Latest / More Organised Less Clutter / 238. How to decide where to store items in your home
Transcript
- Narelle King: Welcome to More Organized, Less Clutter, a podcast to empower individuals and neurodivergent families with practical, realistic tools to create a more organized, sensory-friendly, clutter-free, and intentional home that works with your lifestyle and brain, not against it. I'm Narelle King, a professional organizer and neurodivergent mom who understands the unique challenges of family life. I help people just like you simplify your space build sustainable organisational systems and create more breathing room physically and mentally. Every fortnight, you'll hear solo episodes and guest conversations filled with practical strategies on decluttering, home organisation, routines for neurodivergent families, mindful living and how to build a home that feels safe, calm and functional. You'll walk away with actionable takeaways you can implement even if you only have 10 minutes to spare. Have you ever picked something up in your home and thought, where on earth should this actually live? It's a question clients ask us all the time. Today, I'm sharing a simple practical guide to help you decide where to store items in your home so your space feels more organized and it's a lot easier for everybody in the house to use. By the end of the episode, you'll have a clear framework, four-step framework to help you choose logical homes for your things, reduce clutter on surfaces like benches, and tables or anywhere where it's easy for people to drop things. More importantly, that they're going to be able to put it away. Let's jump into how to decide where to store items in your home. Thanks for joining me for today's solar episode where I'll be sharing a detailed guide to help you decide where to put items in your home. The three key factors to consider functionality, accessibility and room zoning will help you match each item to the way you actually live. I'll also share a four-step framework for decision-making process so that you can use this for everything from like everyday kitchen tools to those rarely used items like light globes or balls of string. I'm also going to walk through a real life example with bath towels so you can see how this works in an area of your home. So let's start. The three key factors you need to consider are functionality, accessibility, and room zoning. When it comes to functionality, we need to think about how often we use the item. Is it daily or is it over a week? So if it's something that we use daily, we want it to be within easy access, reach, and I think of then prime real estate. So the area between your shoulders and your waist, and that's the area that we're looking at placing it because you're going to be able to visually see it as well as easily grab it. So assigning spaces according to tasks. is the other thing that we think about when it comes to functionality. you're cooking essentials. You're going to want near your stove. Maybe you're going to have your spreads that you use on toast where the toaster is. Coffee and tea you might have near the kettle. So mine, for example, is a drawer just under where the kettle is. Maybe it's towels in or near the bathroom. It may not have space in your bathroom, which is a common problem I have with our clients. So therefore it's like looking for somewhere near. The next point is accessibility. So how frequently you use the items in its easy accessible area. So you're going to try to store the items nearest to where their purpose is. A bit like I just said, the toaster and also the kettle. You might keep your cleaning supplies under the sink in your kitchen area, but you might also have the ones that you use in your bathroom in your shower for when you use them because they're right there and you have a cloth in a cupboard right there in the bathroom as well. So just thinking about how you're going to use these and this is when it comes to intentional doubles that you may have things in two places, especially if you're a neurodivergent like myself, if I don't have it there and by the time I go, back to get a cloth, I've forgotten what I was doing and I'm on to something else. So by me definitely having cleaning supplies in the bathroom as well as in the kitchen, I'm more likely to use them than in the bathroom when I'm in there after doing my makeup in the morning, giving the mirror a wipe or the bench a wipe. Number three is room zoning. So each room can serve like a specific function. For example, like the living room might be where you relax, watch TV. the kitchen might be for cooking and eating and also maybe sitting down as a family to eat. So we need to make sure that the things that we're going to do in these areas are zoned for those actions to be done. So maybe looking at maintaining that visual clarity by grouping simp by grouping similar items together makes it easier for you to find it. For example, your gardening items. I have some of mine. for my indoor plants in my laundry because they're nice and easy for me to get. If I have to go out to the garage to get them, my poor indoor plants are not going to be cared for as much. So the ones that are for outdoor plants are out in our garden shed, the indoor ones are in my laundry. Thinking about maybe stationary, so bringing all the stationary items together and placing that. maybe near where it could be kids are using it or it could be a central location where people can come to to get it and then take it back to wherever they're using it. Sewing might be another one. It might be something that you don't use very often, but you bring all of the things related to sewing, raft together and having that in the one area. The next part is our four-step framework for decision making. The first step is to assess each item. So you're going to ask yourself, what is the purpose of this item? For example, if we had a fork, what is the purpose of this item? It's to eat with. So how often do I use it? Every day. And do I have duplicates or similar items? Yes, we have lots of forks. So then you could think about where is the best spot that that's going to be placed because as I said, we use it every day and we use it all the time. Number two is then designate a location. So based on its function and usage frequency, decide where to place that item. So if it's something that you use daily, then you want it to be stored in prime real estate. So it might be under a countertop or on a desktop or drawers that are easy accessible. You don't want to have to move things to be able to get to it, especially if it's something you use daily. If it's something you only occasionally use, then you could consider using higher shelves, less accessible cupboards. And then the rarely used items is thinking about maybe it's a storage box that's not even on your property. Maybe it's garage, maybe it's attic or under house storage. With the rarely used items, you might then have them. not as accessible as what they would be for those daily use items. Number three is to organize it strategically. So using storage solutions like baskets, containers, drawer dividers, steps, or even a riser. So you could have something underneath it and then something on top so you don't need to move it, especially if this cupboard is quite large, like the height, and you can't actually put another shelf in there. then potentially you could use a riser and you have something underneath and something on top. So you're not having to move the item to get to it. We only want one step and that is to grab the item if we can. Potentially for the items that are occasional use, you may have something in front and something behind, but the daily use, the regular ones, you do not want to have to do more than one step. You also want to think about clear surfaces. So, categorizing the items and think about vertical storage. So using up rather than flat surfaces to store things in. This is great for teddies, this soft toys is something that's always a problem in homes. So thinking about how you could get those soft toys vertically, there's lots of great storage ideas. Even the ⁓ hanging nets that you could have them on is another great idea. Then labeling the cake. labelling containers can make it really easy for people within your home to find the things that they need or also to put it away. So I know there's people who don't like labels, but it's not always about the person who set the system up. It's for everybody else to be able to put things away or also to find things. Another thing that works really well is a photograph of a cupboard. So the photographs on the inside of the cupboard, but it shows where the things are. And you could even then write on the photograph, as to what the things are on each of the shelves. And that's another way if you didn't want to actually label the containers or the shelf. Number four step is to experiment and then adjust. So set like a trial period for yourself and try where you put that item, maybe for a week, maybe two weeks. And if it doesn't feel practical, functional, change it, adjust its location. It might need to just be moved somewhere else where where you're more likely to think of straight away and it's easier to maybe put it away. I'm going to use these steps to share with you how to think about bath towels as an example. It's something I find clients can struggle with because of a lack of storage in bathrooms and depending on how many people are in the family and how many towels that they actually require. So I'll use the fourth step decision-making process to show you. So the step one is assess basically your bathroom space and is there available space such as in the cupboards, the shelves or racks or is it that there's more important things that need to stay in there and the towels actually need to live somewhere else. We can have maybe the towel that's being used and it could be hooks on the back of the door, but for all of the other towels and hand towels and bath mats, they may need to be in another place. So just determine how much space you have and then choose like the best storage solutions that's going to fit the area without overcrowding as well. Step two is consider the usage patterns. So then just think about how often do you change your bath towels? Is it every day? Is it once a week? Is it twice a week? Or are you even a family that uses bath towels and it's just whoever picks up that towel uses that towel. So thinking about how you actually use it is going to help you work out where is the best place to store it. You don't want it to be less convenient location. You want it to be really convenient. Otherwise you're probably going to have the problem of everyone's using the same towel all the time. I find that with my son, he will use my towel rather than going out to get a fresh towel. Maybe also if you have gas stain, consider where you're keeping the extra towels for accessibility for their use. Or this is something that maybe doesn't happen very often. So maybe the storage for those towels could be somewhere that's not as central, but you still have a space for it. Step three, choose your storage solution. So are you going to be able to have them in the bathroom and they're on a cupboard, they're under the sink, or are you going to have some open shelving? The problem with bathrooms is they can be quite damp. and therefore you're going to maybe have an increase of mold onto the material. So therefore maybe having it out of the bathroom is a better idea depending on the ventilation within your bathroom. Then if you're thinking about having cupboards, are you going to have just a shelf or are you going to actually have containers that the different towels are going to sit in? It could be that you separate them according to the person or it could be separating them according to the style. There's so many ways you could store bathroom towels. It's just thinking about what's going to be best for you. And then step four is organized by size and type. So you've got to decide whether you're going to fold or roll your towels. Are you folding them in half and then just half again, or are you folding them into three? I find that works really well and usually can fit inside the baskets I have. I also find rolling can really save space and it looks quite neat as well. And then are you going to store your towels as bath towels, hand towels or washcloths separately? Or I have worked with clients where each person had a different color. So therefore, you know, their bath towel, their hand towel and their washcloths were all together. And that was because it was all say red and that was their color. and someone else in the family had green and theirs were all together. So just really thinking about how are we going to be using these as to then how you're going to organise them. But I do find that the same colour for one person, even if it's just the towers, works really well. And just making sure you have enough of those so that they're not taking other people's. And so working out how often that person is going to be using them, whether they're the type of person who takes them back to their bedroom. and leaves it in there or whether they take their clothes into the bathroom and get changed in the bathroom is another thing to consider. So just ensure keeping those towels at eye level that are used most and within reach. And then those extra towels and guest towels could be placed higher or even in a different spot. So some tips to think about to minimize clutter. You really need to look at these items regularly. And if you're no longer using it, it's not relevant, consider donating or discarding it. You need a catch-all space. So one small area like a basket or a drawer for miscellaneous items. I like to call it the go-to drawer and you then don't have maybe a set place, but it's those random things like scissors, maybe sticky tape. I have a quick unpick for taking tags off clothes. We have some tissues in there and we have a few medical things. So you might have a catchall space or I like to call it the go-to draw. And another thing is to think about consistency. Ensure everyone in the house knows where the items belong and maybe it's labels walking them through where they are and just being consistent with putting the things away when you see them cluttering up a bench space. So by considering your space, your usage patterns and choosing the appropriate storage solutions, hopefully you'll be able to create an efficient and organized system for deciding where to place items in your home. It's really important though to regularly assess the storage choices to maintain an uncluttered home. And just think about being creative. There's so many great ways that you can store items and it doesn't have to be exactly where you think it should be. So I'd love for you to share your creative ideas of homing something in your home on social media. Thanks so much for listening to more organized less clutter. If you find yourself wasting precious time searching for misplaced items and wishing for a more organised life, then you need my 5-Minute Declutter eBook, the ultimate guide to quick and easy organising solutions for a clutter-free and happy home. Forget about spending months commaring your house, these fun solutions are designed to give you immediate results in under 5 minutes. Head over to Simply Happy in the resource section and download your free copy and start seeing results in minutes. I'd like to acknowledge the Wathaurong people of the Kulin Nation on which this podcast is recorded as the traditional custodians of the land. I pay my respects to their elders, past, present and emerging.