Great Storage Tips & Tricks Series

Throughout the month of January, I will be decluttering and organizing. I will be putting together some great storage tips & tricks series.

Are you always looking for ways to organize to have an efficient home? Do you have items that are MIA in the house? You know it’s there but cannot locate it?

This month my weekly series will help you to get organize. I have some great storage tips & tricks that are helping me.

My goal for the month of January is declutter and get organize! It is amazing how much stuff we have accumulated in 3 years. At the end of the month, we will celebrate 3 years in our home.

Great Storage Tips & Tricks Series – PART I storing seasonal items

Maybe you already have your holiday items packed away. My great storage tips & tricks can help you with storing all seasonal items or other treasures. These tips can be applied to storing items in the basement, garage, shed or storage closet.

storage shelves

Does this look familiar?

Whether it’s your basement, garage, closet or shed, shelves helps to store more and have items neatly off the floor. It also provide protection.

This photo does not even show how many containers that are filled. I had them all up against the wall.

Before putting up our shelves, my husband painted our basement floor with concrete paint. It helps to keep the concrete dust from building up and being tracked through our home. It also gives the room a clean look.

These shelves are amazing! The Heavy Duty 5-Tier Utility Shelving Units are 48-in W x 20-in D x 72-in H. I have six total to form a U shape. The shelves come with connectors for connecting the shelves together. Each shelf can hold ten 17-gallon (68-Quart) totes.

I have two of these same shelves in the garage. They are a great quality and very sturdy.

plastic totes

I have a combination of totes bought on sale. The clear totes are great for seeing what is in the tote.

Red and green totes are perfect for Christmas decorations. I only store Christmas stuff in them.

My favorite are the black and gold plastic totes. Why you may ask? These totes are the best for the quality, price and storage. Little by little, I am replacing my old totes with the black and gold one.

storage system

It is important to adapt some sort of organization system. A couple of ideas:

1) Add label your tote such as “Christmas” with a couple of the main items listed under it.

2) Add a number with either a label or Sharpie. Keep a spreadsheet with the number listed and a description of the contain. You can clip the spreadsheet to a Clipboard and hang it from one of the shelves.

3) Use all clear totes to see inside them.

4) If you like the sturdier totes like me that’s when the ToteScan comes in handy.

You simply apply one of the labels to the front of your tote.

With your phone, you download the free ToteScan app. You scan the label give it a title and a location such as basement, garage, bedroom, etc. You are able to take a photo of the contain and add a description.

When you need a certain tote, you can look it up in your phone for the label code. Better yet, you can scan a tote with your phone and the contents of it pops up on the screen. Voilà!

We are in the process of adding a label to all of the containers. I started with the Christmas decorations. Each day I am working on a set totes on the shelves.

ornament storage

Ornament storage has always been an issue for me. They would get broken in my totes. I searched for a new storage solution and came across these fabric ornament storage boxes.

They are made well and sturdy. It fits your average size ornaments. Large or over size ornaments will not work in them.

The units were very easy to assemble. Each unit comes with four trays and dividers. Each tray holds 16 ornaments for a total of 64 ornaments.

Three of the storage units were for ornaments. The fourth unit is perfect for storing my votive candle holder. The votives are the perfect size to fit. I used two trays and have two empty trays available.

dishes storage

A Christmas present to myself was purchasing a service for 12 set of dishes for Christmas. My cabinets and antique sideboard are filled with dishes. I had to figure out a good storage solution.

I found this Dinnerware Storage Box for Dishes with 12 Felt Dividers and holds 24 Plates. The best part, it comes in a set of 2 at an affordable price! The Dinnerware Storage Box for Dishes are available in a light or dark gray.

These storage containers for dishes can be placed on a self in a closet. I am using one of the spare bedrooms closets for storage.

The containers also comes with a lid to help keep out dust.

wreath storage

I ran out of wreath containers. It comes as no surprise since I love making wreathes.

These Wreath Storage Bags are perfect and come in 24″ and 30” with dual zippered storage container and durable handles. They are also available in several different colors. The prices for them are very reasonable.

I have several wreathes that light up. It is important to remember to remove your batteries from items before storing them.

Keeping them in can cause the batteries acid to corrode. It it makes it way into the circuitry it can make the item not repairable. I found this out the hard way.

What I like about these wreath bags, they have two velcro straps to hold the wreath in place.

There is a tag on the front for you to put a description of the item. The ToteScan labels are two large to fit on the tag. I did try it. Apparently, the wreath bag is Piper approved too!

Wrapping paper storage

Confession time, I was one of those individuals with rolls of wrapping paper in the corner of her craft room. Tags, bags and tissues thrown in a drawer.

I bought two of these wrapping paper bags. One will hold my Christmas wrapping stuff. The second one will be for everyday wrapping paper, cards, tags, etc.

I love how much these bags hold. It can hold at least six rolls of paper on the bottom and stack some on top. There are two large pockets for smaller gift bags, gift card holders, tags, scissors and tape. I will lay the tissue paper flat on top. There are two nice straps to hold the paper in place. I have some large bags on the bottom.

The Christmas wrapping bag will be placed on the shelf with holiday decorations. The Everyday wrapping bag will be stored in my craft room neatly under one of the two dressers in that room. I love having everything in one place. The handle on the bag makes it easy to carry into another room to use.

shop my favorite storage items

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Have an amazing day, sweet friend!