Is it not the bane of our lives, we proud home-owners? Clutter. It creeps up on us daily, messes with our order, messes with our minds, and greatly tests our patience. If you have kids, it’s even MORE frustrating, because it’s usually their mess that we’re fighting a losing battle against, even if we are immaculate in our own personal habits. I am yet to meet a person who has a neat child. I see you nodding. I hear your sighs.
Look, I can’t promise you a family home that is always neat, but I can give you some great ideas to help in the war against the toys, craft mess, Lego, dirty clothes and all the other detritus that clogs our homes and our minds! And I’m going to invite you to share any tricks and tips you’ve learnt over the years, so that we can all be best prepared for the battle ahead!
My mantra is: a place for everything, and everything in it’s place. Yes, the last part can be hard to achieve, but we can try, no? So the magic word for today is: storage! Not a new concept, but if you think outside the box, pardon the pun ;), you can achieve organisation with minimum space use, and minimum cost. How?
Let’s talk about:
A place for everything
- storage space
- clever options
- cheap options
- organising
Everything in its place
- an easy system
- training the kids (and spouse!)
A place for everything
Storage space
Most of our homes are not designed with lots of storage space included. It’s up to us to provide the right furniture and use it well. Thankfully, these days we’re not confined to just cupboards and drawers. You only have to hop onto the Ikea website to get an idea of the myriad of options available to us, and the clever ways we can use our space efficiently. We’re really only limited by our imaginations.
Clever options
Recently, I’ve seen couches and ottomans with hidden storage inside them. There are beds with built-in storage beneath, great cupboard systems that can utilise every inch of space you have. And of course, my favourite, the cube shelf with drawers to hide the clutter!
Here is the second hand cube shelf I was given by a neighbour, and now use for my daughter’s room. The coloured drawers came with it, and I found the open baskets at a second-hand store.
Here is a photo of the same type of Ikea bed I have recently purchased second hand, for my daughter’s room. I will show you our own photos when I have finished setting it up. Note the amount of storage underneath. It’s as big as a cupboard! It’s not so easy to access all the storage space if the bed is pushed up against the wall, so we will set it up in the middle of the room to utilise it best. I love the sliding doors for hiding the mess, and keeping the dust out.
Have you seen a furniture piece with clever hidden storage inside it? Please tell us by leaving a comment at the bottom of the page.
Cheap options
In Australia, you can’t go past the Gumtree website for cheap second-hand furniture. Most areas will have at least one second-hand goods shop, website or marketplace! There is absolutely no need to pay full price when such good quality pre-loved furniture is available. I do a lot of buying of second-hand goods, so here are some tips to stop you getting burned when you do.
tips: Inspect the item of furniture before it is disassembled, if possible. Some people try to hide damaged parts by slipping them in behind good parts when they stack all the pieces together.
If you can’t inspect the item whole, make sure the seller has a recent photo of the whole piece of furniture, and the assembly instructions (or source them from the internet: easily done with anything from Ikea).
Also ask for all the fixtures (nuts, bolts, screws, etc). Ask what tools are needed to put it together.
Check every disassembled piece for damage.
Don’t be afraid to negotiate the price. (Especially if you find any damage.)
Organising
Now that you have a good storage item, your “place for everything”, how do you organise it so that everything stays “in it’s place”? It’s easy enough for adults to remember where things go, but if you have kids, or a messy spouse, labelling is a fantastic way to ensure stuff goes where it belongs.
You could go to great lengths like some ladies I know with immaculate Tupperware-system-ised pantries! No need to spend such money though: it’s easy to create your own labelling system like I did in my son’s room using scraps of paper and some cute paper clips and bull-dog clips.
If time is lacking, the quickest way of labelling toy boxes, cupboard shelves, kids drawers and frozen dinners are adhesive labels. All stationery shops stock them, sometimes even supermarkets have them. I have also been known to use masking tape in desperation when I have no adhesive labels on hand.
Everything in its place
an easy system
So I like to use a system of clever furniture pieces, boxes, pigeon holes, baskets and labels. Some people may colour code. I’m sure there are other methods too.
Undoubtedly, whatever your system is to keeping your home clutter free, the hardest part is getting the family to use it!
Have you got a great storage “system” in place in your home? What tips could you give other readers?
training the kids (and spouse!)
First, the disclaimer! This is a time for realism. I really don’t think there’s anything wrong with shutting your door on your messy teenager’s room at times, and aiming for perfection in the common living areas instead. I mean, we are only human, a lot of us juggle work as well as family, and just don’t have the time to tidy, tidy, tidy! Besides, there is the issue of handing responsibility on to the growing teens, and they’re certainly not going to learn to tidy their rooms if we keep doing it for them. Of course, if you confiscate their iPod until their room is clean, you may see some action. Luckily, my two are only 10 and 7, and still fairly “trainable”, but messy teenagers and even adults in the house will send you crazy if you can’t “let go” at times. So do your best using the tips below, but shut the door and have a break from it all now and then!
Please share any tips with us, if you have a teen with a tidy room!
So, if it’s not too late, start training the family early! 
Before my kids could read, I drew pictures on the labels on their shelves and drawers so they knew where to find things (and put them away). Labels with pictures and words may even have even helped them learn to read simple words!
Labels on their cupboard shelves and drawers gave them guidance when learning to dress themselves, and now that they’re older, in putting away their clean laundry.
Bargain with your children. At my place, if the kids request some time on the computer, or to have a friend over, they will have to do some tidying before this happens. I have friends who have used reward charts, allocated pocket money, and used punishment to encourage their children to tidy up regularly. Of course, Santa always makes new toys for children who look after (and pack away) they toys they already have!
Catch them in the act. If your kids are moving on to a new activity, tell them they can do so when they’ve tidied up the last activity they played with. They may gripe, but if they really want to go ride their scooters, they will tidy up the Lego! Whatever works for you, just stay firm!
Having said that, don’t expect perfection from younger children. It’s more important to instil the habit of tidying up, than to have them do it perfectly. They’re little, distractable, and have short attention spans. Even if they only get half the job done and need help, if they are doing it regularly, it will become a habit. As they grow older, slowly you can expect more work. And of course, if you have a good system in place, they can get more done before they lose focus.
Have you got your own “system” in place in your home? How do you keep the family in line, and your house as clutter free as possible?
Creating good storage systems in your home can take time and effort in the beginning, but it’s worth it for a more organised house, far less mess, and the shorter time it takes to clean up. With clever storage options and good habits, you can win the war over clutter!
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