Household Storage
As Good as at Your Favorite Store

People really struggle with household storage. There is just too much stuff. And the good stuff that you use is not put away properly. It is hard to get when you need it and hard to put away when you are done with it.

What do you do about that?

Try thinking about it this way.

Why do people like to go shopping at their favorite store?

I think a big part of the shopping experience is that the store is so nicely organized.

When you go into a store you don't see all the merchandise strewn over the floor, it is nicely arranged on shelves or hanging up. All the like items are together, not jumbled up. The items are not packed together so tightly that you cannot see anything clearly.

It is pleasing to the eye and easy to shop.

You can walk into any store in the world, and if it is well organized, walk around for a few minutes and be able to find what you are looking for.

You can find the restrooms or water fountain easily if they have them.

You can find the check out register easily too.

Of course, the biggest, most profitable stores are even more organized. You can go into Wal-Mart, find what you are looking for quickly, load up your cart, pay and leave without bothering a worker in the store. You don't have to say a word if you don't want.

The stores are set up and organized that well.

The ones that are not set up in an organized way are not that pleasant to be in. You will tend to avoid those stores. They will not be profitable and will go out of business.

If stores are organized to be in business to easily make a profit why can't you use some of those principles to make your life a little easier.

You can. That is my philosophy.

The next time you are shopping just take a good look around. You may see some good ideas that you can use for your own household storage. Here are some things to keep in mind:

1) When the store has an end of the season sale, what they are really trying to do is make room for new merchandise. They do not just keep everything that doesn't get sold. They make room for the new stuff by selling it at a deep discount or selling it to discount stores. A store would look terrible if the shelves and racks were overstuffed. When your closets, shelves and household storage areas are starting to get stuffed, that is the time to reduce the volume. I am not suggesting that you constantly throw stuff out. I am suggesting that at a minimum, you do your tossing at the change of seasons, just like the stores do.

2) They have aisles between the racks and shelves so you can walk between and see everything. There is plenty of open space. They do not pack every inch of the store with stuff. There is actually more open space in a store than there is space for the merchandise. Think about that. You need walk around space.

3) They have things placed in a way that makes sense rather than where there is room. You wouldn't keep the frying pan you use 3 times a week in your hall closet would you? No, you keep it in the kitchen because that is where it makes sense.

If you need some ideas for your household storage, go to your favorite store and use some of their ideas to help yourself.

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