Home Storage Solutions
From the garage to the office to closets that won't even shut, all the clutter in Felicia and Jim's house is pushing them out! They can't even park their cars in the garage because of all the floor-to-ceiling junk. "We're drowning in all this clutter," says Felicia. "We have just used every last inch of space in our home. There is no room left for anything."
Like Jim and Felicia, you've probably got storage space you don't even know about! Rachael's buddy Kristan Cunningham uncovers new space and hels them get organized.
Kristan helps Felicia and Jim resurface from the clutter with four easy solutions:
• Think vertical. "The top of kitchen cabinets, armoires and entertainment centers can be an ideal place to store your stuff. Just put items in decorative boxes and baskets so it's not all hanging out," says Kristan. "You could be wasting up to a quarter of your room if you ignore the vertical space."
• Hang it up. Kristan believes most people don't make use of the wall space in their rooms: "Hang up hooks for clothing, bikes, keys and sporting equipment -- basically anything that will stay up with the help of some hardware."
• Build in. By building storage into a wall, you can add anywhere from five inches to a foot of extra space. Kristan's tip: "Just make sure you don't build into a wall that houses the electrical wires!"
• Throw it out. If you can't use it, lose it.
Special thanks to 1-800-GOT-JUNK and Mr. Handyman.
Think you can't get your home looking as organized? Think again! Kristan has three more storage solutions you can use to take control of your clutter.
You may not have an attic or basement, but rest assured you can still create a place to store your stuff. "I used this Racor overhead storage unit in Felicia and Jim's garage, and it's easy to use, creates a lot of space, and isn't expensive," says Kristan. Rachael agrees looking at what it does for the clutter in the show set's garage: "It's like creating your own attic space, without the hassle of a ladder to climb."
"Beds are the prefect place to create more storage because you can hide things under them. Build or buy a platform bed with built-in storage solutions, or make your own using bed risers," says Kristan. "Bed risers are cheap, easy and allow you to stack up to two levels of containers. You could house your entire winter wardrobe under there."
How many times do you end up tripping over your pet's bulky bed? "They can look unsightly sitting in the middle of an otherwise organized bedroom or living room," says Kristan, who suggests a Pet Murphy Bed. "It allows you to simply flip the bed up-and-down. When it's closed you can use the top of the cabinet for vertical storage."



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