Simple Effects Blog: Organize Your Personal Life

 

As promised in the upcoming weeks I’m going to share my list of what I believe are the Top 10 Essentials for an Organized Home.  These are basics that you will almost ALWAYS find in any organized home and that will usually be lacking in homes that are chronically disorganized.   You can test me out on this by simply observing the homes of your friends and family.  Let’s start today with #1. Yesterday’s "Words to Ponder" gave a little hint. Did you catch it? 

Yes, my #1 essential for an organized home is SHELVING. 

Whether you are moving into a dorm room, your first apartment, your first home, or your dream home, you must have some shelving if you want to have an organized space.

What kind/type/style of shelving you need will be somewhat dependent on the size/ and layout of your space,  your decorating style, your lifestyle, your budget and the volume, size and shape of the stuff you have to store and display.

 I would encourage you to invest in some quality shelving that will be able to be used over and over again regardless of how your home’s size and shape may change.

 

 

 A basic, well-constructed bookcase is a great place to start.  I usually recommend going with as much height as your room can handle and you can safely reach.  Especially in smaller rooms/homes you’ll want to make the most of your vertical storage space. But sometimes lower shelves can maximize an otherwise wasted space, like low-lining shelves under a windowsill.

Bookshelves are traditionally about 10-12" deep but you will find them in narrower and wider depths as well as varying widths and heights.  Choose shelving that makes sense for both your space and your stuff.

This picture from Country Living shows a set of built-in bookcases built around a doorway to provide additional book storage over the doorway.  If you don’t want to do built-ins, you could duplicate this look with 2 free-standing bookcases and one wall mounted shelf between them. The addition of some crown molding painted to match the color of your bookshelves would give it this finished look.

These skyline bookshelves from Levenger work well in 2 heights against the staircase.

For smaller budgets, Ikea bookshelves are a great option.

Bookshelves are very versatile and can be used to house so much more than books.

By adding glass doors to Billy Ikea bookshelves this person has created a beautiful way to both store and display their collectibles.

Here, bookshelves of various sizes have been used to organize craft supplies.

For basements, garages, storage rooms and even kitchens, you may want to look at more industrial-style shelving units like Metro shelving.  These are designed to bear both larger and heavier items.

Many of these shelving units come with optional wheels.

Traditionally used for out of sight storage (say in the basement or pantry), some folks are now using this type of shelving out in the open.

It has become quite popular in the kitchen because it can accomodate small appliances and larger serving dishes and linens with ease.

 

Wall mounted shelving is another popular shelving option. My favorite would be the Elfa system sold through the Container store because of its versatility and durability.

 

 

In our home we’ve mounted it  over a desk in an office.

It’s great for getting stuff up off the floor in  your garage or basement.

Adding it to a pantry can help you to optimize the space.

It also works well mounted over side by side laundry machines.

 

Yet another type of  wall mounted shelving is floating shelves. Athough these don’t store a lot, they are great for spaces where wider shelving would not work such as in a hallway or above a sofa.

In this example shown in Metropolitan Home, floating shelves are used to display artwork but you could use it to display family photos or collectibles or even your glassware.

Shelving is usually used to store things you want easy access to and/or wish to display.  Sometimes, we want or need things on shelves to be hidden so it’s a good idea to choose some shelving units that have doors.

This unit’s doors on  the bottom hide stuff you don’t want to display and the  open shelving on the top is perfect  for those items you do want to display.

I personally believe that EVERY room in the house needs at least some sort of shelving for optimum organization.

It could be just a bedside reader’s shelf, or a medicine cabinet in the bathroom, or a bakers rack in the kitchen, or a linen cupboard in the hallway.  Each shelf will play a vital role in keeping your rooms organized.

Children’s bedrooms and playrooms definitely need shelves as well. Make sure free standing shelves are secure so they don’t tip over and that things are accessible for the age/height of the child.

I hope you enjoyed my first installment of Simple Effects Top Ten Essentials for an Organized Home.  And I hope that it will help you to look around your space and see if you have adequate shelving for your storage needs. 

Before purchasing any new shelving, be sure you take accurate measurements of the area where your shelving will be placed.  Also, make sure that the height, depth, and width of the shelving is a good match for the items you plan to store on it.  And ideally it should blend with your room’s decor.

If the task of choosing the right shelving for your home seems a bit daunting, don’t hesitate to hire a professional organizer to help you measure, assess and select the right shelving for your needs.

So, any guesses as to what my # 2 Essential for an Organized Home will be?  Be sure to click on comment and share your answer.  It will be fun to see who gets it right.

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