Do you tend to shy away from your storage area? When you open the closet door, does everything fall right through onto you? Can't ever find anything in the pile of stuff thrown into your spare room?

Organizing your storage space isn't difficult, but if you have a lot of things - it may take some time. You should set aside time to do this one thing - a time when you won't be distracted or when you won't have to stop in the middle of it to go run errands. When people stop in the middle of big projects - they often lose the momentum to finish what they started.

First, you'll need storage containers and / or shelves. You can use plastic storage boxes or they even make decorative cardboard boxes for storing items. Shelves are good for storing the containers or for placing items that can't go into boxes (too big, too fragile).

As you are going through your things, discard anything that you don't need or don't want. If anything has been damaged by water or just by time - it is best to discard those as well. A good thing to do if you have a lot of large items that you want to keep for memory - but they are too big and too much trouble to haul around all the time - take pictures of them. This is a great idea for your children's school projects. After time they get fragile and if you move a lot, they get damaged. Take pictures (regular or digital or even video) and then discard the items.

Sort your items into categories that will work for your things. Sort by years, children, schools, ages, etc. Put all the like items together and make a label to go on the outside of the box or container that tells you what's inside (for example: Christmas Ornaments; Joshua - Elementary School).

When you are done filling the boxes, place them on shelves. Put the heaviest boxes on the bottom shelves and the lighter ones on the higher ones (this is safer for you when lifting and so the shelves don't get top heavy and fall over). Put breakable items on shelves that children and pets can't get to. If you have any items that aren't in boxes, cover them with plastic or muslin to keep dust from settling on them.

If you don't have shelves, it is a good idea to get a pallet or pallets and set the boxes on top of these. This will be a lifesaver against water damage.

If you are storing seasonal items (such as Christmas trees or fans), clean the items before storing. Wash and clean fan blades and covers then wrap in plastic or muslin. If your Christmas tree isn't stored in a box, wrap in a sheet or muslin and stand upright (if you don't like taking it apart every year).

If you are keeping clothes, it's best to keep them in breathable garment bags. Wash and clean each piece of clothing and place acid free tissue between each piece when storing. You can also use unbleached muslin instead of acid free tissue paper.

If you are storing linens, make sure you clean them (wash or dry clean) and put them in breathable garment bags as well. You can also drape them in unbleached muslin and hang on a suit hanger. Before you put it on the hanger, either place a piece of acid free tissue paper or muslin over the hanger where the material will hang.

If you find your storage area tends to smell musty, place a bowl of charcoal in the room to absorb the odors. If there are no windows in your storage area, every once in a while you should leave the door open to get air flow into the area.

Once you do this, it's just a matter of keeping up with it. Continue to place your storage items in boxes or containers and labeling them.

 

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