Maximising storage space at home and at work

In urban Bangkok where homes and commercial spaces are shrinking as property costs sky rocket, how do you create more storage space for all your luxuries, let alone the necessities? Maximising storage space at home and at work becomes an art and with a little ingenuity you’ll find more space in your life than you think!

Regular decluttering maximises your work and living spaces

Have you ever entered a room and felt a sense of panic overwhelm you simply because there’s stuff everywhere?  Living that way is stressful and working in that environment makes a visitor wonder how professional your company is when files and papers are strewn all over the place.   Purge old magazines and broken ring files and think about whether you really need certain items.  If not, declutter by discarding or donating.  Doing this regularly gives your home and office a more inviting feel and frees up room for storing important items while making the space more zen to be in.

Think of efficient storage solutions

When you think of shoebox or micro apartments, you often wonder if residents have any furniture or personal belongings at all.  The concept is really about efficiency.  Many people use functional furniture like drawers under the bed and sofa or using storage chests that double up as a dining table.  Floor to ceiling cabinet systems make vertical use of the wall and you can store things you don’t need on the higher shelves, and things that you use regularly on the lower shelves.  If you haven’t bought yourself a bed with extra storage space at the bottom, use risers to elevate the bed to make use of space underneath.  Think of places where you can incorporate secret storage space like inside the steps of a staircase or above the doorway. In a small office space, you don’t really want to be leaping over co-workers in order to get to your work station.  Get rid of the humungous dinosaur copier.  These days there are models that have an all in one copier, printer and yes! Even a fax function and this compact machine can be stored away in a pull-out pedestal under the desk.  Don’t allow stacks of paper to lie around waiting to grow legs and file themselves.  Make it a point to file documents immediately and put those folders away in the cabinet.  Consider easy to reach overhead shelving for files you need on a daily basis and if there is a shelving system that everyone uses, organisation is key.  Label files and document boxes clearly and compartmentalize drawers with interior organisers to segregate small items like stationery, envelopes and keys.

A case for off-site storage

Yet surely there will be personal possessions that you won’t discard or donate like primary school essays, as well as seasonal items that you only need once a year, like the Christmas Tree.  Also, if you’re amazed at the amount of winter clothing a person living in Bangkok has, this is where self storage comes in.  For less than THB1,000 per month, you may store away certain chattels guilt free and enjoy your hard-earned shoebox abode.  There is less stress when coming home to a clean and tidy home and a healthier choice too, when there is less dust and hidey holes that were once inaccessible to the vacuum cleaner. For small office tenants, storing accounting documents and old client files in an off-site self storage space keeps the office looking more spacious and less hazardous when there’s no leaping involved.  Send the auditor to work on your documents at the off-site storage space to maximise the room in your office, because at Store It! self storage facilities, we have 24-hour access and air conditioning with EVERYONE in mind!