It seems counter-intuitive, but containers are actually one of the most common types of clutter. According to Karen Kingston, author of Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui, "empty box energy" will drain the vitality from your home. To avoid a bunch of empty boxes and mismatched containers, we've rounded up a few tips for storage shopping...
- Don't buy anything until you've determined what you need to store and how you're going to store it. Before you decide to put it in storage, give yourself the option of letting it go. You may find that you're able to declutter more than you thought.
- Make a list and take it with you to the store. Don't cave into impulse buys - they may seem practical at the time, but they'll probably end up adding to your clutter.
- Shop for sets in the same size. This will allow you to stack boxes and containers, maximizing your available space. Sets also look good out in the open, while a hodge-podge of boxes will seem disorganized.
- Account for labels when you buy something by making sure whatever you're buying has a neat and clear spot for a tag. Otherwise, you'll have a hard time finding your stuff once you've stored it.
Give us your additional storage shopping tips in the comments below.
(Photo: Kasset Boxes from IKEA)
Did the Kassett box come in red at one time, or are those boxes actually orange?
view jancola's profile
it came in red once, and there even was a wonderful time when there were A4 sized boxes half the height of the ones they sell now. much better for finding things.... *sigh*
view prue's profile
i love my storage boxes but since i bought them all at different times, now i have three different colors (black, light brown and a dark brown). it sort of bothers me when i look at my office and how it just doesn't coordinate. so i agree with the concept of not buying anything first and make a list. now i'm stuck. i always wondered if i could paint them to match but i'm afraid i'll just ruin them. oh well...
view smileygirl's profile
I bought the red Kassett boxes at the Woodbridge, VA Ikea about a month ago, though they are no longer on the website some stores may still have them.
these really look great in person, esp. for the modest price. They fit so perfectly on Billy shelves.
view ec05's profile
I have four of the larger boxes 2 each under my beside tables to stash odds and ends like Christmas cards and such. I got them from a dear friend who passed away not quite a year ago and one was assembled, the others were still in their plastic bags.
But I agree, when you know what you need, best to get them in all one color or coordinating colors so you can have blocks of red, blocks of black etc to add variety, but also to help unify stuff and also helps if they coordinate w/ the room's decor, so much the better.
view ciddyguy's profile
smileygirl, try covering them with fabric or decorative paper? I've always gravitated towards the fabric covered boxes similar to these from Ikea, but the fabric covered are always at a more expensive home store and don't have the nicest price point. Buy a few yards of a nice raw linen and glue it onto the boxes!
view Nolann's profile
thanks nolann for the tip. i'll keep that in mind. so i'm in need of some help now with the boxes ... i ended up buying some new ones but the ones i really wanted are now discontinued. it's hard to find the right shade. so i have like a taupe/brown one and bought some new light brown, dark brown and white boxes. out of those colors, which ones are the best to match the taupe/brown ones??
view smileygirl's profile