Without knowing much about home storage ideas to increase your storage space, not only will clutter tend to thrive, but you may be doomed to live with only the storage space you think you have instead of the storage have.

Here’s 2 essential insights into the nature of planning and organization combined with 11 practically applied home storage ideas that will supercharge how you declutter and organize your home.

For every 1 hour you spend planning, you’ll save 3 hours of organizing! [Source: National Association of Professional Organizers] So before you begin buying storage containers, boxes, bins or baskets you’ll want to make a plan of action.

Your personal style preference, starting point and major clutter issues will control what types of storage you choose and even whether or not you will need some assistance.

What style matches your personality? If you work or think best when you can see more things, you’ll want organizing tools that allow you to see articles and items at a glance and that are within easy reach. 

The danger for this personality style is the tendency to clutter by placing too many things out in the open on counters and shelves.

But if you work or think better by keeping your space looking calm and tidy visually, you’ll generally store things away in transparent bins that are labeled; group labeled file folders by color; and separate stuff into modular drawer organizers to keep things looking neat.

The danger for this personality style is the inclination to clutter by stashing too many things away in too many containers.

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Where do you want to begin? Is this going to be a whole house project or is it just the garage that is out of control? What’s bothering you the most? It’s usually best to start small.

You’ve probably heard that organizing is simply a matter of a place for everything and everything in its place. But actually a lasting solution depends upon your style, as we said above, and your daily needs.

For example, do you depend on your laptop, charger and a mass of wires each day? Where and how you use your laptop will determine whether or not you can use cable organizers to bring order to mass of wires.

Or is your laundry room too small? If so, probably you’ll need something like a portable utility cart you can roll in and out and store in your basement or elsewhere.

Storage containers, baskets and other box like devices are commonly discussed on the web, so let’s look at some space-saving and home storage ideas that are a bit more outside the box. (pardon the pun)

Is your entertainment center taking up precious floor space? Have you considered mounting the television on the wall with a special bracket? You can even hang special storage for DVD players underneath.
Is sports gear an issue? A wheeled laundry sorter could be the answer to prayer! Not only will it keep sports gear off the floor, but when not in use you can simply wheel gloves, helmets, bats and uniforms to a closet or garage.
Messy bottles in the kitchen cabinet are easily dealt with; place them in a quart ice cream bucket.
Are you out of pin up space? Use the inside of various cabinet doors.
A hanging rod near the washer and dryers makes hanging shirts a snap!
Space beneath windows is an excellent choice for small bookshelves.
Bill binders are a great way to organize your financial life; place a clear plastic pencil holder within a three ring binder for checkbook, stamps and envelopes.
A paper shredder could be your best friend if paper clutter is an issue. Not only will it protect your personal information it will also reduce reams of paper to a manageable level.
Paperless is another clutter busting home organizing idea; whenever possible set your bills and correspondence to come electronically.
Store family photos digitally and rotate the ones most meaningful throughout the year. Just remember to keep a backup in case of hardware failure. Online storage is a good safety device.
Wall hanging newspaper racks don’t take up a lot of space and can serve double duty for magazine storage as well.
Bonus: Overhead hanging organizer shelving or platforms in the garage, basement or shed utilize the space above your head, hold 250 to 1,400 pounds and create space you didn’t know you had. Store anything from bins of seasonal clothing to canoes. 

Salt these relatively little known home storage ideas into your decluttering plan when more storage space seems impossible to find, and you’ll find storage space you didn’t know you had. With lots more space, you’ll have room to declutter and organize.

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