Tips for selecting storage bins

Tips for selecting storage bins
by: Marissa Anteby

Sometimes it's not that you don't want to tidy up a room, it's just that you don't know where to begin. In order to be able to put things away and out of sight, you first need a place to put them. Organized storage units to house your stuff can consist of one, more, or all of the following; shelves, cabinets, draws, bins, boxes, baskets, containers, etc.

If you get in the habit of storing frequently used items in easily accessible places, you will save a lot of time that usually gets wasted looking for missing items. Follow these guidelines to start neatening up:

1- Look around for all the items you have laying around. Hone in on stuff that really should be put away. Make a pile in the center of the room of all such items.

2- Sort the pile by type of storage it requires. For example, start a pile for things that need to be on hangers, things that are small enough to be grouped in a box, things that need to be placed on a shelf in a cabinet, etc.

3- Decide if certain items within each pile need to be stored in the bathroom, kitchen, or playroom, etc.

4- Think about how each item will be retrieved from storage most easily. For example, choosing glass jars, or labeled containers for small like items may work for your writing instruments; pens, markers, pencils etc. While, a shelving unit with glass doors will be great for your copy paper, ink cartridges, file folders, boxes of erasers etc.

5- Try out some freestanding storage units that are not built in yet. This will give you the opportunity to move them around until you find the most convenient place to keep them. You may even see that as your needs change, your storage can adapt more readily if it's not built in to the walls.

6- Choose storage units with surfaces that are easy to clean and pleasant to look at. If the units themselves are out in the open, they should fit in with your design scheme. The colors, textures, dimensions, should flow with the rest of your decor.

7- Remember that you are going to have to maintain keeping everything in it's rightful place. So, make sure your storage bins or containers are easy to access and open. Also, just because you have a basket or cabinet, doesn't mean you can just toss things in without a system. Take the time to stay on top of your clutter before it re-claims your space.

If this project is too much for you to handle all at once. Feel free to break it down, sectioning a room off, and taking several days to go through each item. You can accomplish anything if you take it piece by piece, moment by moment.

Marissa Anteby
marissa@embodyinc.com
www.embodyinc.com