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Tidying Up the Utility Closet is Simple with
These Organization Tips
Maintaining the area of your home that houses cleaning supplies, the vacuum cleaner, brooms, extra light bulbs, and other odds and ends can be a challenge. Utility closets are notoriously difficult to keep tidy as you need access to the items stored in them almost daily, and it’s difficult to resist the temptation to mindlessly stuff extra cleaning rags and spare vacuum bags into whatever free space you have. Here are some tips for keeping one of your home’s most heavily used closets from becoming a cluttered mess:
- Start with the big stuff. Find homes for the largest items. For most people, that means the vacuum cleaner, brooms, buckets and mops. Make sure those items have a space to live and can easily be pulled out of the closet, since you’ll need access to them regularly.
- Keep stuff off the floor. Stacking things on the floor is a surefire way to make the closet look overwhelming. Plus, when items are stacked, you have the added trouble of bending over to find things and unstacking boxes to find what you need. Try a hanging shoe organizer if your closet has a hanging rod or shelves if it doesn’t. Either a hanging organizer or shelves will give you space to stack cleaning rags, light bulbs, extra cleaning products and other small items that are stored in the utility closet without using any floor space.
- Hang your ironing board. Nothing is more frustrating that having to move your ironing board out of the way every time you open the closet to retrieve something. Easy fix – invest in an ironing board caddy from your local home store. It will allow you to hang the board from the wall and provides space to store your iron and starch bottle as well.
- Compress your extras. Try a Space Bag High Capacity Cube to store your extra towels and cleaning rags. Both items tend to multiply quickly around a busy household, and by storing them in a Space Bag, you can prevent them from taking over your utility closet.
- Create cleaning kits. If you store cleaning supplies in your utility closet, group products that are often used together. For example, you might consider putting all bathroom cleaning supplies together in one bucket along with sponges and cleaning rags. This will allow you to easily reach for whichever “tool kit” you need for the task you’re trying to complete.
- Raid the tool chest. Keep a few garage basics in the closet to avoid having to rummage through the full size tool kit. Phillips and flathead screwdrivers, hammer, picture-hanging hooks, pliers and a small container of paint for touch ups will save you a trip to the garage when it’s time for a quick repair around the house.
Sources: Better Homes and Gardens, bhg.com
