Getting your house in order and neatly organized is a necessary all things house that make a home activity.
Real life calls this week (the nerve), so in order to not leave you all without a post this week today’s post is a refreshed read for the new year.
We accumulate scads of stuff in a 365 day period, and organizing it all can be quite the task.
The upside to this sometimes dreaded, always necessary task is decorative storage solutions.
Putting the spaces and the places in your home on a diet will help to get the job done.
Declutter
Declutter by definition is removing unnecessary items from an untidy or overcrowded place.
Decluttering is a physical and mental activity.
You stretch, you reach, you bend, you lift, you give thought to.
When you live in a clutter free (or greatly reduced) environment, you can find things easier. You can get from point A to point B without having to negotiate an obstacle course of stuff.
Decluttering restores order, reduces stress and anxiety, and gives instant visual results.
If you haven’t used or admired it or over the last year, the time is now to part ways with it
If you haven’t used, admired, or simply lost that loving feeling for a particular item, the time is now to part ways with it.
Of course, exceptions to this suggestion exist.
Family heirlooms, inherited collections, and items steeped in sentimental value, but not your present day décor choices, may better fit your décor tucked away in a keepsake storage box-container.
Edit
Editing allows you to clear the canvas so you can see the space in a new light.
Taking away from often adds to the flow of a space and promotes a comprehensive appearance.
Transferring from Within
Transferring furnishings and décor accessories from one room to another puts a new spin on things.
Groupings with the emphasis placed on cohesiveness will balance the scale of the room.
Absolutely play with the look.
Give thought to placement; mixing and mingling about the space furnishings and accents at first glance may not seem to play beautifully together. Some of the best looks I’ve ever put together began just this way.
If the look doesn’t work your keen eye will know it.
As smart and savvy ideas for decorative storage solutions go, baskets, boxes, compartmentalized organizers, racks, and dividers continue to lead the way in stylish options for honing our home storage and organizational skills.
Antique armoires, sideboards, cupboard cabinets, new or vintage display cases, bookcases, crates, and trunks make great housing for just about everything we need and use while feathering our nest.
Rustic Country French Armoire Made in Italy
Antique Hand Paint Decorated Wardrobe Armoire
French Provincial Louis XV Style Fruitwood Armoire
House & Garden – Photography by Paul Massey
Tracking in the outdoors wreaks havoc on our floors, rugs, and carpets. Stopping tracked in stuff in its tracks may not be completely doable, but what you can do is mitigate the problem by having decorative storage solutions utilized in entryways and mudrooms to house, store, and organize at the ready.
There’s a place for everything, and built in cubbies allow organized storage housing for shoes, backpacks, pet leashes and the like.
House & Home- Photography by Sarah Shields
Hooks strategically hung hold coats, jackets, hats, sweaters, and raincoats.
House & Home – Photography by John Gruen
Containers, tubs, and baskets for umbrellas, shoes, boots, and seasonal gear.
Wicker Narrow Umbrella Stand Freestanding Tall Basket
Tyler Square Tall Tote Basket with Handles
Trunks, chests, benches, and coffee tables make excellent 2-for-1 storage options.
Blankets and quilts in all their warm, cozy, and thick wonder take up a lot of valuable real estate in the linen closet.
Enter the blanket chest- the perfect storage solution and gorgeous addition to any space.
Laguna Point Natural Tan Wicker Outdoor Patio Storage Coffee Table
Wyndenhall Hampshire Solid Wood Traditional Entryway Storage Bench
Back in our flipping days, Dave the Builder thought I had lost my mind when I campaigned for converting small, basic utilitarian spaces such as side porches, nondescript alcoves, or even a bedroom into a large closet.
Most of the houses built in the 30s-40s-50s did not offer adequate closet space, especially by modern day standards.
Storage space is a hot commodity, as witnessed by the in demand designer closet suites of today.
Veranda- Photography Melanie Acevedo
Seaton Round Woven Storage Baskets with Lids Set of 3
Set of 3 Rectangular Seagrass Baskets with Lids by Trademark Innovations
Stack, store, and display decor need not be plain, boring, or lacking in decorative oomph.
Household Essentials® Collapsible Storage Boxes with Lids in Orange (Set of 2)
Small decorative plates, bone dishes, seashells by the seashore all make great jewelry holders.
Pick them up at discount-home-resale-antiques stores, sites, and garage sales and scatter them about vanity-table-counter tops to holder everything from earrings to bracelets to eyeglass/readers.
The Pioneer Woman Jade Salad Plate
Photo by Kathleen Jacobson, The Couture Closet
Modern Mudroom Polypropylene Storage in Orange
Pack away memories, photos, papers, collectibles, ties, socks, dress shirts, etc…
Black Memory Box by Simply Tidy™
11″ Small Coiled Rope Warm Gray Charcoal – Brightroom™
Copper & Mocha Woven Kiva Storage Bins
Versatile and affordable, collapsible fabric storage cubes suit your storage needs in an array of sizes and designs.
Mainstays Collapsible Fabric Cube Storage Bin- Rustic Wood
Kimberley Harrison Interior Design
Carbon Loft Lochhead Vintage Decorative Suitcase (Set of 3)
Area rugs may not immediately come to mind when considering decorative storage solutions, but certainly qualify as an excellent choice of prominent décor accent to complement.
Carson Carrington Ytlings Animal Grey Area Rug
Aria 2 Door Modern High Gloss Wardrobe Armoire
Dry Oak Wood 18-shelf Standard Bookcase with Adjustable Shelves
Antique Arts & Crafts Quarter Sawn Oak Glass Front Triple Bookcase, Circa 1900
The Gray Barn Combe Magna Wood China Cabinet in Weathered Barley
Wood and Glass Tall Cabinet – Threshold™ designed with Studio McGee
Alternatives open up a world of decorative options.
Silver Trimmed Faux Leather Lockable Square Lined Storage Trunk
SAFAVIEH Sidonie Dark Natural Rattan Storage Trunk
Industrial in style.
Fabulous in color choice.
These decorative storage solutions report for two for one duty as home décor pieces and smart storage options.
Red Metal 5-shelf Cart Bookcase with Adjustable Shelves
Vintage Churchill Hats Hat Box
Mix and mingle your choice of decorative storage solutions throughout the space to broaden the style perimeters and achieve a custom layered effect.
American Art Decor Large Storage Crate with Wheels
Storage Basket with Lid
Round Wooden Box
Wire Round Basket Copper Handle with Mesh Bottom Pewter
Large Wire Basket in Gold
Metal Storage Basket
Extra Large Round Wire Decorative Storage Bin with Handles Copper
Mainstays Medium Round Wire Copper Basket – 4 Pack
A-tisket, a-tasket
How stinking cute is this mushroom basket!
Vintage Style Multi-colored Wood Book-Shaped Storage Boxes, Set of 6
Unique vintage boxes, a spot dish, or Toby mug becomes a handsome alternative to the customary dresser tray as a holder for cuff links, change, keys, phone, jewelry, or sunglasses.
Vintage Italian Florentine Gilded Box
Antique Victorian Inlaid Wooden Jewelry Box
Beefeater Toby Mug Royal Doulton
Items that make one pretty look polished and organized when housed in vintage silver tea set pieces.
1900s Silver Sugar Bowl Claw Foot Etched Flowers
Antique Webster & Son Silver Plated Fancy 2 Handle Sugar Bowl
Desktop solutions.
As much as I love receiving greeting cards through the USPS/snail mail, they do tend to stack up.
Woven baskets, bins, and decorative trays solve the problem, free up valuable desktop space, and look smashing.
Gray Washed Woven Willow Storage Basket
Dark Brown Maize Decorative Basket
Blue and White Lidded Rice Jar Floral Motif
Organizing in style doesn’t stop at the desktop.
Recyclable Sierra Clear Plastic Drawer and Shelf Organizer Tray
Open, under, over or behind doors- shelves hold the key to clever storage solution success.
Vintage Large Wicker Basket with Lid
Antique Shoppes At 1100 Barksdale
Vintage pitchers, tins, containers, and crocks make a charming choice of housing for kitchen utensils.
Steel Cookware Stand w/ 6 Shelves
Once upon a time function and style was an either/or situation.
Fortunately, designers and retailers got the memo, and the decorative storage solutions in today’s market offer both.
Anchor Hocking Glass Storage Heritage Hill Jar, 1 Gal
Copper Metal Vintage Rolling Laundry Basket with Wheels
Gray Natural Nesting Paper Straw Laundry Baskets with Handles Set of 3
Giving the Dog a Bone
Beau, the wonder Shepherd, loves his afternoon treats.
Each afternoon at promptly 3:00 p.m. he appears at the French doors ready for his afternoon snack.
Anchor Hocking Heritage Hill Jar
The Ziploc bag I presently store the box of bones in gets the job done, but isn’t exactly what one would deem stylish storage solutions.
DII Bone Dry Small Wicker-Like Bone Shape Storage Basket
DII Bone Dry Small Hyacinth Bone Shape Storage Basket
Towels, keys, leashes, coats, backpacks, messenger bags, purses, jewelry, scarves, and robes hang in style on decorative wall hooks.
Decorative storage solutions bring style to the job of getting organized by offering options big on both function and style.
The Kitchn
Hayburn & Co. 
