Tina Harvey

Declutter Before Finding Storage Solutions

Walk into any home decor store, and you’ll be bombarded with storage options: baskets, shelving units, and cute containers designed to hide our clutter. While these items can be helpful tools, they often mask the real issue: owning more than we need. The allure of these products lies in their promise of a quick fix, but without addressing the root cause of clutter, they only serve as a temporary band-aid.

What Needs Storage?

What you should be asking yourself is what actually needs storing?

We’ve all been there…Imagining dreamy walk-in wardrobes for all of our clothes and accessories. We could truly be ourselves with a walk-in wardrobe, right? Cue the montage in our heads of us playing dress-up as adults! The reality is, you probably don’t wear half of what you own, and you could actually feel like you have a beautifully curated wardrobe if you were to simply get rid of the things that you no longer love.

Or adding extra cabinets and drawers in your kitchen because there’s not enough room for all of your appliances and tools, when really you just have too many.

Storage boxes filled with things you need to sort ‘one day’, and papers in a box on the desk because you need to go through them. Storage solutions have their uses, but mostly they are just holding things until you’re ready to deal with them. And when they’re hidden away in neat little spaces, that time often never comes!

How To Decide What Needs Storing

Think of one area that you’ve been thinking about getting storage for.

Some examples include:

• Toys
• Makeup
• Clothes
• Books
• Electrical items
• Shoes

What if you went through them first, using the guides I have on this website, and managed to part with some of them instead? Would you still need new storage solutions?

Who Shouldn’t Store Things?

Some people find that when they hide things away, they forget they exist. At the time, this feels like a good thing. You’ve tackled a messy corner of the house and taken off the mental load of having to deal with the stuff you’ve hidden.

However, the problem occurs when you come across the box next time and stay stuck in that mental loop. You can either deal with the clutter now, or continue to find these items and hide them again for eternity.

Once this kind of person has decluttered, there are ways to store items that don’t involve hiding them, meaning that you will get use of every item you own – because they haven’t vanished!

When To Use Storage Solutions

Despite everything above, storage solutions are great! But only when you know exactly what you’re keeping can you make decisions on how to store what’s left.

It’s all too easy to fill a box and put it away, looking pretty, full of random items that will never see the light of day again. However, when you have broken down what’s left and chosen a storage solution that fits not only the items but also your personality/decluttering type, it will actually make a difference to your day-to-day life, as well as fulfilling your aesthetic needs.

UK houses are fairly small, and new builds here don’t tend to have much storage space – no cupboards at all in some flats, especially! Sometimes we have to store things away because they cannot stay out in the open. Think extra bedding, winter coats, and garden items (can you believe some people get to keep these out all year?!). You also have to get clever with your space, so fitting more into smaller wardrobes or somehow arranging shoes in tight entryways (my latest project!).

You can also use storage solutions while on your decluttering journey to help minimise the overwhelm, but you have to be aware that it is a temporary fix. Using something like large bags rather than nice-looking boxes means you’re more likely to sort them out than leave them where they are. Make things an eyesore, but out of the way!

So the order of actions should be:

• Declutter
• Shop for cute storage
• Arrange
• Sit back and admire your work!

Pretty, Practical Storage

If you feel you’re ready for some storage, make sure it’s actually practical, and not just cute. Take a look at some of my favourite pretty but practical storage solutions that I either have or have something similar to in my own home:

Which area of your home are you struggling to tackle and tempted to buy storage for?