6 innovative in-house storage ideas for homeowners

Easy to build shelves can store many different kinds of items

Meeting the storage needs of a growing family or a growing wardrobe can be tricky unless your square footage is growing too. But, where there’s a will, there’s a way! When working with limited space, a little creativity can go a long way when it comes to making your home look cleaner, bigger, and better organized. We have rounded up six genius in-house storage ideas that will help you get rid of clutter and maximize space in your house.

1 Stair storage
Your staircase can serve more than one purpose. The first in-house storage hack on our list is converting your staircase into storage units while keeping their primary purpose. You can transform the original staircase by converting the side of the stairs into a cupboard or a series of drawers that will help you declutter your living space. This project requires some skill, so you might want to consider hiring a professional. This storage solution isn’t exactly cheap, but it’s definitely an investment that pays off. You can also use the wall alongside the staircase to create more storage space with additional shelving.

2 Pegboards

Pegboards are a great alternative to individual shelves that often look cluttered and messy. When it comes to wall-mounted storage, pegboards are probably the most versatile option. They have

small holes that allow for adding hooks, crates, shelves, and other attachments. Pegboards come in all sizes and colors, so they can fit any space and design. This in-house storage idea provides an abundance of adjustable storage space and allows for easy re-arranging whenever you get bored with one look. Plus, you can always see where everything is.

With this inexpensive addition, your purses, hats, and scarves won’t be cluttering up your coat rack or end up on the floor. You can hang a pegboard above your desk and use it to store office supplies. You can also use it to store plants, mirrors, vases, and other decorative items. To declutter your kitchen, you can add hooks to hang cooking utensils on the pegboard. In the bathroom, you can add attachments to store your toiletries. Finally, you can install a pegboard wall in your basement, storage room or garage to hang your tools, skis, bicycles, etc. and save some precious space.

3 Iron grids
Iron grids (or frames) are similar to pegboards but they have wider holes, typically square-shaped. They are also functional additions that provide much-needed storage space you can attach to the wall. You can use them to declutter and organize any room in your house. Their wide holes make iron grids perfect for displaying large earrings and other chunky jewelry. You can also display family photos, store keys and other small items by attaching hooks. If you don’t like the aesthetic of an iron grid, if it looks too rough and industrial, you can decorate it to make it more appealing. For example, you can wrap some string lights around your frame to enhance the beauty of your display.

4 Raised platform

A raised platform is a genius way to squeeze even more space out of your room. If your ceiling is high enough, you can add a raised platform to a room or part of a room and turn that space into something useful. A raised floor with hidden storage space can be used to store linens, suitcases, winter clothes, or even larger items like a spare mattress. You could even hide an entire slide out bed underneath.

Alternatively, you can invest in a raised platform bed. If you’re looking for simpler in-house storage ideas with a similar result, attach higher legs to your existing bed frame to make room for organizing products such as drawers or boxes underneath.

Raised platforms 1 of 6 innovative in-house storage ideas for homeowners

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5 PVC racks

PVC racks are one of the best in-house storage ideas for storing smaller items. It is a simple, inexpensive DIY project that will keep your belongings neatly organized and make it easy to locate what you are looking for. For example, if you have lots of shoes lying on the floor and it takes ages to find the pair you want to wear, PVS racks can help you clear out your shoe clutter.

Here’s how you can make your own PVC rack.

  • Get large PVC pipes at your local hardware store.

  • Cut the PVC into pieces of matching length. You can have the PVC cut in the hardware store or do it yourself at home using a table saw.

  • Sand down any rough edges.

  • If you don’t like the standard color, paint your PVC.

  • Glue the pieces together with PVC glue. First, glue several pieces together a base. Then, start stacking the pipes to create any shape you want.

  • Once the glue dries, mount the racks wherever you see fit.

6 Above-door in-house storage ideas

If you think you don’t have enough storage space in your house, maybe you forgot to look up. There must be at least one doorway with unused space above it. In most homes, the space between the door and the ceiling is completely overlooked. Add some storage shelves or cabinets to this part of your room and use them to store towels, books, and other less frequently used items, or even grow an above-door-garden. The shelf can be as wide as the door frame, but it can also go from wall to wall. Above-door storage is barely noticeable, which can be a pro or a con, depending on what you use it for. If there is a vent above the door frame, make sure the shelf is narrow enough to allow for airflow and ventilation.

3rd Edition of Psychic Debris, Crowded Closets by Regina F Lark, Ph. D.

You might be interested in a free copy of the Table of Contents and 1st Chapter of my Book

Download a complimentary copy of the 1st Chapter of Regina’s 3rd Edition of her book, Psychic Debris

Dr. Regina Lark

regina@aclearpath.net

 

Should This Stay, or Should This Go?

Should it Stay, or Should it Go?

Professional Fiduciaries are first responders. They are often first to advocate for the welfare and well-being of a new client, and, more often than not, first to step foot in the door of a home overrun with benign neglect, or, basically intact but filled with a huge number of things. 

Responsible for the health, welfare, and fiscal oversight of their clients, Fiduciaries are called upon to make some hard decisions. Sometimes this means finding room for caregivers or divesting a home filled with a trove of old and new treasures. 

Your client lives here

Home is where the heart is. It is also the place of deferred dreams and incomplete projects. It is the place where folks stash their bowling trophies, grandma’s plated silver, and signed first editions. Over years the home becomes the repository for everything life has to offer – clothes, kitchenware, and place-settings. The “average” household often contains the possessions of adult children who had long ago moved from the family home but never quite got around to removing yearbooks and toys,always organized Barbie dolls high school ephemera, and everything else assigned to the category of “memories.” Don’t forget the so-called “collectibles” – from Hummels and Barbie dolls to entire runs of Playboy and National Geographic magazines. 

Why do we own so much stuff? It’s a difficult question to answer. Older adults who lived through America’s “Great Depression” tell us that growing up with nothing means holding on to everything. While that may or may not be true, I wonder how we understand younger generations’ seemingly insatiable consumption, or how we account for the growth of self storage

Fiduciaries will of course come across clients’ self-storage units. Dark and depressing, public storage facilities are frigid cold in the winter, overwhelmingly hot in the summer. With a multitude of enticements to bring in the customer, it takes a lot of time and planning to get out. If you’ve seen A&E’s Storage Wars you know that there’s no guarantee of hidden treasures behind the padlocked door.

Hold tight

We tend to cling to our things for two very broad reasons. First, we don’t want to let go of stuff we may need “someday” (note cards, car wax, vases), or that we may wear again “someday” (golf shirts, skinny jeans). Of course any and all items may have future use but if we’re not already in the habit of writing notes or losing weight, then these “someday” items do not have current value; they just clutter our lives today. At the same time, we hold on to things that have been in our lives forever such as Grandma’s good china, music boxes, report cards – contain therein our “memories,” along with the stories we attach to each and very item. 

With a tight hold on that which we may need someday (the future), and an emotional hold on that which has already happened (the past), our “stuff” tends to hang around. The longer it hangs around, the value of the “stuff” either increases or decreases.  

It’s tricky business determining the value of art and clothing, furniture, first editions, and the array of what is unearthed in clearing the path for what’s next in the life of the client or the life of a trust.  And so I asked a pro. 

collectables can be organized in reduced space or sold as part of decluttering What is it really worth? 

Joe Baratta, the vice president of Business Development & Valuations with Abell Auction Co., is a USPAP-qualified generalist appraiser with over 15 years’ experience helping fiduciaries separate “the wheat from the chaff.” I caught up with Joe at his home in Los Angeles to talk about the value of “stuff” he comes across when he’s called in to appraise the contents of the Fiduciary clients’ home. 

Everyone has “stuff,” some of which is brought home to serve an immediate need (a bed or a dresser) or purchased because of the item’s perceived “someday” value. “Beanie Babies” are a perfect example of this,” Joe surmised. The stuffed toys had a high market value at a particular time but many people held on to their “collection” believing that the value would soar the longer it remained in their possession which hasn’t been the case (although there are exceptions). True collectors follow the appropriate markets for their collections through trade shows and major auction houses. Still, anything that is mass produced will usually not hold its original value nor see an increase in value. 

Joe offers compelling insights about what he sees daily. Fiduciaries may find this information helpful when faced with downsizing a client’s home: 

  • Traditional dark wood furniture (tables, cabinets, couches) – not all dark wood furniture  held its value due to mass production over many decades. Chairs with cushions could be reupholstered especially if the bones of the chair are in good shape (think Eames or similar), and these items are often in high demand. 
  • Technically, an “antique” describes any item produced 100 years ago, or, before the year 1920. Still, not all antiques are desirable in the current market.  
  • The Industrial Revolution of the 1870s led to the mass production of wash basins (before indoor plumbing), armoires (most homes didn’t have closets), and sewing baskets (when people repaired or sewed their own clothes). 
  • Samovars: Every Eastern European family brought one or more to the US as these were important to family ceremonies, and carry a lot of sentiment. While some samovars have value, there is a large supply of them without much demand for today’s market.
  • Supply and demand: By mid-20th century, the marketplace was saturated with formal dining tables, china sets, table linens, silver sets, chafing dishes, ice buckets, and other forms of items designed for their entertainment value. 
  • Front entry, living room and dining room are the areas of the house where families display their most “prized” possessions – from art to furniture to home decor. 
  • Tricks of the trade: when Joe walks into a home, the first thing he notices are the walls – “Money is on the walls… most people want to show off their art. They are proud of what they accomplished.” 
  • Flora Dania Royal Copenhagen is among the most valuable dish sets today. 
  • The politics of “value:” When China closed their borders in the early 20th century, so too did the outflow of Chinese goods. Today, many wealthy Chinese are paying high margins to repatriate items seen as valuable to their upper-class heritage (Chinese silks, scrolls art, porcelain, furniture). Similar to Russia after the fall of the Berlin wall (think religious icons, Faberge, Russian silver – considered very valuable mid-1990s through early 2000). 
  • $10,000 and generational attitudes: Our grandparents may have used the money to buy something to enhance the home (think beautiful oil painting in an expensive frame). Baby Boomers’ purchases may extend to fine dining and travel. The millennial mindset covets watches and handbags. 

A Clear Path can coordinate the valuation and selling of collections as part of their organizing serviceBottom line

People have hard time letting go of items, regardless of perceived or real value. The family members in possession of the “family jewels” are stewards to protect the family legacy. Joe reminds us, “We’re custodians of items and feel obligated to hold on to at least some of it because of our family connection.” 


De-clutter and Toss, Purge and Plan

Getting Ready for Your Next Move

“I wanted to poke my eyes out…”

…said my new client, Kaye. Before doing anything too drastic, Kaye hired my team of Ninja organizers to finally get her long-awaited move underway. Prior to our arrival, Kaye thought she would de-clutter, toss, and purge all the stuff she didn’t use any longer…but discovered that the process wasn’t easy and was taking a lot longer than she really had time for. 

So she invited friends to help but they did more talking and partying than getting down to any real work. 

While trying to figure out next steps, Kaye started calling around to moving companies. At the end of that day she scheduled 3 appointments with three different companies. At the end of that week, not a single mover showed up for the appointment

Speaking with and helping to organize a move can be overwhelming, but a professional organizer is a solution

The final straw occurred when trying to find the least expensive place to purchase moving supplies.  Kaye realized she had no idea how many boxes she would need and she didn’t have a truck to bring it all home in. 

 

“I wanted to poke my eyes out…” 

 

As anyone who has ever moved knows: relocating from one home to another stands as one of the top 3 stressors in the lives of most people. Planning ahead can make a difference – but as Kaye knows, even good planning can fall short.

 

This week, CBS News announced a new government program, Protect Your Move, created to address what’s become known as “hostage load.”  Out of 36 million moves this year, 1 in 10 movers will file a complaint with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) that their carriers are looking for more money that initially agreed for hauling their belongings which is different from what they were originally told.  

Trusting your mover has never been more important.

With all the things that can go wrong in a move, I always encourage people tog et references and ask friends, talk with the neighbor most recently moved into your neighborhood, look online for a “moving checklist” – like this one from Real Simple magazine!Trusting a monolithic moving company can be daunting, but you can trust a professional organizer to help with all aspects of the move.

A good Realtor will have a tried and true referral list for moving companies and professional organizers.  Ask for a referral!

For a project as big as any move don’t try to handle everything yourself, instead, surround yourself with people you can trust, take careful notes and , read every contract thoroughly.  

You’ll be glad you did. 

Thanks for reading!

3rd Edition of Psychic Debris, Crowded Closets by Regina F Lark, Ph. D.

You might be interested in a free copy of the Table of Contents and 1st Chapter of my Book

Download a complimentary copy of the 1st Chapter of Regina's 3rd Edition of her book, Psychic Debris

Dr. Regina Lark 

regina@aclearpath.net


PS: Did you know we fold our fees into escrow?

 

Are there 300,000 Things in a Home?

300,000 Things in a Home

I didn’t begin my professional life as an organizer. Rather, I spent the bulk of my career in higher education – as a student, a professor, and an administrator. Budget cuts in 2008 led to a job lay-off at the tender age of 50. It was the beginning of the 2008 recession and the first time in my life that I couldn’t find a job. So I created one.

In those first few months of stepping foot into A Clear Path, I read everything I could put my hands on the topic of de-cluttering and organizing. One thing I remember reading impressed the hell out of me: The average household contains about 300,000 things.

In order to grow my company, I needed clients, which I found by speaking to numerous groups and organizations about clutter, and where I often referenced “300,000 things.”

Are there really 300,000 things in a home. Probably if you count every little thing.

I’ve asked some colleagues and a few clients to conduct informal surveys in their clients’ home or in their own home. We’ve concluded that items in homes could very well number up 300,000 if one were to count every single thing from underpants to office supplies to photographs to silverware.

I’m serious. Go room-by-room in your home, starting with the kitchen. Count:
• pots and pans and lids
• storage containers (and their lids!)
• utensils, plates, cups and bowls
• spices
• cereal boxes

You get where I’m going? Next up, do the living room.
• Books in bookcases, tsotchkies on shelves
• TV, speakers, laptops, and myriad techy stuff
• A couch, chairs, and fluffy pillows

Dining room? Where do you eat? Count chairs, a table, cupboard, and table linens. And don’t forget candle holders and candles.

I often see a lot of stuff in home offices. My clients love office supply stores, and here’s what they take home:
• Packets of Post-it Notes in several sizes and colors and shapes.
• Copy paper, envelopes, file folders, hanging file folders, boxes filled with notecards and thank you notes, and birthday cards.
• Wrapping paper.
• Tape, scissors, stapler and staples.
• This is actually a nearly endless list – but you get the drift.
• Oh, and don’t forget the box of cords.

A working desk, but a little too much clutter. Some good organizing can reduce this to a manageable state.

Let’s move to the bedroom. How many pair of black pants does one need to own? Start counting:
• Shirts and blouses
• Undergarments
• Socks, shoes, purses, totes, robes, work-out clothes, jackets, belts. And all the furniture.

Don’t forget the bathroom.

And this is a small house!

I’ve often wondered if I had it in me to conduct a study about the average number of items the average household contained. If 300,000 things is where we land, it would be nice to finally put the query to bed. And I will never be out of work again.

 

3rd Edition of Psychic Debris, Crowded Closets by Regina F Lark, Ph. D.

You might be interested in a free copy of the Table of Contents and 1st Chapter of my Book

Download a complimentary copy of the 1st Chapter of Regina's 3rd Edition of her book, Psychic Debris