Storage cabinets are the forgotten little brother in comparison to real closet storage. Although they seem to play second fiddle, when it comes to your organization scheme as a whole, storage cabinets serve a valuable role in keeping each room in your house organized.
Storage cabinets come in many different forms, and also in many different sizes. Even though you are limited with your built-in storage space, it does not mean that you must suffer without any storage space of any kind. Cabinets can be built-in, but if you are short on built in closet space, chances are there are few storage cabinets available in your house either. Any size of cabinet will work for storage purposes, from a blanket box used as a side table in the spare bedroom, to a large oversize armoire used as an extra clothes closet in your bedroom.
The first thing you should realize is that the contents of a storage cabinet shouldn’t stagnate. I storage cabinet is not a place to store junk you no longer use. This is the biggest and most common misuse of cabinets. People end up storing older belongings they no longer use regularly and these items sit in the cabinets taking up valuable space for years. Every storage cabinet should be emptied at least once per year. Anything that hasn’t been touched in a year should be given to the charity shop.
In my experience, bathroom cabinets are one of the worst offenders when it comes to wasted cabinet space. This is not to say that your medicine cabinet and vanity drawers are empty, quite the opposite. Leaving cabinets chock-full of expired, outdated and unusable medicines and half empty shampoo samples, and old razor handles for which you can no longer find blades, is storage sacrilege. One trick I like to use is to leave everything on the counter that I used over the course of a week or two. This makes it much easier to identify the essentials and figure out what you can really get rid of without missing. Don’t even think about the prescriptions and medications - get rid of anything which has expired, and replace the most important items such as Ibuprofen and allergy medications.
If you are one of those unlucky people to be cursed with a house or apartment with no built-in closet space, you understand the necessity in finding alternative storage. This is the perfect opportunity to use storage cabinets, in any one of several sizes and styles, to not only add extra room to put your belongings, but also to decorate your house. Furniture items such as shelves, wardrobes and trunks can be found in any style of decor you want, and are the perfect opportunity for you to add some lovely accent pieces to your home.
Storage systems are not always the first things that come to mind when you think of a happy home, but don’t dismiss the peaceful and calming effect that a well-organized non-hectic home can effect. Remember, an organized house is a happy house, and if you lack closet storage, then cabinet storage may be just the thing to end your storage dilemmas.