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SAUDER’S GUIDE TO ORGANIZING YOUR HOME
A host of clutter-busting tips
for creating order, finding hidden storage solutions,
and fostering a calm living space
Yes, help is at hand for de-cluttering your life!
If you’re like most Americans, what you need is a space program
on the home front. Space for all your stuff, that is.
Whether it’s clothes, paperwork, toys, DVDs, sports gear,
hobby tools -- or all of the above and more – your possessions
need a place of their own, not just to de-clutter living areas,
but to make everything easy to find. After all, life is just too
full to waste time hunting down what you need, now.
A solutions-centered guide to home organization
Help is at hand for organizing your home, from experts who have
been designing storage solutions for every room of the house for
decades. The Sauder design team offers tips on how to create order,
whether you live in a space-challenged apartment or a three-story house.
This guide can help you organize your busy life and replace chaos with calm.
Try a few – or all -- of these tactics, and find a place for
everything, have everything in its place, and enjoy living --
instead of looking for something you know you have somewhere.
THE SAUDER GUIDE TO HOME ORGANIZATION
GETTING STARTED
Keep these key phrases in mind as you create an organization system on the home front:
Visible: easy to see equals time saved
Have your stuff in view, whether you’re opening a kitchen drawer or a
closet door. Simple devices, such as shelf and drawer dividers, help
create order, keeping items where you put them. For container storage,
use see-through designs or take a few minutes to label opaque containers,
saving countless time later for everyone in the household.
Accessible: easy to grab adds up to easier living
Think “easy to reach” every time you decide where to put what. For example,
upper closet shelves shouldn’t exceed 15 inches in depth, because deeper shelves
can put items out of reach. In the kitchen, revolving and slide-out shelves
work well in deep cabinets because they bring items quickly to hand.
Simple: group like things together
This straightforward approach works over the long haul because it’s natural
and logical. If you know all your off-season sports equipment is in the
storage cabinet in the garage, or that all your holiday decorations are in
an armoire in the hallway, when the moment comes to enjoy these items, you
won’t waste time trying to remember what is where.
HIDDEN SPACES, THE UNDER-USED ORGANIZING TOOL
Frustrated because every closet is already overflowing? Try this
secret to organizing success:
Create new storage space in hidden places
Every home has unnoticed spots just waiting to be tapped for
organization duty. Find those hidden places; add the right storage
item -- from a simple bookshelf
to a fully outfitted computer armoire
-- and order can banish disorganization once and for all. Try the
following tips for turning unused areas of the home into orderly
storage centers.
No built-in storage on the premises?
Even the pantry and linen closet-deprived can conjure instant
on-site storage without hiring a carpenter.
- Well-placed armoires in bedrooms and baths (or even in hallways just outside the
door) create handy, attractive repositories for fresh linens and towels or extra clothes.
- In the absence of a back-door coat closet, properly scaled
storage wardrobes serve the same purpose, no sleight of hand required.
- A variety of kitchen utility carts/stands can be tucked into this busy room’s smallest spaces
to provide instant storage, valuable work surfaces or handy serving stations.
No place for paperwork and hobbies?
A spare room is not required to set up a permanent home office or craft center, thanks to
compact options designed to accommodate a host of activities.
- Trim computer desks and
workcenters or cleverly crafted
craft units can fit into a
corner of the bedroom or family room, and with the addition of a pretty screen or
bookshelf divider, become a private, organized getaway space.
- A computer or craft armoire can enhance any room’s décor by keeping essentials --
like electronic components for the home office or a drop leaf work table for sewing
and crafts -- behind closed doors when work is done.
- For a flexible solution to the home office conundrum,
computer carts allow the entire
work center to be easily moved from room to room, depending on what’s going on in the
rest of the household.
Technology: Can’t live with it, can’t live without it?
High-tech headaches can be resolved even in space-challenged homes, thanks to a variety
of entertainment centers and
entertainment armoires geared to today’s -- and
tomorrow’s -- electronics.
- Trim A/V storage units are efficient technology tamers, keeping DVDs, tapes, CDs
and a host of other home entertainment paraphernalia in one compact place for easy access.
- If there’s no room to spare for a wall-spanning home theater system, small-scaled home
entertainment centers and TV stands still offer storage shelves
and drawers for peripherals.
- Corner entertainment centers
open up three-way viewing for a movie crowd without
taking up valuable wall space.
Put transitional spaces to work
Transitional spaces, such as foyers, hallways or mini mud rooms are those easily
overlooked areas in the home where storage would be a real asset whether you’re
coming or going.
- That tiny space between the garage and kitchen almost begs for
storage cabinets that
keep food stuffs, cleaning products and garden gear right where they belong.
- Even a narrow space next to the front door can be an oasis of order with the help
of a slender message center, complete with drawers, a family message corkboard and
cubbyholes for keys, sunglasses, and the dog’s leash.
- The upstairs hallway can boost organization space with the addition of
bookcases
or a more elaborate wall of libraries
with door and drawer storage as well as shelves.
Only inches to spare?
- The smallest bare spot can be transformed into a storage asset.
Add stylish hooks almost everywhere, including doors and walls. And think
of uses beyond hats and coats – use hooks to hang purses, garden baskets,
or bags for laundry, knitting and the kids’ pajamas.
- Commandeer that wasted under-the-bed area and add storage containers
for everything from out-of-season clothes to tax documents. Add a dust
ruffle, and everything is discreetly out of view.
ROOM BY ROOM ORGANIZING TIPS
Family room/entertainment center
These are challenging rooms for clutter control because they’re not only
media central but also the action-packed hub for the entire family.
- For optimum media storage and show-off style, choose from a plethora of
home theaters
designed specifically for your TV of choice, whether it’s plasma,
LCD, DLP or another new technology. With all the different technologies
available, it has become impossible to classify any specific piece of
entertainment furniture as “one size fits all.” Instead, it is necessary to
measure and compare. Even if your TV “fits” in the available space, some TVs
(particularly those that use flat-screen CRT picture tubes) can weigh more than
the TV weight limit safely allows. (“How To Measure Your TV”)
- Banish clutter by adding designated storage space for DVDs, tapes, CDs and
the like, using an entertainment center with a bridge and audio piers, or a
full-scale entertainment wall system, or an ample multimedia storage tower.
- Make sure tables and stands work overtime by doing double duty. Choose
two-tiered coffee tables that add an extra display surface, end tables
with attached magazine storage and telephone stands that have doored storage
creating mini message centers.
Home Office/Craft Center
Everyone needs a private space for at-home paperwork and creative pursuits,
and it’s never been easier to organize a home office or hobby center.
- Opt for a computer desk with file drawers and a multi-shelf hutch to boost
your home office organization quotient. And make sure the design is geared
to today’s technology -- with a slide-out shelf for keyboard and mouse, plus
storage areas for printer and other electronic essentials.
- If you’re operating a full-time business out of your home, select from a
variety of executive desks
that make you feel professional at any hour of the
day or night.
- Computer and craft armoires come in a variety of sizes and styles to fit the
décor and dimensions of any room, from compact 34-inch by 68-inch designs to
the commanding 45-inch by 75-inch Monarch computer workcenter. Look for designs
fully outfitted to accommodate home office electronics or craft supplies.
- Make it pleasant to use your organization system by keeping paperwork in
colorful folders and scrapbooking or other hobby supplies in handy
file cabinets
. And add helpful tools like an oversized wall calendar for marking
meeting dates and deadlines and a framed corkboard for hanging fabric scraps
and other craft materials.
Kitchen
The heart of the home, the kitchen is a happening place, chock full of stuff.
Even with built-in cabinets, this busy room requires bonus organizing strategies
for its overflow of items needed for daily and occasional use.
- Enjoy “on view” storage devices such as hanging racks for cookware
and stemware and open racks for dishes and spices, both for decorative
effect and easy access.
- Add a permanent kitchen helper in the form of a gourmet cart that features
a solid butcher block top and a medley of storage perks including a
shelf, drawers, hooks and a three-shelf spice rack.
- A kitchen bookcase is a pleasing touch that helps bring order
to everything from cookbooks to homework supplies. And a file
cabinet in the kitchen can be a compact center for items such as
recipes, coupons and meeting notes for community projects.
Bedrooms
Whether a bedroom is a tiny alcove or an expansive suite, clothes
are the perennial organizational problem in this private home space.
- Achieve order by devising your own plan for storing off-season clothing,
whether you stow these items under the bed, in a guest room closet, or
the attic. This seasonal shift frees up space for what you’ll actually
be wearing now, saving you time and protecting your clothes from overcrowding.
- Bedroom armoires
and bedroom wardrobes
are a centuries-old storage
solution for organizing clothes, so take advantage of the wide range
of styles and sizes available. Today’s choices offer contemporary
touches, such as adjustable shelves, interior lights and drawers
and cubbies for small items.
- Look for double-duty bedroom furniture such as
headboards with built-in
bookcases, storage-savvy nightstands and
chests
or dressers that suit
your particular wardrobe needs.
- A cleverly outfitted juvenile bedroom
will entice kids to keep their
“stuff” stashed away. One organization dream is a mates bed with
storage drawers that stow gear snugly underneath and a headboard
that doubles as a bookcase. In fact, almost any bed can boast
storage space below with the addition of inexpensive risers and
dust-proof containers.
Garage
The once-humble garage is fast becoming a favorite, much-used room
for today's multi-activity families, demanding storage options for
auto enthusiasts, gardeners and sports buffs alike.
- Customize the garage for the serious car buff by combining cabinets from the
rugged Hot Rod Garage
system to organize myriad small tools as well as larger-scaled
equipment like air compressors and battery chargers.
- Add a workbench or a rolling work island to organize the tools for a wide range
of hobbies. In addition to a durable work surface, look for clutter-busting
features such as a pegboard back, handy upper storage shelf and
electrical outlets.
- Make everything easy to find by including sturdy open shelving and installing
fluorescent lighting.
Closets
Whether you have one closet, or one for every room, here are
some basic tips for making the most of this key storage space.
- Combine a variety of modular components, including stacking shelves and
drawers, to increase any closet’s organizing power. Keep it simple by
using an easy-to-install, no-drill system like
Closits®. Add baskets
and containers of varying sizes to hold accessories like ties and jewelry.
- Make the most of rods – the signature feature of every closet -- by
adding a lower rod to at least one section, thereby increasing
storage potential. And to enhance order, keep in mind that most
clothing items (such as skirts, pants, suits and shirts) require
one to four inches of rod space, and overcoats typically need four
to six inches.
- If you have higher than average closet shelves, use clear storage
containers so what you’ve stored isn’t a mystery. And keep a folding
footstool at hand so you can easily retrieve what you need on the
highest shelf.
Whatever room or space you need to organize, there is always a way to tame the
clutter. Making the most of existing rooms and closets, seeking out hidden
places where storage can be added, and putting in place the right storage
piece for the room or unused spot will all contribute to a new sense of
calm and order on the home front.
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