If you are in the market for a new wall unit, bookcase or some other storage device, you know the choices in the stores can be overwhelming. How do you choose? Here are some tips:
1. Never buy the furniture until you have decluttered the room which will hold the furniture. You may have to leave your “keep” pile of stuff on the floor until you have purchased the furniture, but it is better than wasting your money and buying an organizing piece with far more room than you need. Having said that …
2. Make sure the organizing piece you buy has a little extra space. A good rule of thumb is to make sure that when you have all of your belonging on it, 20 percent of the space is left empty for future acquisitions.
3. Consider if you are an “open” storage person or “closed” storage person. “Open” storage people like to see all of their belongings displayed uncovered, such as on a shelf or rack. A “closed” storage person would view this as too cluttered-looking and would prefer to have their belongings hidden away in drawers, bins, baskets or behind cupboard doors.
4. Consider all of the family members who will be using this organizational furniture. If you are a “closed” storage person and your spouse is not, perhaps a mix of open shelves and cabinet doors will work for you both. Children expected to put things away need to be able to open cabinets and/or reach shelves. Avoid deep, heavy drawers on the bottom where little fingers can get smashed.
5. Check to see if the furniture is delivered already assembled or if you will have to assemble some or all of it. Read the fine print!
6. If the furniture is delivered already assembled, make sure it will fit up or down any stairs and around tight corners. Many a home owner has been disappointed to learn that his or her new tall bookcase that perfectly fits the room’s dimensions won’t fit around the hall corner to get into the room!
7. And it probably goes without saying, measure, measure, measure your space before you buy.
Vegetable bin toy box from Land of Nod.
