We can all agree that it’s much easier to achieve a minimalist look for your home when you’re starting from scratch and are just furnishing and buying essentials. Along with the modern interior visuals, going the minimalist route also means going only for pure essentials and maintaining a clutter-free space, which can be difficult if you’ve got a lot of things to declutter and organize, yet don’t have much storage space available. So to address that, we’ll be listing down tips that can serve as your guide to help better store and organize your things for a minimalist home.
1. Don’t Be Hasty, Plan Before You Purchase Anything
When you’re aiming for a minimalist space, it’s important to avoid splurging on new items when you haven’t been able to declutter properly. This is often the cause of more clutter piling up — and the more items you need to sift through, the more difficult and longer the road will be before you get the results you want. See to it that you plan what you will be buying so as not to bring more clutter into the house.
Organizing and storing everything in place can be very satisfying and enjoyable. However, going nuts in splurging for various containers and baskets without checking if they fit the space will only result in more clutter. Remember that you’re going for a minimalist space, which is why you won’t need as much — you only need the ones that can properly store and organize your items.
2. Take It One Room at a Time
You want a well-organized and clutter-free space, but not a stressful mind and exhausted body. If you have a lot of things to declutter, it’s best to take it one room at a time. Slow progress is still progress. The most important thing is that you don’t stop once you’ve already started decluttering and organizing your things. You can plan and assign a room for a certain day to declutter, and from that, you can work your way toward other rooms or areas in the house.
3. Designate a Drop Zone
A drop zone is a specific area where you can drop all of the items you bring at home and then sort through each one to put them in their corresponding places. It is also ideal for every member of the family to have their drop zone as this avoids getting items mixed up or misplaced. Since there’s a designated spot for all the items you bring at home, you can better organize your things and are less likely to lose something. If you forgot to organize them back into their corresponding places, you’ll know where to get them.
4. Check Your Wardrobe
A chaotic and disorganized closet can be very nerve-wracking. That’s why your wardrobe may be one of the first places you would want to check when you start decluttering your space because chances are, you have a lot of clothes, personal items, or accessories that you’re not using anymore — and these items may just be taking up too much space.
You can simply donate or sell the clothes and accessories that can still be used or worn. You can also recycle or throw away some of them. The idea here is to enhance your wardrobe’s functionality by creating more space and organizing all of your clothes and accessories to make them more accessible and visible when you need them.
5. Practice Proper Folding of Clothes
Proper storage and organization don’t stop at getting your space all tidy and clutter-free. Once you have decluttered or sorted your wardrobe, it’s now time for you to get into more of the nitty-gritty parts of organizing because you’ll have to practice folding your clothes properly — and we are not talking about just any kind of folding here. Marie Kondo, a Japanese organizing expert, introduced the KonMari method where you organize or tidy up things such as clothes by category. The expert also emphasized that there’s a better way or method to fold clothes where it allows you to save more space in your drawers and closets; may it be your pants, t-shirts, sweaters, or socks. Doing this method of folding clothes also enables you to have better access to anything you need in your drawer or closet without resorting to rummaging through every item.
6. Clean Out Your Pantry
If you’re aiming for a minimalist look for your home, then alongside your closet, you should make sure that the kitchen pantry is one of the first areas you declutter and organize. It can get a bit busy in other rooms and areas in the house that people tend to overlook decluttering and organizing the kitchen pantry. It may not seem like it, but this area is one of the most common spots where clutter often accumulates.
There is a great tendency that there are already expired condiments and other perishable items that have not been cleared out for months, and they go unnoticed when you don’t check. It’s advisable to regularly check your kitchen pantry for expired goods, so you will know which ones need to be thrown away and replenished for the next batch of groceries. Doing this helps you classify all the items in your pantry and avoid duplicating items.
For better storage and organization in your pantry, you can employ the following ways to maintain a tidy pantry at home:
- Use glass jars when you store food to preserve its freshness.
- Don’t store food in the box they came in, and opt for plastic containers to store dry food items.
- Incorporate basket organizers for some added aesthetics in your kitchen pantry.
Related: 10 Smart Storage Ideas to Organize Your Pantry
7. Check for Any Unused Items in the Bathroom
It’s easy to accumulate clutter without us even knowing that they’ve already gotten way out of hand. And yes, every room in the house, including the bathroom, isn’t 100% clutter-free because you can still find some unused items there. If you do find some items that need to be cleared out such as cleansers, shaving cream, empty shampoo bottles, etc., make sure to dispose of them when you don’t use them anymore. Neglecting to dispose of them will only result in more clutter in your bathroom. There are also some items you should never store in the bathroom, so you may want to take note of that as well to keep everything in place.
8. Pay Attention to Color Coordination
In a minimalist home, it is not only proper storage and organization that plays a huge role in its overall look and vibe but also color coordination. The color coordination adds a neat and organized feel to the room, which gives the idea that the place looks simple and laid back, yet sleek and sophisticated. You can incorporate muted versions of colors such as coffee, tea & honey, pastel, industrial, and more color palettes. When you organize and classify your items, such as books, see to it that you also incorporate color coordination as adds to the visuals.
9. Vertical is the Way to Go
If you live in a small apartment or condominium, you know the struggle of having limited space and at the same time having the urge to buy stuff for your home but end up not buying them because you lack space. So a tip here is to go vertical. When you store or organize your things vertically, you can save more space and avoid that cluttered feeling in your home. Instead of the usual horizontal way of organizing and storing items, you can store your things vertically by using plastic containers that you can neatly stack. You can also resort to wall-mounted shelves as it also helps save floor space.
Related: 4 Useful Tips to Create More Storage Space for Your Home
10. Incorporate Floating Shelves
Whether it’s the bedroom, kitchen, or living room, floating shelves are always an ideal added storage because they help you save floor space. If you live a in small apartment or condominium and want to create a minimalist look, you can incorporate floating shelves to store and organize items. Floating shelves also usually blend well with minimalist furniture and decor, so you won’t have any trouble arranging them altogether.
11. Make it a Habit to Declutter Regularly
Decluttering is never an easy task, but it’s your best bet at getting a good start in organizing your home to achieve a minimalist result. Set a day to do all the decluttering and assign a room to focus on that particular day, so you don’t overwhelm yourself with too many tasks. This way, you will be able to properly classify items and organize them in their respective storage boxes. Making it a habit to declutter regularly also has some health benefits to it, which may be helpful for both your home and state of mind.
Related: A Clear Space: Health Benefits of Decluttering
12. Consider Getting a Storage Unit
If you’re running low on storage space at home and you want to maintain a minimalist look, getting a storage unit may be an ideal solution for you. Several households and businesses today are renting self-storage units because it helps them save space, avoid clutter, and store with convenience. In addition, most storage facilities are typically located in accessible areas and offer 24/7 availability, so you won’t have trouble finding one that’s close by and getting your things when you need them. There are also different unit size options to choose from that can fit your storage needs — you just have to be keen and know how to choose the right self-storage provider.
In need of a storage space rental nearby to store your belongings? Contact us today and we will be glad to assist you!
