3 Tips For Organizing Long-Term Storage Spaces

There are a wide variety of reasons why someone might keep some of their belongings in a long-term storage space. From not having enough space for everything within your home to needing to put away items that you know you won’t need for a while, it can be extremely helpful to have a few feet of space that you can do with whatever you need. However, if you don’t plan this space out well, it might become more of a headache than you thought.

So to help ensure that your storage space serves you well, here are three tips for organizing long-term storage spaces. 

Inventory Your Items

Once you have everything together that you’re hoping to put into your storage space, the best thing you can do, according to Melissa Epifano, a contributor to Apartment Therapy, is to inventory all of the items you’re storing. 

To do this, you should make sure that all of your boxes or containers are accurately labeled with whatever items can be found in them. Additionally, it’s also a good idea to take photos of what’s in each box so that you can easily refer to these photos when there’s something specific that you want to get out of storage. You could also write down where certain items are stored so that you don’t have to pull the whole space apart to get to what you need. 

By managing your inventory and assets in this way, using your storage space will be much more convenient. 

Use Plastic Containers

As for what you should store all of your items in, Elizabeth Larkin, a contributor to The Spruce, recommends that you keep everything in plastic containers. Ideally, you should try to get clear plastic containers so that you can easily see into the containers and know exactly what you’ll be getting in each box. 

Not only will plastic containers make storage easier, but they will also help to better protect your belongings from pests, dirt, and other pollutants that may be able to make their way into other types of storage containers while sitting in a long-term storage unit. 

Pack The Space Correctly

As you’re preparing to move everything into your long-term storage space, you’re going to want to make sure that you pack everything in logically. 

According to Marian White, a contributor to Moving.com, you’ll want to store large and heavy items into the back of your storage unit on the bottom layer. Lighter items should then go on top. And if there’s going to be anything that you might need in the near future, make sure you keep those items near the front so they’re easy to find and access. 

If you’re going to be moving some of your things into a long-term storage unit soon, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you make the most of this space. 

Guest Post - Best Storage Ideas That Will Organize Your Entire House

Getting your house organized and keeping it that way can be a challenge. One of the first steps to achieving this is to find a “home” for each object in your living space.

To find a proper place for each item, you need to have enough storage areas. It also needs to be divided in a way that makes sense for the way you want to use it. The following tips can help you make the most of the space you have.

General Tips

Declutter

Before you get started organizing, you will first need to declutter. This means separating items that you no longer use and setting them aside to throw away or donate. If you’re into selling your used items, that is also an option.

Choose Containers

Containers help break up a space to make it more practical to use. You can buy the ones you need, or if you have a low budget, you can even use cardboard boxes or repurposed plastic containers you may have at home. 

In general, square or rectangular containers are the best way to economize space. They touch each other at the corners, so nothing is wasted. This principle applies whether you are storing spices in your kitchen or small clothing items in the bedroom.

Label Everything

Labeling is essential in many parts of the house. In the bathroom, you can add names to personal care supplies. In the playroom, toy bins can be marked with a picture of the type of toy that goes in them. In the pantry, they help you keep your ingredients organized.

Organizing Your Kitchen

When you’re working in the kitchen, you want to have easy access to all the items you use regularly. Keep the appliances you use most frequently out on the counter or as close as possible to where they will be used.

Items you use less frequently can be stored in places that are more difficult to access. They can even be stored outside the kitchen if the area is small.

As you organize your kitchen cabinets, you’ll want to choose each item’s “home” according to where it will be used. In general, food should only be stored this way if you don’t have a pantry.

Bathroom Organization Tips

Cabinets

If you need some extra storage in the bathroom, consider using the inside of cabinet doors. Over the door organizers and command hooks can hold many different items. You can also find toothbrush caddies that stick to the cabinet door.

Drawers

Bathroom drawers can quickly become cluttered. To help avoid losing small items, you can use dividers to give everything a specific place. You may purchase ready-made acrylic ones or try your hand at making your own out of wood.

Bedroom Storage Ideas

Underbed Storage

If you need more storage space in your bedroom, you can take advantage of the space under your bed. Find cardboard or plastic storage boxes that fit under there and use them to put away items such as clothes or decorations for other seasons.

Dividers for Small Items

Do you have trouble keeping your socks and underwear organized in drawers? You can easily make cardboard dividers that will create small, square places into which these items fit neatly. If you have little room to spare, you might choose to cut sections of a three-inch PVC pipe and stand them in your drawer to divide up the space.

Conclusion

Organizing your home can be a challenge, but when it is done, it is very satisfying. As you work toward a fully organized home, keep the following tips in mind. Declutter first, use containers and dividers to your advantage, label everything, store things near where they will be used, and use strategic spaces like inside cabinet doors and under beds.

Do all this, and your entire home will be neatly organized, and family-friendly.

Author Bio: Patricia Evans

I am an Interior Designer, Residential Designer, Art Crafter, DIYer, and a full-time mother. I write about interior decorating, and I love working with shapes, shades, and spaces. I am also into green and simple living and enjoy cooking and having tea.

Guest Post - Golf Equipment Storage - Best Ideas and Tips

Golfers are always looking for easy and efficient ways to store their golf equipment but unfortunately most of the time, they get left in the trunk of the car or in the corner of the garage.  You want your gear to be within reach when heading out the door but out of the way so they don’t become an inconvenience.

Here are some ideas and tips to keep in mind if you’re looking for a simple ways to store your golf equipment

Best Golf Equipment Home Organization Tips

1. Choose the Right Spot

Although there are several closets in your home, only a few of them will work for storing your golf clubs and other tools. An entryway drop closet is the best option because you can store your clubs upon returning from your round and grab them before leaving. This spot will also keep your clubs within reach when you want to inspect them before the upcoming tournament. 

2. Use Every Space

Forget about tossing your golf bag and other equipment in the mudroom. It will occupy much space, and getting ready before your round can be a little time-consuming. 

Instead, build a small special closet where you can keep all your stuff away from the rest of the shoes and the coats in the mudroom. If you don’t have a mudroom, consider building a closet in the garage or the basement to keep your stuff within reach.

3. Make Use of Dividers

You don’t have to spend extra cash to transform your old closet. Even if you’re on a tight budget, you can use movable dividers to create the right storage space. 

Use a divider to create enough space for her and his golf bags, so things don’t get messed up. You can also sort the clothes, caps, and other essentials without spending extra cash to transform the closet. The best thing about dividers is that they’re not permanent, so you can customize your storage space according to your needs. 

4. Keep the Shoes Away

Make sure that there’s a special shelf to keep your golf shoes. Cleaning your shoes on a regular basis will protect them and keep them in shape. Use a dry brush to remove all the dry sand, and then use a special cleaning solution to remove the stubborn mud stains. 

Wearing golf shoes for a long time can make them smell a bit unpleasant. There are special sprays and home remedies that can help you get rid of the stinky smell, so your shoes will smell clean and fresh for your next round. 

5. Build a Shelf

Putting your golf bag on the floor isn’t the smartest idea. It will occupy much space in your closet, and you will struggle to store other sports equipment, especially if you live in a busy household.

Building a shelf where you can stand your bag is a smart move. You would still have the precious floor space, and the bag will always be within reach. 

Rods and shelves help multiply the storage space you have, so you can make use of every inch. You can also use dividers to separate your golf equipment from other sports equipment in the same closet if you’re sharing it with someone else. 

6. Protect your Clubs

When you consider that a new driver and set of irons can set you back a couple thousand dollars.  Leaving the clubs leaning against the side of the closet isn’t the best idea since they could fall and get damaged. Instead, keep them in the bag, so you can grab it whenever you’re ready to head out. 

7. Show Off Your Trophies

Keep yourself motivated by showing off your accomplishments. Using shelves, you can make use of every inch in the closet to create a small space to store your trophies. Seeing your awards and mementos every time you’re grabbing your golf equipment will give you the needed motivational push before your next round.

8. Consider a Golf Storage System

If all else fails consider a practical storage system that you can use in your closet or set up in a garage. It features several shelves where you can sort your clubs, balls, and other gear. Some even have enough space to keep his and her golf bags. They’re usually easy to assemble and feel quite sturdy, so you can get plenty of years out of these systems.

Wrap Up

A small closet is enough to keep your golf equipment well-organized and ready for your upcoming round. Organizing your small closet space is all about using dividers, shelves, and racks to keep all the small items within reach but also more expensive organizing systems setup in easy to access locations can make perfect sense as well.

Guest Post by Brian Peña @ Red Birdie Golf.  Brian has been playing golf for more than 30 years.  He first picked up the game when he was 12 years old as a way to spend time with his very busy dad.  His love and passion for the game has grown over the years, which prompted him to start the website Red Birdie Golf.  His vision for this website is to help beginner and intermediate golfers better understand the game and inform them about the best products on the market so that they can play their best and enjoy the game to the fullest. Make sure to follow them on Facebook and Instagram to get the latest information.

Guest Post - The Ulitmate Guide to Storing Fruits, Vegetables, and Herbs

Buying or harvesting high-quality fruits and vegetables is meaningless unless you eat them straight away or learn how to store them. Preserving them in sub-par conditions will lead to them losing their taste and be good only for two things either soup or the trash.

The trick to properly storing your fruits and vegetables starts with learning about ethylene. Ethylene is the hormone that produce emit as they ripen. For example, ripe bananas and apples are huge emitters of this hormone that’s why if you place them in paper bags with other produce they will help them ripen.

There are, however, certain veggies like leafy greens and asparagus which are sensitive to ethylene and when exposed to it tend to quickly deteriorate. Choice have an awesome chart on their site which displays the ethylene emission and ethylene sensitivity of a plethora of fruits and veggies.

So without further ado, let’s go into the food storage part of things.

How to store fruits

• Apples - Apples tend to be quite tricky when it comes to storage. This is mainly due to their deterioration in both cold and warm temperatures. If you place them in warm storage, their lifespan will commence decreasing drastically. On the other hand, leave them somewhere too cold and they’ll turn to mush once they begin to soften. The trick here is balance! Apples should be maintained at a steady temperature of -1.1°C(or 30°F) to prevent rotting. To achieve this, you will need to place them inside the crisper drawer of your fridge and then cover them with slightly dampened paper towels. On a side note, avoid placing bruised or rotting apples with the rest of the batch as it can spread to them as well.  

• Avocados - The storage of Avocados, really depends on their ripeness. An unripe Avocado can be stored in the fridge for a whole week (before it starts going bad), while a ripe one, can be stored only for around two to three days.

• Lemons -  Lemons are quite easy to store and can survive up to a month if stored correctly. The best approach here is to place your lemons into a zipper-lock bag and then refrigerate them. This method is as effective as it is simple and will yield great results.

• Tomatoes - Whatever you do, don’t keep your tomatoes in the fridge! The best place to store your tomatoes is actually on your countertop at room temperature. This will aid in their development of flavor and won’t take away from their sweet sweet taste (the same way as fridge storage will).

• Berries - Berries are some of the most storage-friendly fruits you can buy. Start out by rinsing them thoroughly with water to get rid of any germs and bacteria. Then dry them off with a few paper towels and spread them on a sheet of wax paper. Leave the wax paper with the berries in the freezer for about 10 minutes(to flash freeze them). When done with that place them in a zipper-lock plastic bag and leave them in your freezer(to chill). Storing your berries this way will help preserve them for up to a full year! 

How to store vegetables 

• Potatoes - Potatoes need to be kept in dry, dark and cool places with good ventilation in order to last longer. A good example of such spots are cupboards and cellars. Places to avoid when storing potatoes are ones where it’s warm and moist.

• Carrots - When it comes to carrots, the storage process can be a bit unconventional. You have to first cut off the carrot greens. Then, fill up a closable container with water and place the carrots in it. This will guarantee that they stay fresh for quite some time.

• Cucumbers - Most of us tend to store our cucumbers in the refrigerator. That, however, is the wrong way to go about it. You see, cucumbers are actually quite sensitive to temperatures below 10°C (or 50°F) and if left in the cold too long begin to decay quickly. Therefore, the ideal place to store them is at room temperature, where they will last for way longer. 

• Sweet corn - Corn loses its flavor very quickly, therefore the only solutions you have at your disposal is either to leave it in the fridge or freeze it. Be mindful that sweet corn can only be stored for about 3 days in the fridge before it starts to lose flavor. If you’re looking to store it longer, you should go with freezing it. To do so, fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. Throw the shucked ears into the boiling pot and let it sit for around two and a half minutes. Then take the corn out of the pot and cool it in a bowl filled with ice. Proceed with cutting the kernels off the cob and into freezer bags. Once in the freezer, corn can be stored for about a full year.

• Zucchinis - Store zucchinis with the squash whole and unwashed. Place them in a plastic bag and leave it open(for air circulation), then stash them in the crisper drawer. This will keep them from going bad for about one to two weeks.

Storing herbs

Fresh herbs fall into three categories when it comes to storage.

• Herbs that hate water - these are the ones that usually grow in dry soil(for example thyme and rosemary). Avoid storing them in places where they can come into contact with water as they will become mouldy when damp.

• Herbs that dislike the cold - these are summery herbs which like being stored in a glass of water(basil, mint,etc.).

• Herbs that enjoy the damp - you can place these herbs(oregano, parsley, chives) in jars and then store them in the fridge for up to two weeks. 

Conclusion

Learning how to store your produce is as important as knowing how to cook it. So take your time to learn what lasts where the longest and you won’t ever have to deal with spoiled fruits and veggies.

Author Bio: Desiree Thomson is a gardening and landscaping expert working at Alyssa’s garden maintenance company. When she’s not running around in her back garden, she can be seen blogging for various online outlets or fixated on decluttering her house.