Space – the final frontier

A ruthless approach to storage issues can work wonders for your home.
By Alex May

Clutter and Christmas go together like sweaty shopping centre Santas and bad flash photography. It's the time of year when gifts are exchanged and unwearable clothes/unreadable books/unnecessary items enter our homes, adding to the ever-burgeoning pile of things crammed into cupboards.
This column was supposed to be full of tips and ideas on how to create more storage space in your house to cope with all the post-Christmas clutter - but the founder and former president of the Australasian Association of Professional Organisers, Lissanne Oliver, wants to say "stop".
"I don't want to sound all 'bah, humbug' but I don't 'do' Christmas because it's just a chance to fill your house with more crap," she says. "People think they need more storage but they don't - it's about cutting back on the volume. Wanting more storage is just like trying to squeeze a size 12 butt into a size eight."
Oliver is, no doubt, correct but the item at the top of my summer sales list is always more storage. I don't think a home can ever have enough storage systems - wicker baskets, crates and Expedit Ikea shelves are my saviour. If my head were flat, it would be the perfect place to store another set of bookshelves.
Storage makes me feel in control. I like to shut doors, drawers and lids on my stuff to make it go away and live a neat and ordered life.
Sheryl Pedashenko, a professional organiser, says there is simply no point in having cupboards full of stuff - it means you own too many things.
"People have to start thinking differently," she says. "Life is stressed and our houses are full of clutter, which makes us feel even more stressed."
Pedashenko, who runs Simply Sorted in the ACT, says every client feels relieved and unburdened once they have organised their house. Her training as a social worker has helped her encourage her clients to throw things away. "I give my clients tough love - I tell them there's no point in keeping grandma's tea set if it's chipped and broken. Find something better to remember her by," she says. "Usually they just need someone to help them part with things."
"Clutter is like an elephant in the room," Oliver says. "People are scared of it and don't know where to start. We all get hung up on sending things to a good home or worrying about how much we paid for it in the first place. But it costs you to keep clutter in your space.
"Once people realise they need to get rid of things they just feel so good. Getting rid of clutter is a better solution than finding more storage."

Chuck-out tips
* Clutter is anything that is not loved, needed or used. Only a small percentage of the stuff we keep really matters. Throwing things away is the easy part - it's dealing with the mental anguish of parting with stuff we have paid for that is hard.
* The only way to clear clutter is to empty every cupboard, drawer and storage area and take a long, hard look at the items. If you haven't used it, thought about it or desired it since last year, it has to go.
* Use the three-pile policy to throw things out - a pile to keep, a pile to donate to charity or throw away and a pile of "maybe I will really need this later on". Immediately donate or throw away the second pile of goods and then take a good hard look at the "maybe" pile. Now repeat this mantra: I don't need it, I don't need it, I don't need it. Get rid of it. And do it quickly - decisive action keeps you from changing your mind.
* Keep a large empty crate near the front door and regularly put in things you want to donate to charity. Regular throw-outs are easier to undertake than binge chuck-outs.

Cut clutter tips
* Around 10 per cent of a home's floor space should be dedicated to storage. If you live in a 120 square metre house, that's 12 square metres of storage including wardrobes and bookshelves. If you still think you need more storage, you are kidding yourself - just throw things out.
* Store items where they are used. Keep the sticky-tape next to a pair of scissors and close to the wrapping paper. Store knives near the chopping board.
* Aim for one-motion storage. That means store frequently used things in a way that's easy to see and reach - just open a drawer or cupboard and they are there. Infrequently used items can be stored in two or three-motion storage manners, for example in labelled boxes in the garage or attic.
* Group like items together. Beauty products with other beauty products, pens with other pens, computer cables with other computer cables.
* It's true: you own too many sheets and towels. Apparently everyone in the Western world does. You only need two sets of towels for each bathroom and two sets of sheets for each bed in the house. Get rid of the rest.


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A ruthless approach to storage issues can work wonders for your home. By Alex May Clutter and Christmas go together like sweaty shopping centre Santas and bad flash photography. It's the time of year when gifts are exchanged and unwearable clothes/unreadable books/unnecessary items enter our homes, adding to the ever-burgeoning pile of things crammed into cupboards. This column was supposed to be full of tips and ideas on how to create more storage space in your house to cope with all the post-Christmas clutter - but the founder and former president of the Australasian Association of Professional Organisers, Lissanne Oliver, wants to say "stop". "I don't want to sound all 'bah, humbug' but I don't 'do' Christmas because it's just a chance to fill your house with more crap," she says. "People think they need more storage but they don't - it's about cutting back on the volume. Wanting more storage is just like trying to squeeze a size 12 butt into a size eight." Oliver is, no doubt, correct but the item at the top of my summer sales list is always more storage. I don't think a home can ever have enough storage systems - wicker baskets, crates and Expedit Ikea shelves are my saviour. If my head were flat, it would be the perfect place to store another set of bookshelves. Storage makes me feel in control. I like to shut doors, drawers and lids on my stuff to make it go away and live a neat and ordered life. Sheryl Pedashenko, a professional organiser, says there is simply no point in having cupboards full of stuff - it means you own too many things. "People have to start thinking differently," she says. "Life is stressed and our houses are full of clutter, which makes us feel even more stressed." Pedashenko, who runs Simply Sorted in the ACT, says every client feels relieved and unburdened once they have organised their house. Her training as a social worker has helped her encourage her clients to throw things away. "I give my clients tough love - I tell them there's no point in keeping grandma's tea set if it's chipped and broken. Find something better to remember her by," she says. "Usually they just need someone to help them part with things." "Clutter is like an elephant in the room," Oliver says. "People are scared of it and don't know where to start. We all get hung up on sending things to a good home or worrying about how much we paid for it in the first place. But it costs you to keep clutter in your space. "Once people realise they need to get rid of things they just feel so good. Getting rid of clutter is a better solution than finding more storage." Chuck-out tips * Clutter is anything that is not loved, needed or used. Only a small percentage of the stuff we keep really matters. Throwing things away is the easy part - it's dealing with the mental anguish of parting with stuff we have paid for that is hard. * The only way to clear clutter is to empty every cupboard, drawer and storage area and take a long, hard look at the items. If you haven't used it, thought about it or desired it since last year, it has to go. * Use the three-pile policy to throw things out - a pile to keep, a pile to donate to charity or throw away and a pile of "maybe I will really need this later on". Immediately donate or throw away the second pile of goods and then take a good hard look at the "maybe" pile. Now repeat this mantra: I don't need it, I don't need it, I don't need it. Get rid of it. And do it quickly - decisive action keeps you from changing your mind. * Keep a large empty crate near the front door and regularly put in things you want to donate to charity. Regular throw-outs are easier to undertake than binge chuck-outs. Cut clutter tips * Around 10 per cent of a home's floor space should be dedicated to storage. If you live in a 120 square metre house, that's 12 square metres of storage including wardrobes and bookshelves. If you still think you need more storage, you are kidding yourself - just throw things out. * Store items where they are used. Keep the sticky-tape next to a pair of scissors and close to the wrapping paper. Store knives near the chopping board. * Aim for one-motion storage. That means store frequently used things in a way that's easy to see and reach - just open a drawer or cupboard and they are there. Infrequently used items can be stored in two or three-motion storage manners, for example in labelled boxes in the garage or attic. * Group like items together. Beauty products with other beauty products, pens with other pens, computer cables with other computer cables. * It's true: you own too many sheets and towels. Apparently everyone in the Western world does. You only need two sets of towels for each bathroom and two sets of sheets for each bed in the house. Get rid of the rest.