These areas are often the most challenging, since these rooms are out of site (and therefore, out of mind). As a result, people tend to use storage and utility rooms as dumping grounds when clearing other areas in the home and for items your can’t bear to throw away.

The key to making storage and utility rooms work for you is to ensure that your belongings are organized and protected, while the function of the space is still maximized for effectiveness and efficiency.

The two most common problems that people have are:

• You do not have enough storage space.
• Your storage area is cluttered.

The following are Solutions to help you Organize your storage and utility rooms.

Keep heavy items close to the floor to avoid injury when reaching for them later. Keep household chemicals and other flammable and poisonous materials on a separate shelf.

Sort through all your items and purge what you and your family no longer needs. Make hard decisions about holding onto things that are taking up valuable space.

1. Categorize
– divide your space into sections (sports equipment, tools, holiday decorations, party supplies, off-season clothes, crafts, laundry)
– by dedicating specific areas, you are able to better organize your belongings

2. Maximize Wall Space
– make use of cabinets, shelves and pegboards by mounting them on your walls
– use household items that you would normally discard, i.e.: old kitchen cabinets

3. Add Floor Storage
– large vacuous rooms, like basements, can be maximized by adding chests of drawers and bookshelves
– this will help you to avoid cluttering your floors with piles and piles of ‘stuff’

4. Reach for the Ceiling
– if your garage ceiling is high enough, hang hooks to store your bicycles and gardening equipment
– attach poles (an old broomstick will do) across your ceiling joists for added storage space up high

5. Fill Wasted Space
– don’t forget to use empty drawers of stored furniture to keep more fragile items, like glassware
– use back packs, duffle bags and suitcases to hold off-season clothing