitcases. You may be able to add another shelf just below it above your bar and create even more room.

4. Use the right hangers.

Finish out the closet with space saving hangers, like velvet hangers, to make the hanging clothes that you have take up as little space as possible.

About the Author: Rick Miller is on the staff of Only Slimline Hangers, a leading online resource for velvet hangers which are space saving hangers, non slip hangers and slim line hangers. For more information, please visit http://www.onlyslimlinehangers.com.

Professional Organizer Tips

If you don’t have the time, hiring a professional can be a great way to get organized. Keep in mind that you will still need to be there with the professional to give opinions and make decisions. A good closet organizer or designer will spend a lot of time with you making sure that you get exactly what you need. Use these guidelines to decide if you would rather hire a designer or do it yourself.

1) If you decide to hire a professional, there are some things that you can do before they arrive to save everyone some time. Consider creating an inventory list for your professional. Make a list of things that you definitely want to keep. You could go ahead and pull everything out, separating clothing that you wish to keep from things that you are willing to sell or give away. Categorize your belongings by style, color, use, or length. You might decide to discuss it with your pro before you categorize.

2) When the closet is empty, go ahead and take some measurements. Let your designer know how high you can comfortably reach. It saves a lot of room if you can place shelves and hanging bars up higher than the standard height. Your closet professional will help you to make the most of the space that you have by utilizing vertical space.

3) Talk with your closet organizer about creating storage for things that are not normally placed in a bedroom closet. You may need room for a sewing machine, arts and crafts, sports equipment, your grandmother’s china, or other items that need to be stored. Categorize these items by how often you use them. Things that aren’t used very often can be placed up high in the closet. If you are storing a lot of sports equipment, you may decide to line the closet with cedar to absorb moisture and odors that could make its way from the equipment to your clothing.

4) After the best arrangement is agreed upon, invest a little in some space saving hangers, like velvet hangers. Space saving hangers allow you to hang things very closely together so that you save lots of space. Cascading hangers let you coordinate outfits and double the room in the closet. Velvet hangers are slim, save space, and don’t slip. Choose the color and style that best suits your taste and your closet will look great and stay organized.

About the Author: Rick Miller is on the staff of Only Slimline Hangers, a leading online resource for velvet hangers which are space saving hangers, non slip hangers and slim line hangers. For more information, please visit http://www.onlyslimlinehangers.com.

Storage Solutions for your Home Office

Are you tired of feeling cramped and surrounded by clutter in your home office? Planning out home office organization strategies can save time, money and your sanity. Use these practical tips for setting up an office that has plenty of storage and suits your personal tastes. You’ll be more focused, organized and productive than ever in your organized home office space.

Invest in a Good Filing System

Nothing is worse than losing an important document, losing track of receipts, or just never being able to find what you need when you need it. A good, sturdy filing cabinet or filing system is just necessary in a home office. There are many styles, sizes and shapes to choose from, so don’t worry about an ugly file cabinet interfering with your design or office décor. If you plan on having a paperless environment, have a good back-up system, like an external hard drive, to store electronic copies of everything. Back up your files daily if possible so that you don’t lose anything important in the case of a computer problem.

Use Furniture as Storage

If your office is small, you probably only have room for a few pieces of furniture. Try to choose things that double as storage devices. If you have a coffee table, get one that is more of a trunk shape so that you can store things inside of it. If you have an ottoman, get one that opens up to give you a place to stash magazines, computer cords, or whatever needs hiding. Minimize what is out in the open as much as possible to create a serene work environment.

Make the Most of your Space

If you have a closet to store things, you’re lucky. Make the best use of the closet space that you have by using stackable containers, shelving that will hold your office supplies, and easy-access baskets for things that you use most often. If your office supplies will be sharing a closet space with your clothing, then use space saving hangers, like velvet hangers, to minimize the amount of space that your clothing takes up. These types of flat, close-fitting hangers keep your closet neat and orderly while holding your clothing so close together that it actually takes up less space. Take advantage of hangers that cascade from each other to coordinate outfits. Use hangers that you can hang several things from at once. You can double or triple the amount of closet space that you have for your office supplies by taking this one simple step.

About the Author: Rick Miller is on the staff of Only Slimline Hangers, a leading online resource for velvet hangers which are space saving hangers, non slip hangers and slim line hangers. For more information, please visit http://www.onlyslimlinehangers.com.