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| Fashionable Living Room Image courtesy of Shutterstock |
Wouldn’t it be great if there was a sure-fire method of making sure the house was always tidy and there was plenty of space for everything? Sadly, there aren’t any sure-fire methods, but there are a few tricks that can vastly help busy people reclaim more space, and make it stick. Here are three of them:
#1 -
Don’t
Keep Things at Home that You Don’t Use
This doesn’t mean throwing everything away as soon as it falls out of
use, because we all have stuff we want to hang onto but that we don’t use every
day - or even every year.
Instead of getting rid of possessions,
an inexpensive way to keep hold of them without having them take up space at
home is to put them into self storage. It doesn’t matter whether you have a vast collection of items, or
just a few precious objects, as self storage facilities have a good range of
room sizes, even lockers.
The terms are short (you can rent a
room from a week upwards), the security is high, and the locations are
convenient for most town dwellers. Parking is good, even for large vehicles or
lorries, and there are trolleys to help move bulky or heavy items.
One excellent idea is to use self
storage on a seasonal basis so you’re
not, for instance, tripping over lawn mowers and garden furniture through the
winter, or fighting for closet space for summer clothes because all the room is
taken up with winter boots and coats. Twice a year, you swap things round and
only keep at home those items you know you want for the next few months. But
because locations are handy, it’s a quick job to pop back if you want to
retrieve anything.
#2 –
Double-Duty Furniture
Storage furniture throughout the house
is excellent for controlling all those random bits and bobs (like game
controllers and TV remotes) that clutter up surfaces and make the place look
untidy.
Coffee tables and end tables with
drawers or shelves solve the problem in the living room, while ottoman or divan
beds do the same job (but for linens, duvets and pillows) in the bedroom.
Similarly, in children’s bedrooms, cabin and captain beds are still popular with
the kids, and these have multiple uses, from desks and wardrobes or simply a
few drawers. Either way, it saves space on the floor which means there’s more
room to play or have friends round.
#3 -
Discover the Hidden Spaces
Every home has space that’s not being used as well as it could be. The space up high
in a room could be used for shelves, and these can take the place of display
cabinets or bookcases on the floor, again saving floor space and opening up a
room for a more airy feeling.
Under the stairs is a prime dumping
ground, but a few shelves in there could help keep things organised. If there’s the height, install a few hooks and a shoe rack, turning
the space into a cloakroom.
If
you’re a dab hand at DIY, you could
discover hidden storage space underneath the kitchen cabinets, covered by the
traditional kickboards. If these are fitted with hinges so they flap up, there
is lots of space for extra storage of things that don’t take up much height.
Possessions
have a sneaky way of mounting up, and it can take a deliberate effort to stay
in control of them. Putting just one of these tips into action could make a
huge difference in the amount of space you have at home.
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