There is a phrase I frequently use when working with clients: The floor is not a shelf. Shelves are what we use for storing and displaying belongings. In contrast, the floor is primarily for furniture. As with most rules of thumb, there are exceptions. For instance, near your entryway, the floor may also accommodate shoes. Nevertheless, when laying out and organizing a room, it is wise to limit what you keep on the floor. This begs the question, how to proceed when you need to get things off the floor and/or out the door?
We tackled this question at one of our Minimal Quest monthly meetups. At this meeting, in addition to our professional organizer moderators, we also welcomed Alex Modica, the owner of the ShelfGenie franchise in Norwalk, CT. If you don’t know about ShelfGenie, they provide custom, glide-out shelving to improve the efficiency of your storage spaces. You can see some of Alex’s impressive solutions here.
For this session, we decided to talk about two ways to get things off your floor:
- By getting them stored in other locations – “off the floor”
- By moving them out of your space – “out the door”
Alex shared ideas for the first solution, and the organizers shared ideas for the second.
Have I sparked your curiosity? Here is a peak into the session.
Off The Floor
Working with clients for many years, Alex has learned the value of making the most of the space you have for storing items. He used the example of a pantry as he walked through a few guiding principles.
Put like things together
This may seem obvious, but we often miss this step. Putting like things together works both because it gives us a mental link to where “this type of item” is kept. For instance, snacks are in this cabinet. Additionally, like items have similar shapes/sizes, thereby requiring similar storage containers. In a pantry, for instance, this might mean storing boxes with boxes or cans with cans.
Consider weight when selecting storage height.
Generally speaking, you want to put lighter weight things up high and keep heavier items down low. For example, it isn’t ideal to store a slow cooker or heavy kitchen appliance on a high shelf. Getting the item down is ergonomically difficult and potentially dangerous, especially if you need a stool to reach it. Instead, use those tops spaces for lightweight trays, bins of cookie cutters, or other items that can be lifted down easily.
Add storage containers to maximize access.
Many kitchens and closets have spaces that are a bit hard to reach. Picture that lower, corner cabinet or a high, upper cabinet. One of the simplest solutions to these spaces is a lazy susan (a.k.a. turntable). There are many varieties of these available today, from a simple rotating circle to containers with sides and compartments.
When using a storage container that spins like this, bear in mind that centrifugal force can cause tiny and lightweight items to shift around or even fall off. Generally, these work best for pieces with a bit of weight. For example, a stack of mixing bowls would be better than a tower of plastic cups. I often use lazy susans to hold bottles of cooking oils and vinegars.
Use containers to hold small items.
Many people have closets, pantries, and cabinets with large, gaping spaces. Adding containers helps keep small items corralled from sloshing around.
When selecting containers, match the scale of the container to the size of the item you are storing. For instance, a large, rolling bin might be perfect to hold pet kibble, a divided shelf bin is ideal for snack bars or yogurt pouches, and a container with adjustable sections can be great for food storage lids.
Always be open to adding containers. You may find these handy in a refrigerator or freezer as well!
Considering taking items out of their original packaging to maximize your storage space.
Packaging is designed to protect items while they are in transit and to promote the sale of items when they are displayed in a store. Sometimes the original packaging works well as a storage container, such as the 12-pack soda cans box that can be set on a shelf with the top corner removed.
However, be mindful of unnecessary space that packaging can claim. The extra space and padding needing to protect something on a truck isn’t needed in your home. The same is true for the shrink wrap around bulk items. It is often easier to “decant” items from original packaging in a way that makes accessing them quicker and more efficient.
I would add, if you do maintain the original packaging, remember to fully remove tear strips and flaps to reduce bulk.
Keep the most frequently used items in the most easily accessible spaces.
Often, we mindlessly allocate our most convenient storage locations (e.g., the eye-level shelf of the center/top drawer) to things that we rarely use. This is a waste! Some call this “prime real estate,” and you don’t want to waste it on stuff that is seasonal, archival, or seldom needed.
Take a careful look at what you can reach without much effort and mindfully prioritize using these spaces for the stuff you touch every day.
Out The Door
After Alex talked about getting items up off the floor, the organizers took turns with ideas for how to get unwanted things out the door. After all, you don’t want to waste time organizing things that you could (and maybe should) be shedding.
I shared four tips for how to help you get things out the door.
Establish a donation station
This is a place where you collect anything your family no longer wants that is still good enough to be used by someone else. Having this designated location pre-established makes it easy for family members to let go.
Familiarize yourself with the options available at your local transfer station.
Knowing how to recycle options makes getting items out the door a lot easier. If you are lucky enough to live in a town with a local transfer station (aka “dump”), you likely have a plethora of resources nearby. Checking to explore your options might prompt you to finally get rid of something you’ve kept because you were at a loss of how to safely dispose of it. Here in Darien, CT, for example, we can recycle everything from electronics to paint to food scraps.
Schedule a time to take items to your favorite charity.
One of my favorite phrases is, “What gets scheduled, gets done.” If you keep by-passing a pile of stuff that you are “meaning to donate,” or if you’ve been driving around with a bag of donations in your car for three months, you need to give yourself a bit of a push. Don’t think you will just “remember” or “find time” to do this.
Make an appointment with yourself in your calendar to actually get your donations to their final destination. Checking which days and hours your charity accepts donations can help you pick a good time.
Schedule a pickup by a charity or trash hauler.
Periodically, even if we are ready, we simply cannot get stuff out the door by ourselves. Maybe things are heavy, or maybe our work schedule doesn’t align with a charity’s drop-off hours. Fortunately, there are alternatives.
For donations, consider scheduling a pickup. There are a couple of organizations that will pick up your gently used items at your home.
For trash, sometimes the quickest and most efficient next step is to hire a junk hauler. Today’s haulers are not only strong and capable, but many of them are also quite environmentally friendly.
Next up was Susan Lovallo of Clutter Solutions LLC, who shared ideas for how to combat those excuses that might be holding you back from moving things out the door. “Try and catch your thought that may be keeping you stuck,” Susan suggested. “Look afresh at your belongings, because there are many good reasons for letting go.”
Susan then went through some of her own belongings and talked about why she had made the decision to get rid of them. Some reasons that you, like Susan, may have include:
- You realize that you just never use something. You thought you would, but in reality, you don’t.
- You don’t really need the souvenir from a trip or job anymore. You won’t forget the experience, so if you don’t love the item, it can go.
- You have a newer, better, or more preferable item that you would rather use, such as a new frame for a favorite picture.
- You realize you bought a new item, but then also kept the old one you replaced it with. You don’t need two, so you can let the old one go.
- You purchased an item for a specific purpose, but it no longer serves your need. For instance, a fancy clutch handbag that is not big enough to hold your new, larger cell phone.
- Your tastes have changed. You used to like it, but you no longer do.
- You have something you enjoyed making, but don’t actually love the result, such as a craft or item from a sip-and-paint night. Sometimes the joy in simply in the making.
* * *
Floorspace is a limited – and valuable – commodity. If you doubt me, just hop on a real estate website and check out the average price per square foot these days. Getting items off the floor and/or out the door is worth the effort.
Do you have something clogging your floors right now?
I love your clever mantra to “get things off the door and/or out the door.” Many homes have unused or under-utilized but available storage space. Hiring a professional organizer to help identify and maximize the potential storage pockets can be an excellent investment.
I often see things waiting to exit. The individual has done the most challenging part, which is choosing to let things go. Yet, those ‘outtakes’ can sit and sit and SIT. As you mentioned, scheduling a pick-up from a donation center works well. Another way to use the deadline as an incentive is to schedule a party or invite guests over. Getting the house guest-ready often involves clearing space and releasing things ready to go (like those bags and boxes of donations).
It’s so true, Linda. Knowing that other people will be coming into your house is a great way to light that fire underneath ourselves. It sounds silly, but it is true. I definitely snap thing into extra-good order when people will be visiting or attending a party at my house! Hey, use whatever works, right?
Off the floor especially is important to my clients with ADHD. When there is not a path and the items are on the floor, there can be complete disintegration of the system in that space. Things block putting away items, items on the floor are damaged and there is a feeling of shame, remorse and paralysis. Fortunately, there are ways to prevent this. A well-placed chair can hold clothes before hanging. A small table can hold items as a station before putting groceries away. I love the guiding principles you are sharing here.
What you are touching on is establishing a system as we work to get things where they need to be. Maybe we can’t clear the floor immediately, but we can get them to places that are “one step closer” to a storage location, without blocking the path of travel. It’s very important for safety, and as you can point out, also to empower us and remove visual voices of shame.
This is so true! I saw this so often when I consulted with clients. I love your quote! I would tell people that the items on the floor are incomplete actions. If you want to get rid of clutter, start with the incomplete actions. Thanks for sharing your process with clients.
That’s a great phrase, Sabrina. I might borrow that when I see a “floor full” of items… “let’s start with the incomplete actions!”
Wow! This is something I am really working hard on with 3 of my current clients. With two of them there is simply too much stuff because of over-buying and one of them is working on clearing a home of his mother who has been ill for years. All three will let some things “go out the door” and to expedite that I often take the things myself to drop off at a donation site. Working on storage solutions for the first two for all that they plan on keeping is my headache.
We always seem to want to keep more than we actually have space for. It’s a struggle. It is a mindset shift to assign equal value to the space as we do to the objects! Good luck with these tough challenges. Your clients are lucky to have you.
One of my favorite mantras that I share with clients is ‘the floor is not an option’. Floor space is precious and when it gets clogged things get lost and tripping hazards come into play.
I am a big fan of ShelfGenie. Their solutions for storage are often truly unique.
I also agree with your thought about scheduling. If something isn’t on a schedule, it probably won’t happen.
I know this is so true for me personally. If it isn’t on my schedule, I’m probably going to either forget or avoid it.
ShelfGenie does amazing things. It isn’t cheap, but for space we use often, it can make a huge difference!
Being pet owners, we keep very little on the floor, but your post reminded me of a mother who gave her teenage daughter, who was a bit of a slob, a coat tree for her bedroom. When the daughter asked how it worked, the mother said “It’s like the floor, only vertical.”
Okay, that’s hilarious! Thanks so much for sharing. I love this story!!
OMG, I’m stealing this to share with clients!
Too funny!
I love the phrase “Off the Floor and Out the Door”. It works so well to remember what the objective is when decluttering. It puts a nice spin on the work.
You have such great ideas in this post for how and why to contain the clutter in a home.
Gotta love a catchy title, right Janet?
I shriek inside when a client says “just out it in that corner” as they point to a spot on the floor. I then gently remind them the floor is not storage. Plus it attracts clutter. I love how you articulated everything so nicely in this post. Sharing now. Thank you!
Floor is not storage! At least not long-term storage. It becomes a habit to keep things on the floor, though, so good to be mindful when putting things there.
I love how your “Off the Floor and Out the Door” is a cousin of my own approach.
I tell my clients that I’m about to give them the secret sauce for reducing clutter, and warn them that it sounds potty-mouthed, but isn’t. It’s “The F Rule: the Floor is for FEET, FURNITURE, FANNIES…and FURRY FRIENDS.” If it doesn’t fall into one of those categories (and I guess shoes count as feet-adjacent), it doesn’t go on the floor. It’s so easy and tempting to put things on the floor “just for now” but that’s too far below your sight line and it’ll just stay there.
I appreciate all the ways you approach different storage options, from Lazy Susans (who aren’t lazy at all) to all those storage bin options. (When I hear “Kibble” I immediately shout “Kibbles and Bits.” I think I watch too many commercials.) And yes, OMG, get rid of all that packaging!
Your Minimal Quest meetings sound so productive and wise! Thank you for sharing it all with readers!
I can hear the “Kibbles and Bits” running through my head right now. I think it is our generation, Julie. Not only a lot of commercials, but we all watched the same ones. 🙂
Loving your “F Rule.” That’s a great way to remember what should, and shouldn’t, be kept on the floor. I suppose toys for the furries need to be floor-level, but I still like putting them in a basket.
I enjoyed Janet Barclay’s comment too and your catchy title. I personally find it hard to bend over and get things off the floor so that motivates me to hang things up and put things on shelves. Many of my clients I think put things on the floor intentionally or ” just for a moment” because they don’t know where to store it or can’t remember where to store it. I find that putting it away takes less time than dropping it, picking it up and putting it away. It is easier on my hamstrings too.
I’m hearing you on the reaching for things on the floor. I do a lot of exercise to strength that posterior chain because I do so much lifting from the floor. Better to have things up where we can both see and reach them!
the floor is storage, tho-free storage. 😉 utilizing it is smart.