Shop for furniture today and you’ll see many eye-catching designs of simple, clean lines. Imagine, if you will, the many beautiful desks that are really just a table with a drawer over your lap. They are simple, clean and uncluttered.

 

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That’s only in the store!

 

Come home with that simple, clean desk and you soon have chaos. While we’d like to be a paperless society, very few of us can manage such a thing. Your new clean desk will soon abound with stacks of bills, mail, projects, files and office supplies. It’s not that you’ve suddenly become messy but rather that you’ve purchased a desk without any file drawers or other compartments to hold everything from staples to printer paper to stamps. Where is it all going to go?

 

When furniture shopping, keep storage and organization in mind. If you like a simple, clean design, then you are going to hate it cluttered with things. Make sure to choose pieces that will hold and organize the things you own. You can still choose clean lines and simple appealing designs – just make sure they have shelves and/or drawers that you can use.

 

You’ll find the same non-storage trend in nightstands. A beautiful wood table top accompanied by artistic legs is lovely to look at but impossible to organize. Without a drawer or lower shelf, the nightstand is soon covered in a collection of needed items from lip balm to reading glasses to eye masks and piles of reading material. Not only that, most people could use the extra storage space in a nightstand with drawers to hold socks, underwear, pajamas and the like.

 

When organizing a small space, make sure to choose furniture that can do double duty. It is functional not only in place as furniture but as it provides household storage. Choosing pieces that provide storage, in a larger home, also helps the homeowner stay organized and rooms remain looking spacious.

 

Here are some ideas for maximizing storage with furniture:

• Storage is not always drawers or closed cupboards. You can use baskets to create beautiful storage on open shelving.
• Ottomans are available that provide hidden storage when you lift the seat. This is a great place for reading material, video game controllers, cards and board games and the like.
• Choosing a trunk for a coffee table is a neat idea for placing in front of a sleeper sofa. It gives you plenty of space to store pillows, blankets and bedding for the sofa.
• Benches are a great look at the end of a bed and provide a space to put on shoes. Choose a bench that has hidden storage or has cubbies.
  
• Decorative baskets and containers can hold purses, shoes, socks and accessories out of sight.
• Sofa and chair side tables again provide an opportunity to bump up your storage. If you shop with storage in mind, you can find some that will hold your extra serving platters and glasses for entertaining and no one will ever know the difference.
• In the foyer, a painted or refinished dresser or secretary desk can make a beautiful statement when dressed with a lamp, piece of art and accessories. Inside the lower drawers, place table linens, napkins, serving utensils and seasonal decorations. In the top drawer, place gloves, extra keys, dog leashes and anything else that often goes out the front door with you.
  

 

About Lea Schneider

Professional Organizer Lea Schneider’s organizing advice has appeared in Woman’s Day, Natural Health and Better Homes and Gardens Kids’ Rooms magazines. She is the Grand Prize Winner of the Rolodex Office Makeover Challenge. Her team of professional organizers, at Organize Right Now, provides organizing assistance through her Organize Online program. She is the author of Growing Up Organized: A Mom-to-Mom Guide. Learn more at www.organizerightnow.com.