The Ten Essential Storage Principles Of An ExtraOrdinary Home
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Article by: Carol Abrahamson Planning a remodel, major repair , Bed mattress futon - I think I'm turning Japanese, I really think so! or new home , What To Look For In Deep Fryers construction? Looking for some terrific features , Kitchen Cabinets - Reface or Replace? to include that won't be budget busters? We can help! We started collecting over 1,000 uncommon, affordable convenience built-ins in 1998, when we first began writing books and consulting to help people have truly extraordinary "” but affordable "” homes. , Things To Consider When Buying a Pool Here are some of our favorite storage ideas as well as our 10 essential storage principles. Add any of these to your next project, and you'll be on your way toward creating a home , Bad News Critters - Beware of Animals in Crawl Spaces that's truly beyond the ordinary! 1. First of all, the purpose of good storage is to help you keep organized. (Contrary to what your spouse or teenagers might say, it's not merely to hide monster messes where they'll get forgotten or require tons of time to sort through whenever someone's looking for something!) Rollaway storage "” with lockable wheels "” can tuck into a stall built into a lower cabinet, island, closet or under a sink. Or roll into place , Roofing Installation for being used under a table, desk or countertop. Ideal for laundry , Log Home Automation? Excuse Me? hampers and garbage cans; a cart for tableware (from walk-in pantry to the table and from the dishwasher back to the pantry); file cabinets; a stack of drawers; containers for toys, equipment, gift wrapping or craft , Gel Candle Safety: What You Should Know Before You Buy supplies; an entire island; a wagon or cart to wheel around the house , Art and Design while putting various items it contains wherever they belong; and so much more. 2. There must be adequate storage space for all your current belongings, plus space for your future acquisitions. And if you're likely to start a family while living in this house, , Safety & Windows Installation that may mean you need as much space to grow , Window Air Conditionar Rentals into as you'll fill when you move in. Pullout shelves, bins, baskets and racks in lower cabinets allow easy access to their contents. Don't forget to add these under sinks, with cutouts that fit around the plumbing. , Garage Door Openers Necessity in the Home No more getting down on your hands and knees to see and find things! And with these, you can get to "” and therefore use "” the space that's even at the very back of your cabinets. 3. Next, I'd be sure each storage area is appropriate for whatever you plan , Solar Rebates to store, and that each has compartments appropriate for its contents. That means your sports equipment needs space that's different from the space for your music and video collections. For hanging table linens, dowels bolted onto the back walls , Art and Design or mounted on a frame bolted to the sides or bottom of pantries, closets or cabinets make linens easily accessible while minimizing creases and fold lines. No more digging to the bottom of a drawer of folded linens to find a favorite tablecloth, or having to empty the entire drawer to get it out! And no more linens that are too wrinkled to use "as is!" This is also a great way to use a narrow area of otherwise wasted space. 4. Plan , Glass Railing - Where Class Should Be Visible storage scattered throughout the whole house. , What To Look For In Deep Fryers Ideally, everything will be stored near where you'll be using it. No point in hauling stuff through half the house! , A Primer On Dish Washer- A Useful Home Appliance: You'll love having closets and cabinets "” the pantry, too "” whose lights , Know your Omega juicers go on automatically as their doors , The Well Stocked Kitchen open, the way a refrigerator's does. (One of the many benefits of built-in cabinets is the inside , We Have a Damp Problem, No it is Just a Condensation Problem lighting that's possible.) No more groping to find manual light , Quick and Dirty Guide to Wood Flooring switches, especially when your hands are often too full to reach for a switch "” or they're wet! This is also wonderful for kids "” and adults in wheelchairs "” who can't easily reach a closet's traditional light , Gel Candle Safety: What You Should Know Before You Buy switch. A plunger switch is inside , Using Art Prints With A Minimalist Home Decor most refrigerators, but magnetic contact switches "” similar to those used in home , Glass Railing - Where Class Should Be Visible security alarm , Solar Rebates systems "” can also do the job throughout your house. , Vinyl Replacement Window Terminology 5. I'd also plan , Adjustable Beds and How to Buy them and Other Bedding for your most frequently used items to be easiest and quickest to reach, and to store your less frequently used things in the remaining space only after all the popular things are stored. Electric , Garage Door Openers Necessity in the Home al outlets inside , Furnishing Home Gyms Can Add Resale Value to Your Home drawers, cabinets or in appliance barns on countertops allow small appliances to be stored out of sight and used without frequent plugging and unplugging. (Ideally, everything you store in these spaces will be used nearby so you won't need any extension cords.) You avoid countertop clutter, the items never get dusty and are always ready to use, and no one needs to fiddle with the plugs "” especially when their hands are wet or arthritic. Just be sure to measure the sizes of the appliances you plan , Know your Omega juicers to store before you finalize these spaces' dimensions, so you avoid any surprises about something not fitting inside. , Garage Storage Cabinets 6. Your largest and heaviest possessions also need to be the easiest and quickest to get to, and not be put up high or in a corner that's tricky to navigate. Fill the remaining storage spaces with your lightweight items. Separate activity areas in the kitchen , How To Choose Fine Linens For Your Home will make everything efficiently at hand exactly where you need it: baking and mixing, food , Designing Your New Kitchen On The Computer preparation, cooking, cleanup, entertaining, beverage service, etc. 7. Be sure storage minimizes wasted space. Hang a detachable hamper inside , How To Choose Fine Linens For Your Home a pullout or tiltout lower cabinet door , Closet Organizer or storage bench, , Unwelcome Guests: Fire Ant; Part II Insects & Insecticides or inside , Vinyl Replacement Window Terminology a closet door. , How To Select The Right Area Rug A cloth hamper hanging on a frame makes transporting clothes or linens to the washing machine especially easy, but wire or plastic , Bad News Critters - Beware of Animals in Crawl Spaces hampers also work. No more dropping items on the way to the laundry room , Garage Flooring, Floor Coverings, Floor Material, Epoxy, Concrete Floor Paint, & Floor Coatings that you might trip over! Choose materials that allow ventilation in the hamper, to prevent mold from forming on any damp or wet items that remain inside , How To Choose Fine Linens For Your Home for more than a few days. 8. Make your storage spaces accessible, so none of them are wasted because they can't easily be reached. Full-extension drawers, pullout shelves and file cabinets "” all on easy-gliding metal , Kitchen And Bath Hardware Buying Guide tracks "” allow you to reach and see all their contents, so you can use all their space. 9. I'd also look at traffic flows in the house. , Closet Organizer If your most frequently used items are stored in the major traffic paths, , Know your Omega juicers no one will have to go out of their way to get what they need, and you'll have a very efficient house. , We Have a Damp Problem, No it is Just a Condensation Problem On the other hand, you can also affect where the traffic detours through the house , Designing Your New Kitchen On The Computer via where you store popular items. So if you want to stop frequent bottlenecks where people tend to collide with each other, you can move the popular items into different locations , Garage Storage Cabinets in order to force some of the traffic to flow along new paths. , How To Select The Right Area Rug Adequate clearance around every open drawer, hinged cabinet or door, , Discount Home Appliances and appliance door , The Benefits of Radiant Heat, Comparison will keep traffic flowing and save , Why Invest In A Gazebo? you some steps. Be sure you have room , Home Improvements Expressing an Attitude to open and move around all the drawers and cabinets you need to open at once when you're emptying the dishwasher, putting groceries away, working on a project, etc. 10. My final point is to make as much of the storage adjustable as possible, so as your needs change, , www.carbon-monoxide-detectors.co.uk the storage that worked for you initially can be modified to remain as effective as ever. Open shelving "” or you can remove some cabinet doors , www.carbon-monoxide-detectors.co.uk "” gives you instant identification of and access to your stored goods. Stored items get more light , Gel Candle Safety: What You Should Know Before You Buy around them and are easier to see, the motion of opening cabinets is not required, and this saves , Adjustable Beds and How to Buy them and Other Bedding some trial and error if you don't recall precisely what's stored where. Like this article? Then you'll love our books that all have uncommon, affordable storage ideas that increase your quality of life and your home's resale value! We also offer a free e-book at www.extraordinaryhomes.com: The 34 ExtraOrdinary Home , How To Choose Fine Linens For Your Principles: Over 70 Fabulous, Affordable, Innovative Ideas That'll Improve Your Life and WOW You! © Copyright 2005 by Carol Abrahamson/ExtraOrdinary Homes. , Solar Energy Systems for Pools All rights reserved. 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Carol Abrahamson consults, writes and makes presentations about more than 1,000 of these fabulous features , Gel Candle Safety: What You Should Know Before You Buy that can improve your life, add value to your home , The Well Stocked Kitchen and make you the talk of the town. She spent years researching them via thousands of sources just so you can quickly and easily use them to create your affordable, extraordinary Home , Ceiling Fans Look Great and Save You Money of Your Dreamsâ„¢. Learn more about her work via www.extraordinaryhomes.com or carol@extraordinaryhomes.com. |
  
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