An Under-Used Organizational Trick: Use Your Vertical Spaces To Their Fullest

Using vertical space is practically all the time a great idea because it reduces the need for horizontal surfaces, which are clutter magnets. Plus, the smaller the horizontal footprint, the less cluttered a space tends to feel -- and be. Population don't all the time think of, or take advantage of, the great reserved supply that they have at their disposal with vertical spaces, so read on for many ways to use them to their fullest.

An Under-Used Organizational Trick: Use Your Vertical Spaces To Their Fullest

An Under-Used Organizational Trick: Use Your Vertical Spaces To Their Fullest

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An Under-Used Organizational Trick: Use Your Vertical Spaces To Their Fullest

An Under-Used Organizational Trick: Use Your Vertical Spaces To Their Fullest

* Accordion band: What's not to love about accordion files? They take up very wee horizontal space, yet they hold lots of papers -- tax information, receipts, and much more -- in their segmented, labeled sections.

* Climb every mountain: If filing away your desktop paper equates to having it disappear, try a vertical desktop file holder. These units hold files in a graduated, upright fashion, so you can well see what you have. Remember, though, that the files you select for this warehouse location should be the ones that you use daily, weekly, or maybe monthly; nothing should reside there that you use less often than that.

* Magazine, anyone? If you want to store magazines, newsletters, owner's manuals, catalogs, maps, brochures, or construction paper, try magazine holders, which come in many materials to match your decor and tastes. You can either label the spine, or stand it on its spine so that the contents face you and are well visible.

* Five golden rings: Or, maybe it's 12 rings -- anyone comes in a proper holder of shower-curtain rings. either plastic or metal, they'll hold tote bags, umbrellas, scarves, purses, and many other things when clipped to the clothes rod in a closet.

* Q, R, 'S' hooks: Like shower-curtain rings, 'S' hooks are great to hang from closet rods to hold umbrellas, brooms, mops, and empty backpacks. Stronger ones can hold tote bags that are full of other things, such as gift-wrap sundries, swim gear, beach towels, rags, craft supplies, yarn, and winter accessories.

* Pinch me: One idea for hanging long, unwieldy items such as rakes, hoes, mops, and brooms is to use snap-lock strips -- those "pincers" that snap on to the handles of tools and hold them against the wall.

* Can it: Just as mugs, crocks, glasses, and vases can corral pens, paint brushes, kitchen utensils, shavers, and toothbrushes in vertical ways... Tall buckets and cans can hold things such as umbrellas, rolled-up posters, maps, and rolls of gift wrap. Garbage cans can hold rakes, shovels, brooms, canoe paddles, hockey sticks, and baseball bats. Putting yard tools in an old golf bag even allows you to tote the tools colse to the yard!

* Throw in the towel: Towel bars are, naturally, great for hanging up towels, but when installed inside closets and on the backs of doors, they can also hold folded tablecloths, blankets, and other linens, as well as neckties and scarves. These items also hang quite nicely from hangers that have split paper-towel tubes threaded over their lower edges. Towel rings, while smaller, can hold hair ribbons and necklaces.

* Pots and pans and skillets, oh my! We've all seen pictures of gleaming copper pots hanging from pot racks in grand kitchens. You can do the same by dangling your pots and pans from a rack attached to the ceiling. Or, try hanging sports gear or tools from a pot rack suspended in the garage or basement.

* No glass ceiling here... In the garage or basement, attach a ladder, wire grid, lengths of chain, or a garden trellis to the rafters and hang all from lawn chairs to sleds to bikes on it with 'S' hooks or bungee cords.

* Riding the rails: There are many systems on the market that comprise some kind of rail that attaches to the wall, with buckets or baskets that hang from that rail. Try them with kitchen supplies, office wares, or workshop hardware and tools if drawer, counter, desktop, or workbench space is tight.

* Doing the wash: Lingerie bags are cool, mesh bags with either a drawstring or a zipper that allow you to machine-wash lingerie or a group of small items that might otherwise get lost. They're also great holders (and drip-dryers) of kids' bath toys when suspended from a shower caddy or the bathtub faucet.

* Suction power! Suction cups with hooks attached can hold up all manner of private items -- or even small organizing units -- in the kitchen, bathroom, or shower stall, salvage counter-top and vanity space.

* Into the bleachers: I have a friend whose spices reside on what she calls her "spice bleacher" -- a graduated riser unit that allows her to see the labels of all of the wee jars that would otherwise obscure each other in the cupboard. If you want to think bigger, put some bleachers together to create a spice "stadium"!

* Rack it: There are also astounding spice racks that attach to the insides of doors. They work well because they adapt the varied sizes of spice jars, but they're not so deep that they keep the door from closing. There are similar racks available that hang over doors to adapt Cds, Dvds, books, towels, and tall bottles in or near the pantry.

* Ski easily: Ski racks -- sets of "knobs" that hold the ski tips together -- are super in the basement or garage because they keep the skis on the wall, not falling onto unsuspecting Population or objects below.

* Post this: I'm not a fan of bulletin boards, because so much of their (usually large) usable face area gets covered by the very things that hang on them! Plus, I believe that those things speedily become just someone else part of the wallpaper -- the opposite of what should happen. But, if you well like the concept, reconsider a cork or magnetic strip instead. You can mount one or even a row of them in smaller spaces, and they don't waste space because the items that hang from them cover wall space, not the rest of the usable surface.

* Poor Susan... The double-decker version of the "lazy Susan" is great for jars of spices, bolts, buttons, and small office supplies, while the single-level version holds tall bottles of cooking oils; beauty, cleaning, and laundry products; and items in the fridge. Giant ones can hold condiments and napkins on the dinner table.

* Got milk? While I'm glad to leave the milk-crate-as-furniture days behind, they well are nifty, especially when you create a shelf by tipping them on their sides and stacking them in multiples.

* Up against the wall: Many kinds of baskets or bins can be mounted on the wall to serve as magazine holders, mail receivers, and 'in' boxes. (Just be sure to clean them out very regularly, or they'll overflow and become pointless.) An actual magazine or mail rack can also hold rolled towels in a bathroom. And, try nailing coffee cans or sand pails to the garage walls to hold small yard tools, spools of twine, or seed packets.

* Handy towel: A wine rack can stand on a bathroom floor -- or be affixed to the wall -- to become a clever spot to store rolled-up hand towels and wash cloths, bath mitts, brushes, and rolled-up magazines.

* Flip your lid: I love pot-lid racks just as they are -- mounted inside a cupboard door, holding pot lids -- but they also make cool mail and magazine holders when mounted elsewhere.

* You stud, you: Nail boards across the exposed studs in your garage or basement, and you've got some great vertical corrals to capture rakes, hoes, shovels, hockey sticks, and baseball bats.

* duplicate crosser: If you criss-cross ribbons on a wall or board and tack them tightly, you can clip or slip notes, photos, tickets, greeting cards, and invitations under them for a ornamental wall-storage option.

* Dig, if you will, the picture: Displaying art and photos on photograph rails, rather than hanging them on the walls, offers more flexibility because you can rotate, add to, and edit them without pounding more nails.

* Coats and cloaks: A freestanding coat rack is a excellent vertical concept, and if there's an umbrella stand or shoe shelf at the base, that's even better. Try one in the bedroom for bathrobes and clothes to wear again.

And now, thinking more broadly... Here are a few final time-honored, vertical-storage gems. Run with them, and apply them in new ways!

* First and best: The blue-ribbon winners have to be hooks and pegs -- chairs hanging on pegs in Shaker homes review their gorgeous simplicity and usefulness. You can store a lot of things on a peg or hook (or even on a bare nail), provided that it's the proper size and shape and is affixed in a safe and sound manner.

* Hang belts, necklaces, scarves, keys, purses, backpacks, clothes, kitchen utensils, yard and workshop tools, brooms, dust pans, sports equipment, sleds, hoses, ladders, bikes, hair dryers, and much more not only from the walls, but from the ceilings, inside or under cupboards, inside closets, and on the fronts and backs of doors and cupboard doors.

* A peg board (or wire-grid system) is a very versatile option. Some Population even propose painting outlines colse to the hanging items so that you all the time know where they belong, but I disagree: if you add or delete even one thing, then your theory is blown. However, if you like the outlining idea, use chalk -- it's much more forgiving.

* Stack 'em up: Stacking sets of baskets, bins, drawers, or boxes... With lids or not... That are transparent or well labeled... Can sit on shelves or stand in closets to hold all from diapers to root vegetables (though probably not at the same time). If you put your stacking set on casters, you can even "go mobile."

* File cabinets and hanging files are oldies, but goodies: You can add casters for mobility, cover the cabinet with a tablecloth if it's ugly, or pair it with a mate to hold up a door or wide board to make a sturdy desk.

* Shelves: need I say more? They're classics, and standing books and magazine holders on them vertically adds even more to their efficiency. They can also hold baskets or bins that comprise smaller objects.

Go vertical: Hang it, stand it, stack it, rack it, and embrace that vertical space that many Population overlook to maximize your organizational potential!

An Under-Used Organizational Trick: Use Your Vertical Spaces To Their Fullest

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