Storage Ideas for Every Room: How to Organize Your Home

Most storage problems aren't about space. They're about too much stuff without a home, homes nobody remembers, and bins that say "misc". The good news: the same few habits fix the garage, the closet and the cupboard under the sink.

This page has the method that works in any room, storage ideas that fit almost every home, and a guide for each part of the house.

How to organize any room in five steps

1. Take everything out. Or one shelf at a time, if a whole room is too much. Wipe the shelves while they're empty.
2. Keep, donate, sell or toss. Keep what you use or love. Be quick with the rest: if you didn't miss it until today, you won't miss it tomorrow.
3. Group what's left by use, not by type. Everything for washing the car together, everything for school mornings together. Things used together are stored together.
4. Give each group a home. Things you use daily at arm's height and close to where you use them, things you use once a year up high or out of the way.
5. Label the home, and keep a list for what you can't see. Open shelves need no list. Closed bins, boxes and cupboards do.

The fifth step is the one most people skip, and it's why an organized garage is a mess again by spring.

Home storage ideas that work in any room

• Go vertical. Walls, the backs of doors and the space above cupboards hold more than any floor.
• Use the dead spaces. Under the bed, under the stairs, above the washer, over the garage door.
• Buy bins last. Sort first, then buy the bins that fit what's left and the shelf it goes on.
• Same-size bins. They stack, slide and swap places. Mixed sizes waste shelf space.
• Clear bins where you look, solid bins where the sun shines. Clear lets you see inside; solid stops things fading.
• One bin, one job. "Beach", "Tax papers", "Kids' winter clothes". A bin with a mix of everything is a bin you have to empty to search.
• Number your bins. A number on the outside never goes out of date. What's inside goes on a list.
• Rotate with the seasons. Winter coats, summer clothes, holiday decorations and camping gear take turns in the prime spots.
• One in, one out. A new pair of shoes means one pair goes. The space stays the size it is.
• Make putting away easier than leaving out. A hook by the door beats a cupboard upstairs.

Storage and organization guides for every room

Keep track of what you store away

The things you use every day are easy: you see them. It's the bins in the attic, the boxes in the basement and the tote at the back of the closet that get forgotten. Hoardo is a free app that keeps the list for you.

Prints Print 11 labels

Stick a label on each box. Scanning it with your phone's camera opens the box in Hoardo, so you can see what's inside without opening it.

Avery Zweckform 347424 per sheet · 70 × 37.1 mm · 1 sheet

#1

Scan me, I know things.

#2

Scan me, I know things.

#3

Scan me, I know things.

#4

Scan me, I know things.

#5

Scan me, I know things.

#6

Scan me, I know things.

#7

Scan me, I know things.

#8

Scan me, I know things.

#9

Scan me, I know things.

#10

Scan me, I know things.

#11

Scan me, I know things.

Make a room for each storage place, add every bin as a numbered box, and list what's inside by typing, speaking or taking a photo. Print QR labels for the bins, and scanning one opens its list. When you need the tent, the Christmas lights or the baby clothes, you search instead of digging, and Hoardo shows the bin, the shelf and the room. Share a room with your family and everyone searches the same list.

For more on setting it up, see Hoardo's home organization app page and storage organization for real people.

Questions about home storage and organization

How do I start organizing my home?

Start small and visible: one shelf, one drawer or the cupboard you open most. Take everything out, keep what you use, group it by use and give each group a home. Finish one space before you start the next, so you see progress every day.

What's the best storage for a small home?

Storage that uses height and dead space: shelves to the ceiling, hooks on the backs of doors, bins under the bed and under the stairs. Same-size lidded bins stack safely, and a numbered label on each means you don't have to open them to know what's inside.

Should storage bins be clear or solid?

Clear bins for things you get out often, at eye level, so you can see what's inside. Solid bins for long-term storage, up high or in the attic, because they keep out light that fades fabric and paper. Either way, number them and keep a list.

How do I remember what's in each storage box?

Write a number on every box and keep a list of what's inside each number. In Hoardo every box is numbered, its contents are listed, and a QR label on the box opens that list on your phone. Search finds anything across every box and room.

How do I keep my home organized?

Give everything a home, put things back in the same step as using them, and do a short reset once a week. One in, one out keeps the amount of stuff the same, and a list of what's stored away stops things being bought twice.