Following a busy Christmas, is your house now cluttered with every plastic toy under the sun? A drum kit from ‘Santa’? Or tons of new reading material for your little bookworm? If you answered yes to any of these questions, chances are you run a busy family home.
With 2022 in full swing, we thought we would give you some New Year encouragement so that you can keep your home clean (most of the time) and your mind sane this year! Read on for our top family storage tips…
Start with the big New Year clear out…
Do you have a toy box in every room of the house? When was the last time the toys at the bottom of them were actually played with? It’s time to get rid… or start a toy rotation, a great way to ensure that your children don’t get bored of the toys they have and it opens up some space for their new toys too.
It may be more productive to do this job in peace, or you could try to get your children involved. Be warned though, they will probably try to argue that they play with every toy in the house!
It’s not just the toys that deserve some culling, when was the last time you sorted their wardrobes out?
Honestly, once you’ve done this you will feel much better for it!
Find a home for some unwanted toys
Now you’ve categorized your kids belongings into ‘keep’ and ‘go’, you need to find a new home for the toys. Here are some of our top tips:
- Take them to a charity shop – throughout the Covid 19 pandemic many charity shops stopped accepting donations due to the risk involved, however, most charity shops now have new processes in place to accept donations, so head on over to your local!
- Visit a toy library – a quick Google will tell you where you can find your nearest toy library, it’s a great way for the toys to receive some new love!
- Give to a friend or family member expecting a new addition
- Sell your secondhand toys and clothes – use apps like Depop or Vinted
- Hide them away in the loft – if you’re planning on having more children and don’t want to get rid of toys, store them away in the loft.
Top tip: Vacuum packing clothes saves even more space!
Create more ‘at home’ storage areas
Like everyone, the space in our home is valuable and a clutter-free home = a clutter-free mind, so if you’re sparse of space, be inventive!
- Wall storage – By removing some of your decorative shelves, you can replace them with some new wall storage units; you can find some really aesthetically pleasing ones nowadays so have a browse online and see what you can find.
- Bed storage – if you are currently housing a zero storage bed you’re missing a trick. There are many good value storage beds available on the market with nifty secret compartments and sections.
- Seating storage – swap out your standard dining chairs for bench seating which allows for storage underneath.
Hire a storage unit
If you have exhausted all your options in your home and you quite literally have no space left, then why not opt for a storage unit at Hogleaze Storage? Units start from 25 sqft right up to 150 + sqft so you definitely won’t be short of space then!
When packing your storage unit, we would advise that you follow a few of our tips:
- Box everything
- Label well
- Start at the back with the items you are unlikely to need to access
- Store upwards too (just ensure nothing will topple!)
- Create a mini alleyway in the middle of your unit so you can access everything
Take some time for yourself
Running the home isn’t easy and can sometimes feel neverending and monotonous, especially if you spend a lot of time at home.
Taking some time for yourself is as important as keeping the house in order and gives you a break too.
Organise and clear our your own ‘stuff’ too
Now you’ve spent all this time clearing out your kids’ toys, have you actually looked at your own cupboards? The likelihood is that you’ve been hoarding a few things around your home that, quite frankly, don’t need to stick around into 2022. Whether it’s an extra wardrobe full of clothes you haven’t worn in 5 years, or that Peloton bike you bought as an impulse lockdown purchase that has been collecting dust for almost 2 years… be brutal!
Put a tidying rota in place
This may sound a little OTT but we’re not saying it needs to be stuck to the fridge or pinned to the wall. It can even happen just by changing your mindset around tidying. A little bit each day rather than saving up your chores for a single day after a week can stop that overwhelming feeling.
Teach your little ones the importance of helping out
It shouldn’t all fall on your shoulders and getting your kids involved can be enjoyable if they don’t see it as so much of a chore, it’s also important they know why clearing and tidying is necessary. Make it into a game or competitive challenge and reward them afterwards… we found a handy article here that may help.
Get in contact with Hogleaze Storage
Hopefully, this article has inspired you to get your home in order during the next couple of months, but if you are opting for a storage unit in Dorchester or Weymouth we would be happy to discuss our prices and availability.
You can call us on 01305 889777 for Dorchester storage or on 01305 830000 for Weymouth storage, alternatively email us on info@hogleazestorage.co.uk.