Where is the Best Place to Keep Belongings?

Wherever you look, there is stuff. In the office, home, car, bags we carry, etc. Have you ever looked around and wondered “where did all this stuff come from?” If so, you are normal. I always say that the first step in organizing is decluttering. After all, we don’t want to waste time organizing what we should be letting go. Nevertheless, organizing is also about establishing “homes” for the items we need, use, and love. Where is the best place to keep belongings? Is there a right or wrong answer?

Let me begin by saying that there is not a single right or wrong storage location for your various things. Each person and each living/working situation is unique. The “right” storage spaces are the ones that work well for you.

That said, there are some typical solutions that many people find effective. In fact, I did a monthlong Youtube on this a couple of years ago. Watching these videos may provide a “leaping off” point for organizing your things.

Beyond these suggestions, you may find it helpful to keep a couple of guidelines in mind as you assign homes for the things you own.

#1 Be clear on why you are keeping each item.

Knowing the “why” of an item always helps us figure out the “where.” For instance, if you are keeping a sweatshirt because you love how it feels and wear it all the time, it should go in an accessible drawer or on an easy to reach shelf. However, if you are keeping a sweatshirt because it has sentimental value, even though you will never actually wear it, it can be kept in a memorabilia bin in a remote location.

#2 Make storage as easy to use as possible.

For those items you regularly use, you want storage to be simple. It doesn’t take much to deter the vast majority of people (including organized people!) from putting things away. We resist putting things away if the process feels in any way cumbersome. For instance:

• Into boxes that have lids that are difficult to remove
• Into a box that sits at the bottom of a stack of boxes we need to set aside
• Into a drawer or closet that is so full it is hard to fit anything inside
• Onto a shelf that is higher than we can reach without a stool
• To a storage location that is unpleasant to enter, such as a frigid garage or steamy attic.
• To a storage space that requires going upstairs, downstairs, outside, across the yard, etc.

These are just a few examples. The point is, if it isn’t easy to put away, we are likely to avoid doing so, especially if we aren’t naturally bothered by visual clutter. If we want to encourage ourselves to put things away, we want that process to take as little time and effort as possible; we want to make it as easy as it would be to toss it randomly on the nearest surface.

#3 Consider how often you use it.

Organizers frequently call the most convenient storage and productivity zones your “prime real estate.” For example:

• The top of your desk
• Your kitchen countertop
• Drawers that are at waist-level
• Shelves that sit at eye-level
• The center of your closet when you open the door or walk in.

You want to put your most regularly used items in these convenient locations. Likewise, the less frequently you use something, the more remote it can be. This means that the utensils you use to cook each night should be in the top drawer near the stove, while the birthday candles you use once a year can be placed in a box that lives on a high cabinet shelf.

#4 Remember seasonality.

How often we use specific possessions may vary over the course of a year. This particularly impacts items that we keep in entryways, mudrooms, garages, and/or hall closets.

For instance, in the summer we may want to store things like swim goggles, cleats, sunscreen, and bug spray in the mudroom, while in the winter we may want to use this area for storing scarves, mittens, hand-warmers, and snow pants. Similarly, in the summer, we might wish to allocate space in the garage for bikes, outdoor toys, camp chairs, and gardening equipment, while in the winter we want to prioritize the easy-to-reach garage space for snow shovels, ice melt, sleds, etc.

Many people do a “seasonal switch” of their clothing as well. In-season garments go into the drawers and primary closet, while out of season clothing can go to a cedar closet, in a bin under the bed, or to storage containers in an attic. (Read more about properly storing clothing here.)

#5 Store things as close as possible to where they are used.

Most people are more likely to put things away if they don’t have to walk too far to do so. We can use this truth as a jumping off point when deciding where to keep things. For instance, in the kitchen, you want to put your silverware drawer as close as possible to the dishwasher. Table linens can be kept in a cabinet or drawer near the dining surface. Coffee mugs are nice to keep near the coffee pot.

This same concept applies all over the house. For example, hampers are best placed near where family members are undressing. Games can be stored near the location where the family plays them. Homework supplies can be kept close to where children sit and work. Reusable shopping bags can be kept in the car.

Additionally, we seem to create trash all over the place, so I’m a fan of trashcans. Put them in as many spaces as possible. A child is unlikely to carry trash from his/her bedroom to another room just to throw it away.

#6 Separate the “active” from the “bulk” supplies.

Many of us are purchasing supplies in bulk these days. This is smart from a cost perspective, but it can clog up storage spaces. The best practice is to keep 1 of what you need in the active location (e.g., one roll of paper towel in the kitchen, one bottle of dish soap under the sink, one highlighter in your pen cup, one box of zip-top bags in your pantry), and then store the rest of the bulk purchase in a “supply” location.

Overflow can be stored on shelving in the garage, in a designated closet, on a rack in the basement, etc. Many families find it helpful to have a “school supplies” location for extra binders, notebook paper, thumb drives, pencils, etc. When my kids were growing up, we used a dresser in the hallway for all of these things.

#7 Consider the user.

If you are establishing homes for items that others will need to access, you want to be mindful of what they can (and cannot) reach. This is especially true for:

• Children
• Seniors
• Individuals with mobility challenges

I’ve literally asked clients to stand in the kitchen and reach up, and then adjusted the shelves in the cabinets so they can maximize their use of that space. The same principle applies for people who are left-handed. Again, any storage location that is physically difficult to access is likely to be abandoned.

Additionally, you want to create storage systems that are reasonable. A teenager, to whom the state of his room is low on the priority list, is unlikely to file fold his shirts and line them up in a drawer. Little ones rarely enjoy sorting Legos™ by type and would rather toss them into one big bin. Many (most?) adults would rather hang coats on a hook than a hanger.

Admittedly, some rules must apply, such as “no clothing on the floor” or “we reset the playroom once a day,” but generally speaking, good is better than perfect. What is considered acceptable is negotiable and will differ by household.

#8 Go with your gut.

One of the simplest ways to figure out where to store something is by asking yourself, “Where would I think to look for this?” Intuition is a powerful force, and if you brain has a mind connection between an item and a location, take advantage of it. This is one reason why everyone’s system will look different. We often carry with us the patterns we used as children. As long as a system works for you and those around you, feel free to do what feels natural.

#9 Embrace existing family habits.

Another trick for establishing storage locations that family members will embrace is by watching the way that everyone already behaves. Where do family members enter and exit? Where do they tend to put things? What traffic patterns are being regularly used?

I often encourage people to “row downstream.” This means, proceed in a way that goes with the flow of your normal actions and strengths. For instance:

• If you are tired at night, have them reset their spaces before dinner.
• If the kids tend to play with the same three toys, remove some of the others from their play space.
• If your spouse likes to read in the family room, add a basket for reading materials.
• If kids prefer doing homework at the kitchen table, move homework supplies to the kitchen and let the bedroom desks be used for other purposes.
• If you primarily enter the house from the garage, add hooks and storage near this door (inside or out!).

The primary goal of organizing is to improve functionality. It’s easier to build on functional habits that already exist.

#10 Maximize the spaces you have by adding structure and labels.

Wherever you choose to put your things, it is wise to make the most out of the space you have. You want your storage locations to be scaled to the size of the item you are storing. For example, you don’t want to drop tiny toys into a giant toy chest. Add structure to keep small items subdivided in larger spaces.

Also, use tools that make maximize your ability to reach everything. A good example here is a lazy susan on a shelf that is slightly above eye level or in the corner of a cabinet.

Lastly, whenever you have multiple users or are likely to forget what goes where, add a label. Labels provide quick and easy reminders to keep everyone using the system you have.

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The most important principle that connects all of these is to embrace the disciplining of mindfully choosing a spot for anything that comes into your space. When possible, decide in advance before you even bring a new item in. If you don’t designate a place to keep something, you are liable to put it down somewhere “convenient,” which might make it hard to find in the future.

As you look around, do you see anything that needs to be given a “home” in which to live?