Storage Room Organization
Having a storage room means being able to get some clutter out of your way and help keep your home or business clean. Unfortunately, many people don’t use their storage rooms properly and end up with just another cluttered space where they can’t find anything.
Your storage room only works if you can keep it organized, allowing you to store away various documents, furniture, and home or business items and be able to find them again. If your storage room is cluttered, you can’t remember where you put anything, or you can’t even enter it, it’s time to learn some storage organization ideas.
Keep reading to learn how to organize your storage unit or storage room and keep your space clutter-free.
1. Create an Inventory
Storage room organization ideas all hinge on one thing — your ability to find the items you store. Creating an inventory can help you keep track of all the items you have stored away, regardless of what they are. Every time you add a new item to your storage room, you can add it to your inventory.
Your inventory should list the item and where to find it. You can number and label shelves or provide yourself with a description as a reminder of where you put something. Aim to keep your inventory list close by. If possible, you can attach it to the storage room door with a pen and add items to the list each time you store something new.
2. Label All Items
Labeling your belongings is one of our top tips for packing smarter, but it also applies to storage. In order for your inventory system to help organize your storage room, your items must be properly labeled. Of course, you don’t have to label everything; some items will be obvious. However, if you’re using containers as you should, you should label them based on the type of items they contain. For instance, you can label boxes by room or category to help you stay organized.
Once you’ve labeled your items, you can add the labels to your inventory list to help you find items later on. For instance, if you have a Halloween container but need a costume out of it beforehand, your inventory would tell you to find that particular item in the Halloween container.
3. Declutter, Donate, or Discard Items
If your storage room is currently lacking organizational structure, it’s time to clean it out. You can’t use any of these storage room ideas without starting with a fresh room free of all clutter. Go through your storage unit at least once a year when you declutter your home.
The odds are, if you’re not using something at least once every year, you probably don’t need it. We store our belongings because we don’t need them every day, but we want to keep them close by. However, if your storage room has become disorganized or a safety hazard, it’s time to start getting rid of some things.
As you sort through your belongings, create various piles, such as keep, donate, and toss. Your keep items will be those that you will continue to hold onto, while donate items can be sent to local charities or donation centers. Lastly, your toss items should be those that are unusable and can’t be donated.
4. Use Shelving
Shelves are a great solution for saving on floor space and maximizing your overall storage capacity. With shelves, you don’t have to worry about tripping over anything or reaching down. Instead, you can check your inventory and find the exact shelf the item is on. Shelves also prevent items from getting lost because you’re not putting them on the floor, where they might get covered with other items like furniture.
5. Hang Pegboards
Pegboards allow you to hang items and optimize your storage space like shelves do. A pegboard makes it easy to find what you need, especially if you organize items by size, type, or color.
Pegboards allow you to hang just about anything, but they’re most commonly used for tools. However, you can also attach hooks for clothing and shoes or baskets for small items that would otherwise get lost.
6. Group Items Together
One of the best storage and organization ideas we can give you is to categorize and group similar items. Grouping similar items together can help you more easily find them. For instance, you can store holiday decorations together in a bin or on the same shelf.
If you decide to put things in boxes or bins, make sure to label them so you don’t have to go through every box to find what you’re looking for.
7. Disassemble Furniture
Storing furniture requires the necessary storage space. However, you can optimize your storage by disassembling large pieces of furniture like chairs, tables, and desks. Taking the legs off tables and leaning them against the wall can help you save on floor space, which is crucial regardless of the size of your storage room.
Disassembling furniture will also make your storage room safer because there’s less of a chance of walking into something like glass, drawers, and tables. Just remember that if you have screws, bolts, and nuts, store them near the furniture. You can keep them in a small bag taped to the largest piece or put them in a small box close by.
8. Create a Filing System
Having a filing system is necessary for organizing important papers like your mortgage contracts, work papers, taxes, and so forth. What’s most important is creating a filing system that works for you. You can purchase file folders and drawers and label them appropriately. For instance, if you run a business and want to save tax returns, keep all your tax returns together and label them using the year.
9. Use Hooks
Hooks allow you to use the vertical space in your storage closet without taking up as much space as shelves. Anything you can hang, whether it’s clothing, your dustpan, mop, or winter coats, can come off the floor and be stored in an easily accessible spot.
You can also use your ceiling space by hanging hooks for bikes, ladders, fishing rods, and anything else you can secure safely overhead.
10. Wrap Your Belongings
Some of the items you store need extra protection. Storage rooms and closets can trap moisture and don’t have air circulation, so your belongings are susceptible to humidity, odor, and even pests. Items you should always cover and protect include furniture and glass.
In most cases, you can wrap furniture for storage using plastic sheeting, old sheets, or plastic wrap. However, if you have fragile items like glass or crystal in your storage room, you should consider bubble wrap to protect them in case they fall.
Key Takeaways: How to Organize a Storage Room
Organizing storage takes time and planning. Without an inventory and proper labeling, finding items when you need them can be a challenge. Having a storage room means being able to find items after you store them. Unfortunately, most homes don’t have the proper storage space to help you care for all your items.
If you want to decrease clutter in your home, consider a storage unit from Key Storage. We offer affordable and convenient storage locations and units designed for everything from furniture to seasonal items like skis. Don’t let your home storage room be disorganized, confusing, and dangerous. Browse our available storage options near you.
